When I got back to Cairns I booked by scuba diving for a couple of days time and booked a tablelands tour for the day aswell. The tour was ok, not that great due to weather (constant rain) but it was better than doing nothing. The best bit was a stop at a chocolate and cheese factory. Free tastings of everything (made me very happy) and we got to see the factory itself and the cows. I grew quite fond of a baby calf, mainly because it didn't have any teeth and the longest tounge I have ever seen. lol. The day after I hung out with the old crowd for the day and said goodbye to Fanely (I was on the boat for 5 days).
The next morning it was an early wake up: 7:00 meeting by the boat. The bonus was an incusive breakfast: bacon and egg bap :) The boat we were on for the morning was for the day trippers; everyone staying longer was transferred before lunch time onto a bigger boat. This was my home for 5 days, and it was better than I could have asked for. The crew were amazing, and it was a really spacious beautiful boat. When we weren't diving we were either chilling out in the lounge area, chilling out on the upper deck, or eating some of the most amazing food. The y also had a didge onboard, which I took great pleasure in playing and teaching others to play. The cook was a legend and being me I instantly became friends with the cook through my continuous requests for seconds. At first I thought I was being a little cheeky, but I was soon to find out how much food was left over after each meal!
Visibility underwater was poor to say the least. For the 5 days I was on the boat it rained every day. There were patches of sunshine inbetween, sometimes a few hours, but it was mostly wind and rain. It was a shame because what I did see was fantastic, and it would have been a dream to be down there in perfect weather. At the same time, I did have some amazing moments due to the conditions. One that sticks in mind was when I saw a napoleon fish swimming past me around 6 metres above my head. (A napoleon fish is a giant fish 1-2m long with a hump on it's head). It was beautiful because I could only make out it's silhouette against the sky due to the sediment blocking any detailed viewing. I had only admired the sighting for a moment when eight more napoleons came swimming behind the first. It was beautiful. one of the best things about scuba is the lack of sound. It's very slow and peaceful. I did around 14 dives in 5 days and saw so many amazing things: I saw napoleon fish, lion fish (red ones and black ones), groupers, Christmas tree worms, green turtles, parrot fish, wrass, angel fish, clown fish, sea cucumbers, urchins, shrimp, sting rays and a cuttle fish to name a few. No sharks, but I saw them in Thailand :)
After three days, my jolly "guest" status was no more, and I became a "hostie". This was a deal I'd struck with the boat that allowed me to stay on two more days in return for some work. Basically I would serve, clean and organise breakfast lunch and dinner, clean bathroom, make beds and do some laundry each day in return for accommodation on the boat, three meals a day and three dives a day as well; a deal worth $120 a day. I was happy, and the work was actually better than being a guest. I had an amazing team behind me and we made it so much fun! We would sing and dance and play stupid games while we were working and I loved every moment of it. I also got a hell of a lot done, and the crew really appreciated it: when I left they said if I every wanted a job in Cairns I should drop into the office and they'd give me one as a crew member :) Bingo! Next summer's organised already then :)
My favourite time on the boat was actually clearing up dinner. Sounds strange, but we would all pitch in (except this one guy and his gf, from Germany, they were lazy &*)%%# to say the least, but the crew knew it) and we would sing and dance and eat the left overs. Sometimes we fed the fish off the side of the boat, and they were big fish! After all of the clearing up we were then allowed to take as much food as we wanted (YES!) and sit down to eat, and we'd earned it. We would then do our night dive and be back in time to serve and eat dessert :D
The night diving was fun, but not that much going on. I know it may sound obvious... but everything's asleep! The best thing was seeing the silhouette of my buddy ahead of me with only the torch light ahead. The other memorable thing underwater was one particular wrass. At around 10cm long Pill the wrass (yes he was famous on the boat) wasn't the scariest of fish, but he had a trick. There was a place we dived called the Coral Gardens, and if a man would kneel down in the small sandy patch in the middle of the coral, Phil saw his chance. This little Bas---d apparently had a taste for ear hair, and would dig deep to get at it. Now when I knelt down Phil came a-swooping and went for a proper mining expedition. It felt like I had burst an eardrum... my regulator came shooting out of my mouth when I screamed in pain and I had to grab it quickly to breathe. Panick stricken, I swam away very fast and finished my dive in a flustered state. When I got up onto the boat, I told everyone about my experience, and they were all like "Oh, yeah, that's Phil... does it all the time." I was shocked! Could they not have warned me! "Do not kneel in the sand patch!!" or something to that effect. My ear hurt for 48 hours after that, it was so painful. 24 hours and 4 neurofen after it happened, we dived the same reef, and I told myself to avoid that sandy patch at all costs. Some how, twenty minutes in, I thought to myself "this area's pretty... I've been here before... I know that patch of sand... I recognise that wrass... the bugger's coming straight for me!" Like a bat out of hell, no jokes, the little fella was darting straight for me. I had been clever, and put my mask straps over my ears just in case, but none the less I was freaked. I started swimming away. He was still following. I swam faster. He was gaining. I eventually had to bat him away before he gave up the pursuit! He liked our first encounter, he was coming for seconds. The two girls I was diving with were fine, Phil doesn't go for girls... hence the theory that he likes ear hair. They found the whole thing hilarious, and so did the crew when they told them about my little friend's attempts.
All in all I had a great time on the boat, the best time, and I was honestly heartbreaking to leave. I left a lot of good friends behind there. The only disappointment was not eating Phil, but I'll be back, and I'm bringing a harpoon.
Back on land I met up with Fanely and the Cairns crew for one more day before my flight to Sydney. In another random coincidence we bumped into two girls we'd met on Mission Beach, and they tagged along for the evening. A few drinks at a posh lounge bar a friend worked at followed by a trek out of town to Noah's basement... sounds dodgy I know, but we had an awesome time having a house party in the basement listening to old school rock metal. Fanely and I walked back in the early morning to catch some sleep before I had to fly. I left for the airport at midday, leaving an upset Fanely behind, but we're still in contact and she's invited me snowboarding with her near where she lives... I knew there was a reason I chose a French girl :)
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