USVI-On-Line

Diana and I took a trip to Australia when she had a conference in Adelaide. If anyone asks you if you want to go to Australia, don’t ask questions, don’t think about. Just say yes.

We started in Northwest Arkansas, flew through Atlanta and LAX to get to Sydney. It took over 30 hours including layovers. Due to the International Date Line, we never saw Easter this year. We left LAX Saturday night and got to Sydney Monday morning. We then took a Qantas flight to Cairns, Queensland. By the way, it is pronounced Cans by the locals. After a day and a half to acclimate, we sailed on a live-aboard dive boat for four days and three nights.

The weather on the Great Barrier Reef was described by the crew as the worst they had seen. A low pressure system set up off the southeast coast of Australia and stayed there for about 10 days. We had rain, three to five foot seas, record tides and minimal visibility. There were strong currents where there were normally none. It got so bad that the captain canceled one of the night dives. Even so, the Great Barrier Reef is spectacular. We included some photos that were not very good because the subject was.

We promised the grandchildren that we would try to find Nemo. Just like the movie, it took a lot of time and we needed to have lots of help – but we did it. On the last day one of the guides took us out and brought us to their home. It was a great finish to the dive trip. I’ll post another video on just the dive trip at a later date.

We flew back to Sydney and spent three full days there. The rain followed us and we had only one dry day. It’s a beautiful city full of older buildings and very contemporary buildings. The tour of the Opera House was very interesting.

After another Qantas flight, we arrived in Adelaide. Diana had a five-day conference and I wandered around the area. Mass transit is very important in Australia. They have light rail systems in most cities. The couple we met on the dive boat live in Sydney. They emigrated from Belgium about 18 months ago. They said the owned two cars in Belgium but now do not own one. They rely on mass transit and taxis to get around.

Here is a link to the video we made.

http://vimeo.com/44818355

JIM

Very cool, Jim! Thanks!

Thanks for sharing your trip down under, Jim. Despite the weather it must have been a very special time.

It was a great trip. We have so much more material that I may make another video with only diving and another for her and the conference.

Thanks for your comments. It is a lot of fun pull the video together too.

JIM

Great video! Brings back wonderful memories.We went to Australia about 12 years ago. It was a fabulous trip. We had three weeks there and we went to Cairns, Sydney and Alice Springs. We did not make it to Adelaide which I hear is fantastic. We were lucky because my in-laws were living there at the time. I have to admit that as fabulous as it was I am not sure that I want to do the flight again. 5 years ago I would of jumped at the chance. Now I am not so sure. Though my husband and older boys (they were 8 and 9 at the time of the trip) would jump at the chance to go again.

How were your Quantas flights? We loved them then. The customer service 10 years ago was fantastic.

I think for us the highlight of our trip was the Outback. If you get a chance to go again try it out. We did a 3 night guided camping trip. I guess the boys were the perfect age for that type of travel which may be why it was so high on our list.

Thanks Mom. Adlelaide is a very nice midsize city. It has most of the features you find in Sydney without the congestion and noise. The flight is certainly a deterrent to going to Australia. I wonder if Captain Cook considered that when he went. We considered making a stop in Hawaii, but passed on that idea. By making the shift to the destination's time zone, we lessened the impact. We tried to get our meal and sleep schedules on Sydney's time while we were traveling. Then repeated it on the way back. Although I would not look forward to the flights, I would go in the morning if I could.

Qantas is not our friend. We were not happy with all the extra charges and they made us miss our flight home. We had to hang around in Sydney for 24 hours because of a late Qantas flight.

We would love to see the Outback. We didn't ahve time to do it all. We had to be selective during our time there. Our highlight was diving the GBR.

JIM

Great pics Jim. I have to ask - should we keep snorkeling STJ - or is it worth the super long flight (underwater-wise only) if we don't dive?

Thanks for sharing!

Cool! I hope to make it there some day!