We now have a Kombi! Part 2 (OJG)

Ok, here is part 2...

So I met Vicky at the bar, which was packed solid due to a footie match happening between the 2 major local WA teams, the Eagles and the Dockers (closest comparison would be going to a bar in Liverpool when there was a match between Everton and Liverpool). And I am of course referring to Aussie rules football. So, as you can imagine it was a bit raucous.

Anyway, took Charlie for a small 30 minute run, and although it became abundantly clear that this was in fact an old car that will need plenty of TLC and getting used to, he also had an incredible charm. I spent the rest of the evening chatting with Randal (Vicky's partner) in the bar.

Whilst in the bar there was a table full women not too far from us, and I am guessing (even hoping) that they were there to celebrate a birthday, because they were slaughtered! Every man that got too close would have some sort of abuse slung at him, and that was just a quarter of their tricks! One of the women, with a particularly deep voice was the loudest of the bunch and she would shout suggestive comments to guys right across the room, along with the various hand gestures. They were very loud. I mention this only because the next day when we went into the local bank, guess who was serving us!? Yep, and on her best behaviour! Randal said that was the problem with small towns, no kidding!

So the next morning I had 2 dives, which were great! Visibility was ok at 15m, and the water was pretty cold, but the fish were in abundance. Apart from the usual suspects, we saw a Green Turtle that was as old as anything and even swam with us for a few minutes, huge Potato Cod, huge Parrot fish, a very shy octopus that stayed in its hole, a really big Bull Ray that was lying on the bottom, and just at the end 3 medium Manta Rays flying in formation together with their entourage of support fish.

I was a little rusty having not dived for many years, and I even made a few schoolboy errors that Randal helped and corrected me on. But overall I think it was a good dive, and I can'’t wait to do more.

It was late afternoon by the time all the paperwork had been sorted for Charlie, so I immediately filled him up with a full tank, got a few bits to drink and eat and headed south. I got as far as Coral Boy before the sun went down, which was not as far as I had hoped, but that was that. I ate a pizza in a local restaurant and then had my first night'’s sleep in the Kombi.

More in part 3!