The Aussie Adventure II: March 2007

Jump on the beach!

Mission Beach...the last day...
Check out what we did:

Celebrating a successful weekend...

Glad to be here... couse look what I did!

Jump on the beach

The Dore family are an adventurous bunch and the three brothers do skydiving all around the world. As this is something I’ve always wanted to try I decided to do my first tandem-jump on one of the best skydiving spots in the world, on the beach. Izzy, Jamie and Michelle’s brother’s fiancée was my tandem instructor and game me the rush of my life jumping off a small plane at 14,000 ft. The freefall was crazy and she let me fly the parachute after opening it. It was a beautiful clear day, you could see the Reefs and Dunk Island. We were the last to jump off the plane (which was filled up with 5 jumpers) and the adrenalin rush was unbelievable. There was a moment when we were freefalling when I thought this was it, the end, but I loved it. Hooked on jumping for sure! Landing on the beach was incredible and Henkka, my personal paparazzi followed our progress from below. You really get a sense of time freefalling. Sensory overloaded minutes that came back to me days and days later. You just remember the feeling, get pumped up and smile. Great experience, I recommend it to everybody, talk about stress-relief. Nothing for the queasy though, as even I felt like I left my stomach behind in the plane when freefalling. Great fun!

The line-up for the day...

Waiting...waiting...

I get a quick lesson from Izzy...

Castaway beach...where I land...hopefully...

The shute is open...

Dunk Island in the distance...

Coming down...a perfect landing...

Great to be back..

Adrenaline rush...get me back up there...

The beautiful sunset...the last in Australia!

Guess what! We sold the car! At last! An army couple in Townsville took the diseased Jeep off our hands and made us very happy with a fair deal. We immediately rebooked our tickets back home and headed off to Sydney. After nine hours we landed in Bangkok and now we are in Thailand. Yes, Thailand! We are in Bangkok for the weekend and then off to Phuket, where Henkka’s friend Tiina lives, to do some serious diving and R&R. We are planning to hang around in Thailand until end of April and then we will be coming home to Helsinki in time for Vappu!

Our Aussie adventure was great, a trip of a lifetime even if we decided to only stay for two months. We managed to see and do most of what we wanted to in Australia but decided not to work there, instead treating it as a holiday and coming home to family and friends. Australia is a wonderful country with great people and weather, but at the moment we felt we still had unfinished business at home. So, Thailand and then we are coming home! So we will see a lot of you guys soon enough!

Mission Beach!

At last, we saw what we came for! The Great Barrier Reef in it’s magnificent glory! We had the best time ever in Mission Beach (two hours south from Cairns) where we spent a long weekend at our friends Michelle, Jamie and Bonnie’s house. On Friday we went out in their boat to do water sports off Dunk Island (a resort island about 15 minute by boat off Mission Beach). They had all geared up with wakeboards, surfboard and some discs. I had the best instructor ever in Michelle who did the discs with me and got me up and on the go most of the time. Surfing behind the boat was excellent and after a brief affair in the water it was no problem whatsoever. I found a new hobby, I just LOVE water sports…especially with the warm water here you don’t have to worry about freezing. The middle-aged rich people staying at the Dunk Island resort had something to watch as Greg, Michelle, Jamie, Henkka and I did our best to impress in the bay waters.

Michelle and me on the discs...

Ooops! Going down for a drink...

Henkka learned his lesson about letting go of the rope in time...ouch!

Greg goes for a jump on his wakeboard...

A happy surfer...me!

Riding after the boat...
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Yesterday we had the Great Barrier Reef adventure with what turned out to be the best weather of the year at the Reef. Calm waters and sunshine made for a spectacular undersea adventure. Jamie spear fished on the depths and caught us dinner, a big saltwater trout and two big crayfish. He later threw them on the barbecue in true Australian tradition.

I spent hours snorkeling and saw so many different fish, reef, underwater mussels, clams, snakes, slugs and even a reef shark that swam up to me a couple of times. We had company on the surface with dolphins dancing around us making the trip back to shore even more magical. I saw so many different fish (even Nemo!) that it’s hard to even remember now, a complete sensory overload with colors and movement all around me. The huge schools of fish would just swim around me, small fish and big ones with no worries about what we were up to trying to catch dinner. The jellyfish were out in their thousands, which was a bit freaky at first but most turned out to be harmless and with so much to see you forget they are even there and just push them out of the way. It was a perfect day and we saw so much that I couldn’t almost sleep just remembering all the life below the surface.

The reef as seen from above...pictures from below will be developed later!

The hunt is on...Jamie finding the good spots to spearfish...

Jamie and his prey!

Michelle and me happy after our snorkling...

The dolphins followed us home...

Dinner!

Henkka in a "Swedish-colored" stingersuit...

Dinner "al fresco" at the Dore residence...

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Up on the New Horizon resort, a few minutes drive from where we were staying we took a break in the warm pool. Bonnie 3 ½ months old had a good time in her new swimming gear.

Happy hour in the pool....

Check out this beauty we found lurking outside the window...

And this fella in the garden...

We had visitors in the backyard...that had no manners!

Checking us out...

The big butterflies...

Breakfast on the patio with the Dore girls, Bonnie and Michelle...

Home Hill...again...

The "mini"

When we were in Home Hill we also enjoyed the ”traditional” Australian Sunday with a morning “barbie” (Barbecue, that is…), followed by a tour of the Cy’s sugarcane farm, a spin around in his “Mini” on the driveway, and shooting some coconuts in the backyard. Just another lazy afternoon that is…Cy, our host for the day, had built up a home-wired “Mini”. You had to sit on the backseat as the engine was taking up the front. The car had a few overheating problems (just like our Jeep!) and we rushed to water down the engine after it smoked itself up. It was a fun day with big dogs, small cars and tasty sugarcane. Here are some pictures that explain more than words…