. OnHiatus.com > Journal 1 > Day Index > Journal Entry: June 12, 2000

Monday, June 12, 2000
Byron Bay to Grafton, NSW, Australia
Australia's FlagNew South Wales's Flag

Map
Grafton, NSW, Australia:
Latitude: 29° 42' 39" South
Longitude: 152° 56' 39" East
Altitude: 103 feet
From Seattle: 8362 miles
Lodging: Hotel - Grafton Lodge Motel

Map
Today's Travel:
Country: Australia
Region: New South Wales
Route: Car: Highway 30, Pacific Highway (M1)
Path:Byron Bay - Grafton, NSW, Australia
Linear:93 miles
Weather: Rain

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Map
Trip Stats to Date:
Day: 1159
Miles Driven:186505
Linear Dist: 219030
Countries Visited: 68
Regions Visited: 259
More stats...
Hotels: 390
Friends / Family: 295
Camping: 126
Hostels: 261
Transit: 73
Other Lodging: 13
Beers: 4070
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Journal Entry:
Woke up to sunlight (or at least brighter gray) coming through the window. Twenty minutes later after checking out of the hostel it was pouring again. Despite the weather I decided to go through with the dive. The surf was up more so even getting out to the marine reserve was difficult - a beautiful set of a dozen two to three meter high waves swept through just as we got the motors running - rough but fun (especially since we managed to stay right side up).

The conditions were worse than yesterday. A two meter swell was running through the mooring. Under the water the visibility was down to no more than fifteen feet. There was a strong surge and current so swimming was a lot more difficult that usual. There were also a few novice divers in the group and one of them ran out of air in less than twenty minutes. The rest of us stayed down, but we had to stay in the area so we couldn't make it to the Cod Hole (where I dove on Saturday). The highlight of the dive was a huge loggerhead turtle (the shell was nearly as long as I am tall!). There were also a number of smaller turtles and a one large woebegone shark - we didn't see any of the big gray nurse sharks that were swimming around here Saturday - but I did pick up a couple of their teeth. Not a bad dive, but still by far the worst of the three dives I did on the rocks.

Back on shore I had a huge lunch, checked email and hit the road. By this time it was three and the road was mostly through built up areas so it was a lot slower than I expected. Gave up driving just after dark and got a hotel room just outside of Grafton instead of going all the way to Coff's Harbor as planned.


Related Sites:
US State Department Consular Information Sheets: Australia
CIA World Fact Book: Australia

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