Friday, May 16 Dive, Dive, Dive

Another early start (notice a theme!) as we join up with Ningaloo Reef Dreaming team at7:15 am. By 8:15, we have picked up our equipment for a day of diving on the reef. As we approach Bundegi Beach, we can hear the surf crashing and our dive guide Westie (oddly reminiscint of a Kiwi Paulie Shore) reminds us that the faster we load, the more time on the dive we can get. He points out the small, bright orange dive boat that is making its way to the pier as we unload our scuba gear.

That's when we notice a slight problem. The pier is not long enough, so the boat practically has to run aground to get close...which makes it very susceptible to every wave hitting the beach. It took 3 tries to get close enough to load the first passenger who had to step down from the broken spar on the jetty to the slippery top chrome rail. I wasn't sure how long the boat would stay near the pier so I went next...like climbing aboard a bucking bronco. I made the leap of faith, made it safely through into the cabin, and promptly wiped out in the water that was spilling over the deck of the boat from the crashing waves. More victims climbed aboard, and 2 times they had to back away and make the approach again. Crashing into the pier as we came in seemed the only way to ensure the boat was close enough to board. As we completed the bucket chain of scuba equipment, the engine began to sputter. The taciturn Captain Gerry didn't wait for us to sit down, but backed us away from the crashing surf.

First mate Pete, politely asked a diver to move, before diving headfirst into the port engine. As we fought the 3 m swell I wondered about how long it would take the powerless boat to break up once it hit the reef. With Pete's attention, power returned to the boat, and we put-put-putted off to dive in Lighthouse Bay.

Our first dive was a circular bit of reef called Gulliver's. While circling the reef, I spied an enormous sting ray. I tried signalling to Nathan. Since you can't talk effectively with a breathing apparatus in your mouth, I relied on my powers of mime which were obviously weak because Nathan continued swimming. At the last second, the ray shot from beneath him in a cloud of sand. The shock in Nathan's eyes suggested he also had visions of Steve Irwin's demise playing in his head. We were calmed by watching a sea turtle serenly swim above us.

Pulses race again when we came upon another diver who was using about $5000 worth of photographic equipment to shoot something under a ledge. When he had taken the 15th photo (the one that's probably on the cover of national geographic), we got our chance to take a peak at what was the ledge. It was an octupus. The body was about as big around as a dinner plate, with long legs wrapped tight around a rock. It had been distrubed by the photographer, so slided along the bottom to find another rock. When it found a suitable purchase it not only changed its colour, but its skin mimicked the rough texture of the coral around it. It became practically invisible. Clearly these are alien beings who will one day take over the world.

Our second dive of the day was at a linear stretch of reef called Blizzard. After watching the serious diver/photographer aboard with envy, Nathan decided to leave the camera behind and just have a "free" dive. We glided down the mooring line to a spot near the beginning of the reef. Almost immediately, Nathan began wishing for the camera. Approaching the reef, we encountered on olive sea snake about 2 m long and 6 in diameter. It swam away unconcerned. We found 5 or 6 more along our dive. I only freaked out once, and it began to swim STRAIGHT at me. I backpedaled rapidly (which I am sure was hilarious because I practically tripped over my own fins) before it changed direction and slithered away. (This freak out was actually for good reason, as the sea snakes have the most lethal venom of any snake in the world. They almost never bite divers, and probably couldn't get through neoprene anyway, but in a country of deadly critters, it's only fitting that the first snake we see in the wild is the most venomous. -nm-)

Our photographer friend took another 25 pictures of a lion fish, with its spikey fins arrayed in a deadly display. Each fin is coated in a neurotoxin which paralyzes its prey and any unsuspecting diver that touches it. Luckily Nathan did not have his camera (grrrrr) or he might have been tempted into range of its lethal spines.

During our swim we came upon another mooring line. Each of us believed we needed to head in opposite directions to surface near the boat. We tried to disagree underwater about which way to go. Our rehearsed range of handsignals didn't cover this eventuality. As we couldn't agree, we pretty much surfaced where we were...which turned out to be a long way from the boat. If you don't dive, you may not realise that swimming on the surface is much harder than underwater. For one thing, on the surface you bob along with every wave (which makes some of us seasick). After much whining on my part (and incredible patience on Nathan's part, not to mention towing Kris for some of the way. -nm-), we climbed rather tired back on to the boat.

After a respite and a sea lunch, we headed to our final dive site "Banana". This was an amazing dive. It wasn't a big bit of reef, so we felt relaxed and comfortable taking our time to explore the whole reef. The coral was impressive, bright colours, incredible variety, with millions of fish darting in and out. We saw more sea snakes and another sting ray, but there was no more adrenaline. We had achieved a Zen-like state of tranquility. It's hard to convey, but for my first time diving I really understood why people get hooked on scuba. I could have stayed there for hours and just watched it all. Unfortunately, my diminishing air wouldn't allow an all-day stay.

As we slowly surfaced, our guide Westie removed his regulator and practiced blowing"smoke rings"--well oxygen rings. He convinced Nathan to give it a try, but I was not so relaxed from this diving trip that I was willing to take out my regulator and give it ago. The ride back to Bundegi Beach was uneventful, the swell had diminished as the tide had gone out. Unfortunately, this also meant we couldn't actually get close to the pier, so the captain just ran her aground on the sandy beach and we climbed down to the beach.

By 4, we had grabbed a couple of beers and loaded up with gas (at $7/gallon, for those of you keeping track), and had decided to head south to find a camp ground. I looked quickly at a map and suggested Quobba Bay. After a quick stop to mark the crossing of the tropic of capricorn, we drove off into the sunset. What we didn't realize is that Quobba is about 200 k south of where we thought, with NOTHING in between.

When we finally arrived at 8:30 pm, we decided it would be nice to shower the salt off and turned towards a caravan park. 20 minutes later, we arrived to find that we couldn't find a camp spot or the shower blocks. With a sigh, Nathan drove off to the beach to camp along the water. There was no sandy beach here, only rocky ledges that left no way for setting up the tent let alone sleeping. We finally found a sandy place littered with campers and cars but were too tired to keep driving. It was almost 10 pm. We quickly erected the tent on a soft sandy spot (by now we have practice!), and then ate a quick meal over our miracle stove.

The soft sand lured us to sleep. We were too tired even for cribbage.

Tomorrow...Blow Holes