Cocodile Alert!

It was supposed to be requal or 'proficiency' as it's called up here last Sunday morning but due to a cocodile siting the beach was closed. So proficiency was then relocated to the rockpool.....I had already done most of my update but somehow just don't think this will cut it for Gun requal!

Anyway I went down for a look out with the fishermen and saw the cocodile put its head out of the water!!!!! So now I just can't believe I did the Strand Open Water Swim series....and now I understand why there weren't that many entries!!!!! Although apparently it's breeding season and that's why they're in so close and south.

Lifeguarding

Well a week of lifeguarding has now passed. Starting from Riverway where I couldn't believe I flet like I was pool lifeguarding again but got into it by the end of it...to Picnic Bay, Magnetic Island on Saturday!!! I couldn't believe I was being paid to take the ferry to a tropical island and set up patrol under a palm tree for shade with breaks swimming over coral (amongst other things even saw a cuttle fish and the tail of a sting ray!)

So with that week over though, I'm back at Thuringowa City council for the rest of the week...we'll see from there....it's all an adventure!

David Suzuki

Well it seemed like the entire science community turned out. I seriously got dizzy as I felt like I bumped into all these different people from random clubs etc that I'd joined since being here and realised that I'd done a heck of a lot since arriving in Townsville.

A small world as Kath Barton (now married to a guy in the army) - was there and came up to me! That's two people from Melbourne for the week - small world indeed!

Corporate Tri

Sunday was the corporate teams tri. Up here that 3 people each do a different leg.
My friend works for Maunsells and they needed a swimmer so poached me. It was a bit daunting being up against a bunch of real swimmers...I much prefer doing everything I've decided...being mediocre at all three and racing against others is preferable to me that being mediocre at one thing and racing against ex-state swimmers is another. ie. I got my friend Pia in a team and they won!
In other events, a guy came up to me and I thought he looks familiar - did I meet him in a pub up here? But no it turns out we did a presentation together at Melbourne Uni a couple of years back - "Sustainable Development". Ironic as that inspired me with my policy and subsequent planning studies. He hated the subject as he's a surveyor for a consultancy up here - Brazier and Motti. Anyway - small world!

African Drumming

With Ty away and Colleen now in Brisbane, Pia was looking to me for a weekend of going out. Turned out to be perfect as she loves drumming and this weekend happened to be full of drumming events:

Friday night Wassa played at the JCU club - a guy from GBRMPA & his friend who's going out with a friend of mine from Thuringowa City Council, were in it.

Saturday night there was the Full Moon Drumming Circle on The Strand where they bring a whole lot of drums along and teach you so Pia & I got into it!

Sunday they featured again at the Riverway festival.

Friday night also turned out to be a Mel classic night where we started off chatting with my housemate, then dropping by Elina's to pick her up, checking out an art exhibition by an artist that Liz posed for, Wassa, saying g'day to Marcus at latin dancing and catching up on the outcomes of the anthropology conference he helped organise then finally Rima's (from uni) birthday/house warming.

Green Island Ocean Swim

Well I just spent the weekend in Cairns - it was amazing! Pia and I spent Saturday on a serious shopping mission while Ty went mountain bike riding. I was on a desperate hunt for quality shoes - so many of mine that I have bought in Townsville have fallen to pieces.

We were all up to do the swim with some friends from Tobruk squads and my physio and his girlfriend from the tri last weekend (yes I managed to rope a few people in!)

It was a 3km course over coral reef and tropical fish. You can imagine that I was in paradise!

A female won - she had just done the English channel in the fastest time. Then a swiss triathlete on his way over to Hawaii came second. Certainly a mixed bag but the calibre of swimmers is a lot higher up here.