DOWN UNDER: April 2012

Our trip was amazing!! We started it on Tuesday directly after school:) First everyone catched up at the dive-shop. There we went into two cares for going on with Neil, Lee, Hannes, Silja and me for the 4 hour drive up to Bundaberg:)

I know you know I've already been there, but this time i wasn't there for visiting my family (which would have been nice as well;)) but I was there for getting on a ship for 6 more hours^^ well we loaded all our dive gear and luggage on it and went on:) The night was horrible, everybody tried to sleep but i think nobody did really well... it was just a raft way, that's the reason why everybody was tired on the next day. It was ANZAC-day and actually there should have been a ceremony for everybody while sunset, but nobody woke us up, so we missed out:( we came a few minutes to late and the sun was already kind of up and the ceremony finished. damn:( but it was still awesome:) we had breakfast and setted up for getting ready for our first dive:) By the way I'll might quickly introduce our awesome crew;)

The Captain, naah... Skipper!
The cook, Corby, produces yummy food and saves stupid girls from getting hurt by knives!
The dive security-man, also called private bodyguard, Lee!
The how-to-touch-things (you should never ever touch things underwater!) and underwater dance instructor, Neil!
The watch-me instructor, Steve
Our wonderful Homestay-Coodinator , Helen
Sophia: Laverne
Janna: Shirly
Charly: Angle
Katy: Aussie (Austria+Australia)
Silja: Silli?!
Niko: Wombat
Hannes: Max
and last but not least me, Blade

While Lee looked after our gear, Neil and Steve explained us a few things. We all checked our BCD's (buoyancy control/ compression device's), gas cylinders and did a buddy check like before every dive:)

for the OWDC (Open Water Dive Course) we had a buddy they gave us. My dive-buddy was Max. After our checks we went into the water, the first time about a ladder but the other times about an 2 meter high spot where we had to jump into the water while fixing the horizon with the eyes. I loved it:) Unfortunately it was forbidden to jump down from the roof of the boat which was about 4 meters high and would have been sooo much fun!:) Damn:( Lee said he would have done it with us, but Neil said it's to dangerous- anyways, I can also understand Neil, so it's alright:) but still a shame:(( And the water Oh my gosh! It was sooo blue and clear, you could look down to a depth of over 10 meter and still see the ground! I loveeed it:)) to jump in there would have been the best thing ever:D

Whatever:D:D back to diving:) Our first Course dive was about 9 meters deep where the temperature was still awesome and something about 26-29'C and it was just incredible how sunny it was:) After 23minutes we went out of the water. In this dive we mainly did the dive course skills like in the next 3 dives as well:) One of the biggest rules is: "Take pictures, leave bubbles" Never touch something and never take something with you, you never ever know how it could react or what it could do to you! The next dive at this day was about the same length and depth. After this second dive we were all really tired so we just decided to cancel the next dive and do it the next day. Instead of doing another dive we went to Lady Musgrave Island. There we were walking around for nearly an hour:) We saw quite a few nice things, colourful crabs, a colourful sunset (my first australian sunset over the ocean!), an "island-man" and a little baby turtle!! Awww:)) Such a cutie!:)

When we went back on the boat the cook gave us some sweeties, but at the end we recognised that it was some wierd life-saving-food:D:D After that we just had dinner and watched a movie:) Before we went to bed Angle and me saw some LIGHT-FISHS! They were so cool!:D:D This night we all slept miles better:)

We woke up because of the sunrise in the moring:) and it was awesome again, after breakfast, we finished our dive-course with two other dives:) We did skills again and at the end of both dives we were sitting next to each other just waiting for their judgement. We all passed it!:D Jippie:)) Now we were certificated divers:) Our own risk - our own fun, started after lunch! We went out of the Lady Musgrave Lagune next to another island. They told us you can find unexploded bombs there because of the second world war and that we shouldn't touch them if we would find them... we'll nice thought^^ We finally went down without seeing them. Instead of that we saw turtles!! 3 huge turtles:) I really had to think of Nemo and that this turtles might have an aussie-accent as well, and I just had to smile:)) they were so close, just like 30 cm in front of us:)) I loooved them!!<3<3 after that we swam through billion little fishes which were building a wall and first i was just diving really close to them and staring at them and every single fish starred back, it was so funny:D then i just swam through it and they just opened a way for you. It was amazing!:) This time Katy was my dive buddy:) Was pretty good:) It was a shame that Silli didn't saw it but her ear was saw so she wasn't allowed to get down which was a pity:( but thank god that she passed the course and just had to stay out of the water after it... in the evening we did a night dive:) I was pretty exciting:) we just went into the water when the sunset was over so suddenly everything was dark.

