The tour company picked me up from my hostel and we headed towards the coast, where the Australian version of Torquay was our first stop for a quick coffee break. As we continued down the coastline we passed Winkipop and Bells beaches which are among the best surfing locations in the world. Bells is the only official surfing reserve in Australia and hosted the first modern professional surfing competition in 1973.

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My time in Australia wouldn’t be complete without one more koala sighting, which I had when we stopped at the Kennett River. This was the first time I’d seen them in the wild and, as usual, they were fast asleep at the top of some very tall trees. The nearby parrots were more friendly and one of them sat on my hand while having a late breakfast courtesy of our tour guide. We then continued slightly inland to Maits Rest and took a walk through the temperate rain-forest there, which is part of the Great Otway National Park.

After stopping for lunch at The Roadhouse in Lavers Hill we drove back towards the coastline and one of the highlights of the Great Ocean Road – The Twelve Apostles. This is a collection of rock stacks a short distance from the cliffs. Each stack would have originally been attached to the cliff before the sea eroded purchase cheap viagra an archway which in turn collapased to leave the stack. It is debatable whether there are actually 12 stacks – they are gradually collapsing (most recently in 2005) and new stacks will eventually be formed. Nevertheless, they create a stunning view – one of the most iconic in Australia.

Slightly further down the coastline is Loch Ard Gorge, named after the ship which was wrecked there in 1878. The Loch Ard had left England 3 months earlier headed for Melbourne but heavy fog hid the nearby lighthouse from view and it ran aground on the reef leaving only 2 survivors. There are many more rock formations here too – Muttonbird Island, The Island Archway, and The Razorback. After a quick photo stop at Two Mile Bay (where you can see along much of the coastline back to The Twelve Apostles) we came to the London Arch. This is another famous rock formation which recently went through dramatic change. In a similar way to The Twelve Apostles, the sea eroded two archways through the rock, leaving a natural double-span bridge that was known as London Bridge. In 1990 the arch closer to the cliff collapsed leaving the formation that can be seen today.

Finally, we began the long drive back to Melbourne, which was also the start of my even longer journey home. I collected my bags from the hostel and caught the SkyBus to Melbourne airport ready for my 13 hour flight back to Doha and the further 6 hours to London. The Great Ocean Road was definitely a great way to finish my time in Australia!

The reason for the delay wasn’t particularly clear – either a fault with the plane or because the pilot called in sick (maybe because of Australia Day celebrations the night before?). Either way, a large number of passengers missed connections and had to make alternative arrangements. For me, the 6 hour delay just meant I didn’t arrive in Melbourne until late evening. I checked into my hostel, grabbed a sandwich, and went to bed.

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Tomorrow is my last day in Australia and I’m going buying viagra from canada for an organised tour along the Great Ocean Road.

This morning we did a 6km hike around Kings Canyon. Like most of Central Australia the area used to be under the sea – fossilised water ripple marks can still be seen today. The rock was built up by layers of sediment (which can also be clearly seen) before the sea dried up. Around 350 million years ago a crack formed and erosion gradually cut out the canyon. It is still a relatively wet area and so a wide variety of plant and animal life can be seen. The aborigines only used the canyon as a last resort in times of drought, so that they did not waste its resources unnecessarily. At the bottom of the canyon is a lake surrounded by trees known as the Garden of Eden. We stopped here for a short break (and appropriately ate apples) before having a swim in the water (which is appropriately home to some water snakes). This was the coolest water I’ve been in over the last month, but was still a pleasant temperature. There were many amazing views as we walked around the rim of the canyon – the photos could never do it justice, but I did my best anyway!

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We went back to the campsite for a traditional barbecue lunch – camel burgers for the non-vegetarians. There was also just enough time for one last swim before getting on the new canadian meds road back to Alice Springs. The four wheel drive really paid off when we drove 100km on a dirt track. Not only did this take 160km off the journey that most tour coaches have to take, but it was also another unique (and very bumpy) outback experience. We only saw 3 other vehicles in nearly 2 hours.

Alice Springs seemed remote when I arrived a few days ago, but returning from the outback it feels like a bustling town! I had a few hours back in my hostel to relax and have a shower before meeting up with the rest of my tour group in town for dinner and drinks. Today is Australia Day so most of the local people were out celebrating – Happy Australia Day everyone!!

