Diving the Great Barrier Reef

I'm now a certified PADI diver whilst living on a boat for 3 days at the Great Barrier Reef. I saw a turtle and a shark.

Australian dilemma 2 - Daintree Rainforest or Atherton Tableland mountains?

• Daintree Rainforest or Atherton Tableland Hills?
• Are the Scenic Train / Skyrail between Cairns & Kuranda for over AUS$35 each worth it?
• Any thoughts about the Tjabukai Cultural Park?
  

If you've got any opinions about any of the above, please comment.

Sullen in Sydney

I also went to Sydney but got hit by various minor hassles that dampened by enthusiasm for the city - rain, noise at night, stolen food, and car trouble.

At least I got to see Bondi Beach and a cemetery with a sea view.


I also saw some flamenco at the Opera House and climbed a tower of the Harbour Bridge.

Dilemma Avoided

I went on a boat trip to see penguins camped out on a breakwater near Melbourne's coolest beach, St. Kilda.

Afterwards, I heard a band and had a beer with the captain & first mate at The Esplanade, the city's most historic pub, which has 4 bars.

Dilemma Resolved

I went on a bus tour to the Great Ocean Road and saw what's left of the 12 Apostles. They are limestone pillars but only 8 of them are left as the 9th collapsed on 3/7/2005 (that's July as I don't approve of the American way of writing dates).

Australian Open 2

I've seen Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, & Svetlana Kuznetsova play and win today.

Australian Open 1

I went to the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne and I saw Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal & Kim Clijsters play and win today in sweltering 40 deg C heat. Fortunately, the Rod Laver Arena & another Arena have roofs that can be shut and the RLA was comfortable with AC.

The Sharapova match was great and she had to fight to win 8-6 in the third set against Camille Pin.

Rafael Nadal had a straightforward win against Robert Kendrick, who took him to 5 sets at Wimbledon 2006.

Kim Clijsters had a walkover against Vasilisa Bardina leaving her with 2 ducks.

Australian Dilemma - Great Ocean Road vs Phillip 'Penguin' Island?

For my last day in Melbourne, I have a dilemma between 2 equally exciting options to end my visit on a high.

I have to choose between:

O) Great Ocean Road
P) Philip 'Penguin' Island Parade

Here's why:

O) Great Ocean Road (up to London Bridge only)

• 12 Apostles Limestones stacks
• Loch & Gorge sea cave
• Limestone cliffs
• Kennett River: wild Koalas
• Great Otway National Park: rainforest & waterfall
• Bells Beach

or

P) Philip 'Penguin' Island Parade

• Watch penguins waddle ashore at sunset
• Handle kangaroos & wombats
• See emus, seals and koalas
• View island, bay & rocky outcrops

The cost of both bus tours is AUS$100.

Yes, I know I should hire a car for 3 days and drive around but I don't have the time, energy or willpower :-(

I also expect that with bus tours, they will be long shuttles, briefly interrrupted by 5 min photo shoots & 10 min to rampantly consume the gift shops.

So, which should I pick, O or P and why, please?

It would help me a lot if you would post a comment on my dilemma. I'll you know what I choose and how it turns out.

Melbourne: Wonderful Wildlife

I've been in Melbourne for the last few days with friends and their kids. We've been to the Aquarium & the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary.

The highlight of the former was the underwater feeding session by divers.














The divers were molested by the turtles in their need for feed.
















I'm sure this ray is checking out all the people gawping at him. Apparently,



"Rays have a high ratio of brain weight to body weight; they are probably very intelligent, even smarter than sharks. They are known to be very curious animals, often approaching a diver and simply observing the intruder."









Tomorrow & Wednesday, we are off to the tennis , so I look forward to that.

Going Down Under

I'm off to Australia today - for a month - the maximum my travel insurers will allow.

The plan is to be in Melbourne for the first week to catch the Australian Open (1 of the 4 Tennis Grand Slams), Sydney for the second week, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef to learn to dive for the third week & Brisbane for 1/2 week.

Finally, I'm flying back via Japan to spend a couple days in Kyoto and Osaka, again.

I passed through Osaka and spent a couple of days in Kyoto in 2005.