We had torches to guide the way:) I was buddy with Neils and we were swimming at the really end of all. Unfortunately we had Laverne and Shirly in front of us who weren't diving... they were walking over the ground:D:D was so funny:D but at the end we just saw sand because of them^^ Nah, actually we saw a few really cool fishes where you could look through and stuff:)) but it was also kind of scary because it was so dark... well this night after a wonderful desert (vanilla ice cream with milo), Silli and I went on the roof of the boat and where watching the awesome night sky without any lights... it was sooo amazing! I would have wished to have an telescope I recon it would have been the best view ever! out on the ocean, with no lite and no clouds:)) Awwweeesooome*__* :))
The next morning we had our last dive:( we went about 20 meters deep. The water was still crystal-blue and you could see everything!:) this time I was Silja's buddy:)

We went down and while getting down it was just amazing! all these bubbles from the other divers came up and we were diving down through them because we were the last ones who went down:) As we were sitting at the bottom then I had a look at the sky and it was just awesome! It was heaps of water over us and wahh:) this feeling! You just can't describe it!:)) we saw parrot fishes and other stuff and were really happy to see all this fishes! There were many really colourful ones on this last dive!:) After we came back, we started filling out our log-books for our dives:) And the skipper started the way back home. As soon as the boat started to move everybody was seasick... they were all laying around and some where vomiting... well... The skipper, the cook, lee, nail, silja and me didn't went sick:) Silja and me where just sitting at the top of the boat and watching the horizon while driving through huge waves:)

we were sitting there for 2 hours, sometimes calm, most times singing and a few times, lee or neil were just sitting next to us, listening and singing as well or just enjoying our wonderful company;D:D It was just awesome, sitting up there, you just felt like the king over the whole ocean!:)) at the end we were standing up and dancing! at least we have a wonderful diving dance now which matches perfect to the song "good feeling" from flo rida:D and when you were jumping while the boat started to go down you just had the feeling to fly far away:) we did it until Steve told us off because we were close to go overboard^^ after this exhausting and wonderful time we went into the captain's cabin. there silja had a sleep and I had to drive the boat for a while, in this time Corby made lasagne :)) Yum!! When he came back I went for a sleep as well:) After I had lunch and by the way: this day I became my first soft drink on the whole day, because i forgot to bring some my own:( damn. but finally I got passionfruit-drinks and coke:D after the lunch and while everybody else was still asleep we made the dishes with our cook:D

It was pretty funny because the boat was driving wild... he actually saved Silja from huge knives and me from setting the boat on fire... and doing other stupid things... Good job man!:D
When we arrived the harbour we took all our luggage in our cars said good by to the Skipper and the Cook and left Bundaberg, while driving past huge sugar plant ages... to eat that all.... whoaa(: whatever- on the way home we were sitting in the same cars and this time we were just singing the whole 4 hours:)) When I came home this night I pretty much had no voice anymore:D:D But it was the best way-back-home-trip I've ever had:D It was just fun- until the really last end!:)

Big thank you to everybody who made this trip that awesome:)) <3

Here a few more things:

snorkler-lee

snorklers

neils-whales

orange cutter

Actually I've never been scared of cocroaches before. They were just there, sometimes. and it was yuck but I never felt like I hate them or something:D That changed... Carla is terrifieded by cocroaches! She starts screaming as soon as she sees one. Well, and last time I stayed at Siljas, we were terrifided aswell, because there was a cocroach behind her clothes... and we were talking about it, and the sounds they make and at the end we were so scarred. she was like making this cocroach sound and trying t tickel me and I was just like stop it!:D At the end when I went back to my pillow something touched me in my face! Oh my gosh! That was wthe worst thing ever! I was so scarred that there was a cocroach on the pillow, but we were to scarred to turn the light on... at the end I did it, there was nothing and we cracked up in laughing. We just couldn't stop anymore:D hahaha... the next time I went to her place I wantet to go to the toilet, it was really late, and there was this cocroach sitting there and stearing at me. I was just like, stay calm, it won't hurt you. So i sprayed these make-insect-die-spray on it. but it was always running away... Silja tried to do it aswel but she wasn't really better.... at the end Maddy ( Sillis sister) and her friend were standing in front of the toilet aswell- 4 TERRIFIEDED girls aginst 1 huge cocroach! At least I ended p putting a plastic thing on top of it and leaving it in there over the night... when I left it was still there... hopefully it died!^^ I don't even know whet I hate about them... but they are just really yuck and I hate the sound they make, and when you look at them they seems to get everywhere, kind of oily aswell and I dunno... just really bad:( They are just horrible, gross, disgusting!:/ So happy not to have them back in Germany:))