Ah, City Life...(A posting by Scott)

 A daisy amongst the daisy sculptures in the Christchurch botanical gardens

We left the cool breezes of Christchurch, New Zealand for the hot, humid weather of Sydney and Cairns, Australia. Our first night was spent in a tiny box of a room just outside of the Sydney International Airport. Pea green walls, no paintings, no shampoo, no curtains, no Kleenex. Nothing—unless you wanted to pay extra for it.

 Punting on the Avon River

We had emailed ahead regarding storing luggage and received assurances that it would be no problem. It wasn’t actually. It was simply a matter of paying the quite expensive charge to “rent” storage space in a locker for each of our suitcases ($8 per day per piece of luggage). Oy.

 Antique Tucker Sno-Cat used in Antarctica

Of course, it was either that or pay $20 more for each kilogram (2.2 pounds) that our luggage would be over the maximum of 20 kilos. Scary!

 Infrared image of one of the grand trees in the garden

We overheard one couple who had to pay an extra $400 at check-in because they were over their allotted weight. So, it was a pretty easy decision to go for the locker arrangement. Just one kicker though—the automated storage locker only takes coins. That means we will need 56 $2 coins.

 Jen checking out the hottest ride in Antarctica--50 years ago.

Needless to say we’ve been on a mission to collect enough coins ever since we deposited our luggage at the hotel. Being “small change creative” has resulted in many interesting scenarios like me and Jen standing in the same line with her purchasing the coffee and me buying the bagels.

The USAP was once the USARP

In Cairns we discovered that it seems all businesses have agreements to promote each other. We assume they all receive some form of kick-back for steering customers one way or the other.

 ECW gear from yesteryear used in Antarctica

This even applies to the doctor’s office where we did our mandatory SCUBA medical examination. 2 ½  hours of sitting in a overcrowded waiting room with the soothing sounds of a child with a broken arm screaming at the top of his lungs, squealing piglets on the overhead TV, and people vomiting in the examination room.

 Yes, they actually used sled dogs on the continent until recently

Oh, and don’t forget the stifling smell of a drug user trying to score some free narcs by posing as an accident victim. Yes, the silence and fresh air of the outer reef will be wonderful indeed!

Christchurch botanical garden conservatory

SCUBA class has been very intense and a tiny bit challenging for Jen. I mean, it’s just not natural to breathe underwater.

 One of the displays from the carnivorous plants show--the displays had audio of the plants talking along with the voices of the insects they eat. Scared some of the small children half to death!

Add to that all of the potential hazards (running out of air, failing to equalize pressure, getting a painful “squeeze”, ruptured eardrums, vertigo, critters…) and you can see how it might take a little while to get used to this new underwater environment. Good thing is she is quickly adapting to being a frogwoman and is very excited about diving in the open waters of the reef!

Mi rosa!

Tomorrow we depart Cairns for 4 days on a live-aboard diving boat. We’ll be visiting several locations on the outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef.

In the rose garden

Water temperatures should be around 80-85 degrees and we will be diving all through the day and into the night. No doubt we’ll be quite pooped when we get back to dry land, but the adventure will be wonderful!

 

 Museum of Modern Art in Christchurch--just 2 blocks away from our B&B