A treat

They always said that San Francisco is a treat. Or was it some type of instant rice (Rice-A-Roni) that was a San Francisco treat? We have just arrived in the land of sour dough bread from Sydney. We are here for a few days and hope to take in some of the sites. Check out our pictures from Sydney, Cairns and the Outback.

Ciao for now.

The Great Barrier Reef

Aaron and I went on a two-day/one-night diving liveaboard trip to the Great Barrier Reef. It was amazing.

We went down seven times in two days and checked out three different sites. One of these dives was at night with a flashlight to visit the sleepy fishies. The night dive is almost easier than the day dives because the boat has a huge light beam in the water that guides divers back after the dive.

The Reef is an hour and a half out of Cairns. It felt like we were out in the middle of the ocean. We didn't have the best above water conditions; it was cloudy, rainy and windy both days but once underwater all was calm and peaceful. It was so peaceful I wanted to stay down there.

What we saw: sharks, rays, lots and lots of colourful fish. We touched a 150-year-old giant clam and saw it try to close up on our hands. A huge grouper came straight at us with its huge blue lippy mouth wide open (not threateningly but still impressive). I let out a little scream through my regulator.

Neither Aaron nor I lost our stomach contents on the trip despite the huge swells rocking the boat.

We're in the centre for the next few days. Harry is lending us his ute (aka Australia's favourite utility vehicle) and we're off camping.

Same Same But Different

We heard the phrase so often in Southeast Asia that we started using it ourselves. And cringing.

Australia and Canada: same same but different. Tomato sauce: ketchup. Quickies: Tums. Big W: Wal-Mart. The place is crawling with 7-11s and coffee shops. It's difficult to find regular coffee here but espresso drinks abound.

What I missed while in Asia: drinking tap water and eating whole wheat bread. I'm now fully sated. Mmmm... chlorine water. Best water there is!

What I first noticed when I arrived in Australia: all the extra space! The country and the streets seemed empty after China and Southeast Asia. I've become used to it now.

Some things are expensive in Australia. A 500 ml bottle of coke is $2.50 and up. Accommodations is a lot more than what we paid in Asia.

Aaron, Adam (Aaron's bro), Yindee (Aaron's bro's partner) and I drove from Sydney to Brisbane over the last several days. We saw a lot of coast, wineries, some really cool sand dunes, kangaroos (!) and koalas (!!). Adam and Yindee have now headed back to Sydney and Aaron and I are flying to Cairns tomorrow.

Australian Visa

Aaron and I almost didn't make it to Australia. At the check-in counter in Phuket, Thailand, the woman checking us in asked to see our visas for Australia. One of us said: "Oh we're Canadians, we don't need a visa." She was adamant though that we couldn't board without a visa. And we were adamant that we didn't a visa, why would we? Aaron had gone in 2003 and hadn't needed a visa...

There was much back and forth and we checked the Lonely Planet while at the counter and finally saw it written in black-and-white: everyone, with the exception of Kiwis, must obtain a visa before arriving. Oops.

Thankfully, there was an Internet cafe at the airport and we were able to apply and receive approval on-line within minutes.

Our lesson: always check even when you think you know.