Scuba Diving

After Sydney, Lydia and I headed to Cairns in Northern Queensland, which was supposed to be a good destination for fun vacation activities in the sun (which it absolutely WAS). The day after we arrived, we embarked on a five-day intensive Learn to Scuba Dive course. This was mainly Lydia's idea - diving was the one thing she had promised herself she'd do while in this side of the world - but I jumped on the bandwagon pretty quickly, despite the fact that I'm not a great swimmer and am kind of afraid of the ocean. Fortunately, I passed the required swim test (thanks to Lydia's lessons and my own trips to the pool for the previous two months), and after two days of classroom and pool training, we headed out to the ocean for two nights living on a boat and diving in the Great Barrier Reef.

And then I punked. I was having a really hard time getting my ears to equalize (even at 2 meters in the pool, the pressure gave me a bloody nose), and the ocean hadn't gotten any less scary. The upshot: instead of doing 4 dives and getting my Open Water Certification (allowing divers to dive solo up to depths of 18 meters), I did 2 dives and a bunch of snorkeling, and got my Skills Certification (which means I can handle my own equipment, but have to dive with an instructor, and can only go down to 12 meters). Essentially, I did the same things underwater that the rest of my class did (sitting on the ocean floor and taking off my mask, removing all the equipment, etc.), but fewer times and at less depth.

Ultimately, it was a fun experience, and I saw some things while diving that would have been impossible to see while snorkeling. I got to scratch a turtle on the shell, and stick my hand in a giant clam (and then freak out when it started closing). But the GBR is so beautiful that even the snorkeling was cooler than I'd imagined, and snorkeling is certainly a lot easier and less stressful, at least for me. I'm glad I can say I went diving, and it's cool that I'm partially certified, but I have to admit it's a skill I'm not sure I'll be utilizing any time soon.

One of the big problems with diving is that it TAKES SO LONG to get ready! I'm sure that, with experience, it's faster ... but when you're new at the game, it always seems like there are so many things to check, and better to take a bit of extra time on the surface than to run out of air or something 10 meters down!

The boat did have a very cool dive deck, that at least made it easier to get in and out of the water.

The "Giant Step" entry method ... very easy as long as you remember to hold your mask and regulator (breathing apparatus) in place.

Going under with my instructor to complete my skills certification. We sat on the floor of the ocean under the boat while Lydia hung out, so that we could all go for a dive afterwards ... apparently, there was a reef shark just behind me, but I missed it!

Out of the water after my second (and last) dive - although I had to get geared up a third time the next day to practice my surface skills, including towing my diving buddy and taking off my vest and tank ... a LOT of effort to get all geared up, and then afterwards I stripped back down and went snorkeling!

Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the marine wildlife ... I'd thought about getting a disposable camera that could go underwater, but there are so many things going on while diving that I thought a camera would be one more thing to distract me. And then, when I realized I'd be doing more snorkeling than anything else, I was out on a boat with no stores in sight! Oops ...

Sydney!

Now, I'll be the first to admit that winters here in Auckland are pretty tame, compared to either Boston OR Idaho. I'm not sure there's EVER been snow here, but if so, it was newsworthy and melted in like 10 minutes - instead, the winter seems to be cool (like, sweater + lightweight jacket weather), with ridiculous wind and random, frequent rainstorms. I've had worse. All the same, when I had the opportunity to go north to Australia for a couple of weeks over winter break, the lure of escape proved strong indeed.

I started out with a weekend in Sydney, where I met up with my friend Lydia (she'd been staying there for about a month). Sydney is the city I'd expected Auckland to be ... large, bustling, and clearly international. It's just a cool city, with a fun culture, plus lots of beaches, etc. Also quite expensive - I was grateful I had a free place to stay. All in all, though, I definitely enjoyed my time there (although the weather wasn't much better than what I'd left behind here in Auckland).

The Harbour Bridge is in the back right corner of the above photo - you'll get a closer view of it in a few pictures.

Very cool tree-lined walkway in the middle of Hyde Park - my memory says it smelled like eucalyptus, but I won't guarantee that.

Really really really ugly fountain, also in Hyde Park.

This is Lydia's "favourite church" - I don't know what it's called, but it was pretty spectacular inside and out. (I always feel bad taking photos inside of churches ... I wouldn't want to show up in someone's vacation photos while worshipping, and assume other people feel the same.)

BATS. Lots and lots of them. Apparently, they've taken over this bit of the botanical gardens and are killing the trees (not maliciously, of course). And they're no longer nocturnal, either ... they were swooping overhead and making all sorts of bat-like noises.

MORE BATS. Crazy, right?!

This is called a "bottle tree." Lydia went on the tour of the gardens and says that it's called that NOT because it's shaped like a bottle, but she can't remember the real reason ... any helpers?

Remuera Changeover

As all of my Rotary readers must be aware, the end of June marks the change in administration in every club and district. I assume that all clubs hold events, but I don't know that any club pulls it off with as much class as Remuera!

The blonde woman to the right is Sharyn, who was in charge of pulling the event together. Good job, Sharyn!!

The actual changeover, complete with an exchange of bouquets between the former and current "first ladies" of Remuera Rotary.

My host counselor, John, and his wife - so my parents finally know who these people are!

New President John and his lovely wife (who I spent some time with at the VIP camp a couple of months ago).

Former President Jim and his wife, wearing the regalia for the last time. (I don't know about Jim, but his wife seemed ready to for a break from the presidential obligations!)

Midwinter Christmas

For anyone who's ever wondered what Southern hemisphere cultures think about celebrating Christmas in sunny December, you'll be relieved to know that quite a few people here think that's silly too. While Christmas obviously still takes place on December 25, a lot of people in New Zealand celebrate a midwinter Christmas as well - and so 41 Park Road (my apartment building) decided to jump on the bandwagon. Me and my friend Brodie got the University Accommodation office to give us some cash to throw our own party, and had a great night of food and drinks and holiday fun!

Preparation ... we had ordered (through the Uni catering services) two turkeys and a ham. And wound up with two hams and six rolled turkey breasts, pre-stuffed with apricot stuffing. Kind of annoying - and disappointing, as we were all excited for real birds - but the food turned out great! You can also see some effort being put into our authentic pumpkin pie (recipe courtesy of my mom!) ... wasn't great, but was the best pumpkin pie some of these people have ever had!

Me in my Christmas clothing! (After I finally got let back into my room, since I locked my keys in there mid-afternoon. The problem with starting the drinking at 3 in the afternoon ...?)

The carving station, post-dinner ... we did a pretty good job on that ham. And by "we" I mean the people who actually eat ham. I made a vegetarian lasagna for those of us who aren't big on holiday meats.

I tried to get everyone to dress in Christmas colors, but this was the only red Ed had. He kept it on only long enough for the photos ...

About half the desserts that made it to the table ... we ate WELL that night!

Coast to Coast thru Auckland

One of my first New Zealand experiences was a walk on Muriwai beach with my Rotary host counselor, John, and his walking group. Last month, I joined the group again for a Coast to Coast walk - an 18 km walk from one coast of Auckland to the other. It was a great opportunity to see some of Auckland that I hadn't seen before (not to mention a great reason to skip the gym!).

This is the monument on the top of One Tree Hill. Notice the complete lack of trees? Apparently there was a tree there, but a Maori activist cut it down because it wasn't an indigenous tree (it was, I believe, a Norfolk pine). Unfortunately, the tree has not yet been replaced, because the city council can't decide which indigenous tree would be most appropriate ...

Sheep. In the middle of the city. VERY New Zealand.

A view of Rangitoto (the infamous volcano island) from the center of the city.