I’m catching the 7am bus back to the airport tomorrow morning for my flight to Melbourne.

In the morning we took a 3 hour walk through the Valley of the Winds. The 7.5km walk meanders through another nearby set of rock formations known as Kata Tjuta, which means ‘many heads’, each head being a large dome shaped rock. These are of just as much importance to the Anangu people as Uluru, and the walk is carefully planned to avoid areas where the aborigines would prefer visitors not to go. They say the strong winds that pass through the valley are their ancestors speaking to us. The temperature did not go below 28°c overnight and it was already well above 30°c. The walk is closed for safety reasons at 11am when the temperature exceeds 36°c. Despite the temperature though it was well worth doing and the rounded rock formations are fascinating. Halfway around we stopped for refreshments while Belinda explained some of the geology behind the rock formations. Next stop was the picnic area in the Ayers Rock resort for some lunch and a much needed swim in the nearby pool.

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In the afternoon we had a long 3 hour drive to the Kings Creek Cattle Station where we would be camping for the night. On the way we stopped to collect firewood and to look across the desert at Atilla – a rock similar to Uluru but even larger (despite being two metres shorter). It has just as much significance as Uluru, but the latter was chosen for the tourism drive and Atilla is still within private land. Although there is a large campsite at the cattle station, Wayoutback have a special arrangement with the landowners which allowed us to camp a few kilometres down a dirt track – literally in the middle of nowhere. We had a small shelter with running water and near-traditional bush toilet and shower – two small huts down a footpath. The shower has lovely hot water (as the pipes run through the ground) but was covered with ants so most of us went without. The toilet has a family of frogs living inside it – for some reason they seem to like that environment!

We did the initial preparations for dinner and started the campfire – my job was to make the bread from scratch! While dinner cooked on the fire we walked to a slightly higher point so that we could have a good view of the sunset. As the sun went down Belinda provided champagne and canapés, and we also came across some wild camels! We had dinner around the campfire while Belinda told a few stories and then had another night under the stars in a swag.

Yet another early start tomorrow so we can do all our walking before the sun is viagra cheap canada too hot.

Uluru is a 450km drive from Alice Springs. Along the way we stopped briefly at a camel farm. Camels are not native animals but were introduced in the 19th century for expeditions across central Australia. There are now around a million of them which is endangering other native species because of the amount of water they drink. We also stopped off at the Mt Ebenezer Roadhouse where a large collection of aboriginal art was on display.

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When we arrived at Uluru we went to the campsite where we would be staying tonight. Although there is a resort nearby, our area consisted of a small hut for cooking, eating and washing up, and a patch of red sand where we could sleep. After making some sandwiches for lunch we had time for a quick swim in the resort pool – by now the temperature was above 40°c! We then drove for another 30 minutes to the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. This is the site of Uluru itself (also known as Ayers Rock) – a large expanse of rock standing around 350 metres tall in the middle of the desert. It is unique because, other than its size, it is more or less flat on top with very steep sides. It is also of particular significance to the Anangu people – the aborigines who live here.

We visited the cultural centre which explains something about the way aborigines used to live. The tensions caused by western invasion of their land are clear, although many compromises have been made and the site is joint managed between the aboriginal elders and the state government. After driving further inside the park we reached the base of the rock. Visitors are given the choice of climbing up to the top or doing a base walk around it – nearly 11km total. While the aborigines seem to welcome visitors wishing to learn about their culture, they strongly discourage people from climbing their spiritual site. However there is no law against it and unfortunately many do. We did a shortened base walk – the temperature was 44°c and far too hot to attempt the whole distance. Our guide (Belinda) explained the significance of some of the areas we walked through. I then went on a small optional tour led by an aboriginal guide speaking through a translator. He showed us drawings inside caves where children would be taught, explained how they would hunt and find water, and told a couple of the ‘dreamtime’ stories. These stories explain how the land (with which they have an inseparable relationship) was formed and include their moral code. They believe that the rock was created by the spirits of their ancestors, and can explain many of its features in this way. The stories are usually passed between grandparents and grandchildren to maximise the information transfer. The translator also demonstrated how they make food and medicine from the surrounding plants. Only small westernised aboriginal settlements still exist and the true culture (which is at least 40,000 years old) has essentially been lost over the last few centuries.

