We left Gomani Bungalows at 09:00 to go snorkelling at Dolphin Harbour. Before we embarked the boat we had a short walk out dodging sea urchins as the tide was out. With the shore still in sight the engine of the boat was cut and we watched dolphins swimming all around us! Many people were trying to swim with the dolphins but the dolphins were far too intelligent and fast for the human snorkellers and no one in the water succeeded in swimming with them.
We spent the next hour in shallower waters being graced with the company of numerous aquatic life. There were over a dozen species on one coral, mostly very colourful yellows and silvers, zebra fish, blue/silver fish, black dotted fish, very long thin silver fish with dorsel fins and yellow and black dotted dogfish. [Editors Note: I later became more familiar with species of the aquatic world and identified fish by name not description!] It was wonderful to be swimming in such warm, clear and pleasant waters. I swam and skindived down 2 to 3 metres between some coral reefs and emerged through a school of brown fish. There were millions of tiny silver fish swimming at the surface. It was a perfect opportunity to practise our skindiving and snorkel displacement techniques. The black and white zebra fish were the most inquisitive. There were a couple of them who were brave enough to swim within a metre of me and swam towards me but soon swam away from me when I outstretched my hand.
In the afternoon, following a lunch by the ocean, where we were served fish with octopus in coconut sauce, rice and chapatis, I took to the Great Ocean Divers PADI dive resort 15 minutes down the road from Gomani Bungalows, to get a feel for what we might expect from an overseas dive centre. I was pleasantly surprised. Despite the chappy in the shop not having a clue he instructed us to wait for the divemaster, Barry, to return from the ocean. After a short wait Big Heiko, Heiko Small and I had the undivided attention of Barry and we visually inspected the scuba gear on offer. It all looks very new and in excellent condition. Barry told us about the dive sites and what life we could expect to see at each site. Feeling confident about the whole affair Ian and I have decided to lavish USD 70 each for the treat.
As the sun set this evening I glanced over the ocean to see a dash of orange in the sky. It began to fall away to the left and I thought it was a flare. As I watched the orange glow metamorphasised and eventually turned into a full moon having emerged from behind clouds. It was amazing to watch, such a wonderful sight!
We were taken to a restaurant just around the corner along the beach for a traditional fish buffet. Georgie made a statement about the dinner when it arrived, picking up on a theme which had been running since the trip commenced when Terry-Lynn discovered she had a particular aversion to fish being served with its head still attached, 'it's kingfish. It is a real fish but without a head'. Everyone laughed but I got the giggles as I found it more amusing than most. Terry-Lynn's dislike of fish with heads caused many a joke throughout the tour.
There was a four inch gecko running up and down the corner of the wall behind my bed.
Copyright 2002 Helen Fuller. All rights reserved.