You
can get all of my 
Are
you looking for an old edition of the White Spot (North)? I keep an 
Here's the Australia crew from
September 2002: Geordie "Goose" Klueber, Mike Geldner, me, Jill Debord, and Curt
Harpold (not pictured is Chris Hanson, who was dealing with a bad stomach virus that
day) on board Mike Ball's Spoil Sport.
The flight out to Australia is, of course, a grueling 17-hour ordeal, but I decided to redeem some frequent-flier miles and flew out and back in First Class. I can highly recommend it if you have the chance!
As usual, Mike Ball's crew outdid themselves on hospitality and skill. The accomodations were beautiful, the food was outstanding, and the diving, of course, was spectacular. Our trip leader, Will, and our captain, Mike, knew all the great spots to take us to and even took us to some places they had never been just to check them out.
Being on a live-aboard boat for nine days allowed us to leave the crowds of Townsville, where we started, and trek around the more remote areas of the Coral Sea where the day-trip divers simply can't get to. Be sure to check out the video and the underwater photographs from the trip below.
Of
course, we could not pass up a chance to to see the sights of Australia while we
were out there.
After returning
to Townsville (and spending a day getting my land legs back in the hotel's
casino), we hopped on a plane to Sydney, where we spent a few days sightseeing and
off-gassing. We took one day visiting the unique creatures at the Taronga Zoo. At right is a picture of me at
the zoo, which boasts a panoramic view of Sydney Harbor.
We spent another day in the Blue
Mountains just a short van ride outside of Sydney. We hired a tour guide for
the day, who showed us all around the area.
After a barbecue lunch, we headed off to the nature preserve, where we saw this mother kangaroo and her joey grazing just a few feet away. The preserve has a large number of kangaroos, along with some exotic birds, who did not seem to mind our invasion.
On our last night of the trip, our Aussie friend Neil ("Peel") Cossor treated us to a genuine Australian barbie at his home just outside of Sydney. Neil and Curt first met on a previous Australian dive trip and Neil joined us back in 1996 in Cozumel. While at Neil's, we feasted on stone crabs and lots of Australia's usual beverages.
- Trip Video
- Trip Photographs
Use the slider at the bottom of the display to move around the thumbnails and select one you'd like to see. Just move your mouse over a picture to find out more about it.