Just before sunset we drove back to the campsite and walked to a nearby lookout. Uluru is said to have many different ‘moods’ as it changes colour with the weather and time of day. At sunset it is supposed to turn red but in reality this only happens a handful of purchase viagra in australia times each year, and we weren’t the lucky ones! The sunset itself was very picturesque though. Meanwhile Belinda prepared dinner back at camp which we ate by candlelight. She then showed us how to make up a swag – the authentic Australian way of sleeping in the bush. It’s a bit like a strong outer sleeping bag and does not cover your head so we literally fell asleep under the thousands of stars which was an amazing experience. Even at night-time it is still very hot though – I drank over 5 litres of water today!

Tomorrow is an even earlier start so we can be at the lookout by sunrise!

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Unfortunately time doesn’t allow me to see much of Alice Springs itself, which used to be inhabited by the Arrernte Aboriginal people. A telegraph station was later built here to link Adelaide in the south to Darwin in the north, and this opened up the interior of Australia for permanent European settlement. In addition to the telegraph station, one of the main attractions is the Royal Flying Doctor Service base. The town is primarily used by tourists as a base to explore the outback, particularly Ayers Rock.

I spent the afternoon settling into the hostel, repacking my bags (again!), and cooling off in the swimming pool. Tomorrow I’m going on a 3 day safari into viagra jelly uk the outback, which includes camping in the bush and cooking over a fire! Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t include wireless internet access so although I’ll be writing my blog as I go, I won’t be able to publish it until I’m back on Wednesday night.

While we had breakfast the boat was moved again to an area called ‘Tennis Courts’ on the Flynn Reef for our last two dives. On the first we saw a Titan Triggerfish, so called because when protecting the nest and feeling under threat it raises its dorsal fin in a trigger-like action. Although not particularly dangerous, these fish will chase and bite divers if they get too close. We also saw another Green Sea Turtle and a Pipefish. The highlights of our final dive included seeing a couple of Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse. These fish stay in areas called ‘cleaning stations’ and, as other fish swim through, they will use their mouths to clean them of unwanted parasites. Sometimes the wrasse will even swim inside the mouths of larger fish to clean the inside! By hovering in the water quite close to the cleaning station we were able to have our fins cleaned for a few minutes. This also prompted Steve and I to do a spontaneous underwater rendition of the Car Wash from ‘Shark Tale’ (Oscar, played viagra propranodol by Will Smith in the film, is a Cleaner Wrasse). This progressed into the ‘Sprinker’ and the ‘Macarena’ – maybe we’d had too much nitrogen after all! On the subject of films, during one of our previous dives we found Nemo – a Clownfish, which is a particular breed of anemonefish. While navigating back to the boat we were distracted by a Hawkbill Turtle and the current took us slightly off course (we weren’t the only ones!) so had a speedboat tow back to Scuba Pro II.

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Once everyone was safely back onboard, the boat quickly left the reef for the three hour journey back to Cairns. This took us straight through a storm and so it was a particularly rough ride. The wind was in excess of 40 knots, and there was a swell of up to 3 metres. Almost everything (and everyone) on the boat was thrown around – saucepans fell out of cupboards, drink cans exploded, part of the ceiling in the dining area fell down, and we exhausted our supply of sick bags. Fortunately I escaped with a couple of minor bruises, and proved that I definitely don’t suffer from seasickness. Overall it was a really good trip from start to finish, and in total I spent about 10 hours underwater on the reef.

In the evening most of the divers and divemasters met in town for dinner and drinks followed by the Woolshed nightclub. While a few managed to keep going until 3am, I headed back to my hostel at about 1am ready for another early start. Tomorrow I fly from Cairns to Alice Springs, right in the centre of Australia.

While we had a break for lunch, the boat was moved to a slightly different place on the Flynn Reef for our afternoon and evening dives. Although other divers saw a few sharks yesterday, Steve and I saw one for the first time this afternoon – a Whitetip Reef Shark. We also spotted a Kuhl’s Stringray and followed it for a while. In the break between afternoon and evening dives there was a Green Sea Turtle and Giant Manta Stingray swimming just off one side of the boat.

