Townsville

Fri 19 June… generally messed about this morning, washing and shopping waiting for 4 o’clock so we can do our tank dive and refresher course. Had an hour or so on the beach winding ourselves up trying to remember dive signals and procedures and like which way round does the air cylinder go! Come the fateful hour and we are confronted by an American jobs worth of an instructor who won’t take us because we are on prescription medication. The fact that we have done dozens of dives , whilst on exactly the same medication won’t do, he insists on us taking a diving medical. What P’s gout pills have to do with diving is beyond us! We think, that he thinks that we are too geriatric to go under water. Anyway we hotfoot it to the local drop-in surgery (open 7am to 11pm 7 days a week) and book a medical for Monday morning, which means staying here on this campsite for another night. With any luck the Jet Pilots will have gone home for the weekend and we will get some peace!
Sat 20 June… Another carefree day at the office after a peaceful night! The jet and Chinook pilots seem to have taken our advice and gone off for the weekend. We have nothing planned so after a phone call to Vanessa and to Ruth, then a bit of shopping we are off to the beach for the rest of the day. Back at base we have a bit of fun with our new acquisition. We have bought a wind break which attaches to our awning, so we now have a wind tunnel! It’s actually quite efficient as long as the wind is in the right direction and it should keep the snow out when we go down to Sydney to pick up Vanessa next month.