where we'll be taking a scuba course for the next five days.
We've had enough of rainforests... so we decided to scoot to Airlie Beach, where we'll be taking a scuba course for the next five days.
I woke up at 7:30 at the Eungella Chalet, where we stayed... a bright sunny day... and wrote out all those postcards which I never seem to get to while Chris slept in a bit. I've been feeling guilty for the past month or so--I like buying postcards, but not writing them! Of course, I had to make a spreadsheet to track who gets what postcards. I think I filled out twenty postcards, maybe more.
I also very much decided I wanted to get on with things, and scoot down the
road to Airlie Beach, about 150km north of Eungella. While Eungella
National Park is covered in rainforest and is quite pretty, seeing dairy farms
right in the middle of it put me off a bit. And I think we've seen enough
rainforest for awhile. Today, I'd like to see ocean and surf and such.
Plus, there's a couple of packages waiting for us at the post office, which is
open today in the morning!
Chris agreed, mostly. We did stop by Finch Hatton Gorge on the way down
the hill--a pretty canyon with (yet more) waterfalls. Sadly, the
waterfalls all required at least a 2km walk, so I satisfied myself with some
pictures of the boulder-choked stream, with piccabeen palms lining the banks.
It was very tropical looking and pretty in the low winter morning sun.
(Speaking of which, Australia has the odd habit of decreeing that seasons start
on the first day of the appropriate month, and not on the solstice/equinox.
When in Rome...)
We then drove through the cane fields to the Bruce Highway, and up to Airlie
Beach. I was once again surprised that Airlie Beach is quite hilly, with a
single main drag filled with nightclubs and throngs of people milling about,
many lacking shirts and shoes, and most not over 25, if not 20. I feel
about 15 years too old for this town--it's definitely set up for young hip
things that are looking to drink and mate! It's also a bit of a yachtie
town, with several marinas hidden in the many inlets and bays and coves.
So all in all, it has that party town feel to it, for sure for sure. I
particularly like the enclosed salt-water lagoon that they just finished next to
the beach, with grass to lay out on and restaurants next to it. It's more
like a fancy water park than a 'lagoon'!
Most of the early part of the afternoon was spent dealing with the dive course details. We filled out forms. We had the mandatory dive physical at a doc-in-a-box place ($44 for about 15 minutes). We tried to figure out why Commonwealth Bank wouldn't let us use EFTPOS to pay for the course (too much money, we figure, $527 for each of us.)
The first two days of the dive course, tomorrow and Monday, are in a pool to the south of town. On Monday afternoon, we climb aboard the dive boat, and spend three nights and three days out on the Barrier Reef, about 100km or so offshore, doing the remainder of our dives. We think the dive course is a very good deal for the amount of money. Should be interesting.
Driving around, we found a pleasant apartment on the top of a building, overlooking the inlet, and set up for the afternoon, doing laundry, catching up on email, and reviewing the dive course materials.
And on that note, well, I really should get back to studying!