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We stayed at the same site again for our night dive, but this time went in buddy pairs instead of groups. As we prepared our equipment a number of fish could be seen off the back of the boat including some sharks. Some of the smaller fish were even jumping out of the water onto the entry platform, presumably to get away from the sharks – meanwhile we were jumping in! We quickly moved away from the boat and towards the coral wall. There were many more fish than there had been on the previous night dive, perhaps because there were fewer divers in the same place. The highlight of the dive though was when we returned towards the boat, as it attracts a large number of fish. Amongst the Giant Trevallies and Red Bass we could see pairs of large green eyes in the darkness – four generic viagra from canada or five Grey Reef Sharks circling. There was definitely a buzz among all the divers as we got back onto the boat – this was probably the best dive of the trip so far!

For the rest of the evening we played cards and talked about the day’s diving. Everyone quickly drifted off to bed though, ready for our even earlier wakeup call tomorrow morning.

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Despite the fairly rough trip out to the reef (seasickness tablets were strongly recommended!) everyone was looking forward to getting into the water to see one of the best dive sites in the world. There were four dives planned today, the first two at Milln Reef. As soon as we arrived, our Irish divemaster (Chris) went through the plan for the dive, including a rough route and maximum depth/time limits. As a certified diver my dives are mainly unguided, so I can explore the reef with my buddy (Steve). We put on all our equipment, ran through the safety checks, and then jumped off the back of the boat! The water temperature is 29°c at the moment and feels more like a warm bath than the sea. Much of the coral reef is in shallow water so we stayed at around 8 metres throughout. This also means we can get about an hour buy cialis viagra underwater each dive! The reef is fascinating and teeming with life. As well as plenty of fish (we saw lots of Butterflyfish, Parrotfish and a Lionfish among others) there is every variety of coral imaginable, and a good number of sea cucumbers. Other than a couple of pool refreshers this was my first dive since Tenerife 8 years ago, and it was great to get back in the water again.

The rest of the day was non-stop. Lunch was served as soon as we surfaced from the first dive, and within an hour we were back in the water again for the second. This time we swam along a coral wall which stands in about 8 metres of water and reaches to just below the surface. We were out of the water just long enough for some tea and cake while the boat moved to the next site, another wall a little further along Milln Reef in 12 metres of water. This time we saw a number of Anenomefish which have a symbiotic relationship with the anemone (a type of plant) they live in. The plant provides protection for the fish (it can sting potential predators) while the fish keeps predators away from the plant. We also met a very small (and unidentified!) yellow fish which followed us for 20 minutes all the way back to the boat.

After dinner we prepared for our first night dive, which was at the same site so we would know our way around. We had an extended briefing, and were reassured that any sharks that might come out of the darkness are normally not aggressive. The storm that had developed while we were having dinner also added to the slightly nervous atmosphere! This time we were divided into small colour-coded groups (with glow sticks to match) and each group went on a guided dive with one of the divemasters. Although many fish are hiding from predators at night, there is plenty of other marine life on show, and it is a completely different experience to diving during the day. Shining torches into the darkness picked up many pairs of shrimp eyes. We also saw a large (30-40cm) crayfish swimming along the bottom, and some worms spiralling through the water. Finally it was back to the boat for some cake before everyone had an early night (except me – I was busy writing this blog!).

Tomorrow is another full day of diving starting at 7:30am.

After checking into my hostel I went for a walk around Cairns. It is a small modern city in the state of Queensland, and the most northern point of my journey before I start heading back down towards Melbourne. A few hours was sufficient to walk around most of the city, with the main highlight being the marina and nearby lagoon. Although there are relatively few points of interest, it is a good base for exploring the surrounding area female viagra jelly of tropical rain forest. It also has the best access to the Great Barrier Reef, which is why I’m here!

In the evening I spent some time looking around the night markets, and experienced one of the frequent tropical storms they have in this part of Australia. After doing my best to dry off, I went to ‘Reef Teach’ which is a two hour presentation by a marine biologist explaining the large variety of fish and coral life that can be found on the reef. The Great Barrier Reef is around the size of the UK and is the only living organism that can be seen from space. It was particularly interesting to hear how the coral grows and recovers from damage caused by cyclones etc, but yet is so finely balanced that overfishing of just one type of fish can have a devastating effect. Perhaps the most important part though was the description of things to avoid – the most dangerous being the Box Jelly Fish, which is thought to be the most venomous animal in the world.

Tomorrow is another very early start – I’m off to see the reef up close!