This is the End of Australia

This has been a ridiculous post. I'm not going to completely finish the whole thing. This is just the rest of it. If you want to comment, but you don't want to devote the time, feel free to pick out a random sentence or two and comment on that. I'm o.k. with it.

So anyway, I spent the rest of my time walking around the deck, reading, and building a comfortable lead with my bar tab over the rest of the guests. I hung out with the two Polish guys, an Australian Police officer, (who had a lizard that bit her from time to time) and the captain of the ship, who was appropriately named “Bob.” I met Bob the first night while hanging out with the Polish guys at the front of the ship. The Polish guys were smokers and that was the only part of the boat were you were allowed asphyxiate yourself, so that’s where we were. Bob, our captain, came over and introduced himself. He then promptly sat down to begin the choking process. Bob was a platoon sergeant in Vietnam for the Australian Army. I don’t remember how exactly the conversation unfolded but within several sentences of Bob’s arrival we each determined that we were both military veterans. Up until now, the Polish guys didn't didn’t know that I was in the Army and that I was enjoying a temporary exile from the desert. Bob and I exchanged stories (his were much more interesting than mine) and to my surprise the Polish guys asked very few questions. They just listened (which is what I wish they would have done during the classes). Bob finished several cigarettes and invited me to meet him the following morning up at the part of the boat where the captain stands in front of a large wooden wheel. The wooden wheel is for changing directions. The next morning I skipped breakfast, grabbed some coffee and continued talking to Bob in his part of the boat. We talked about war and he let me stand in front of the wooden wheel.

Back to my broken ear. After the Reef trip I went to a 24 hour medical center the following morning. I hastily filled out some paper work and sat down in the lobby for about an hour and a half. There were other things I rather would have done. In the mean time I read various magazines that clued me in to the latest dating gossip and movie news from Hollywood. It was also in this office that I determined that Aborigine’s have some of the most flexible looking joints I have ever seen. In some cases it looks like their arms are in fact bending backwards. Eventually my name was called and I ambled my way into the doctor’s office. The longest part of the diagnosis took place in the beginning. It was the part where the doctor was trying to decipher what code of characters I had used to communicate with on the paper work. We dedicated the next ten minutes or so to redoing the paperwork on the account of my sloppy right hand. I found this both funny and typical but I don’t think the doctor was as amused as I was. In any case the doctor started poking various tools into my ear before finally declaring that I have a very large hole in my ear and will in fact need surgery. “You need surgery, you going to have to see a specialist.” Oh. “Did you go into the water after you did this” “Yes, I started too but…” I never actually finished that sentence. It wasn’t necessary for me to do so as the doctor gave me the kind of look you would give someone who just dropped a baby. She then quickly resumed jotting down medical words. She prescribed me an anti-biotic and told me that I need to see an ear specialist as soon as I got back. O.k I didn’t believe her, as far as surgery goes, so I did my own research and have since determined that I will in fact heal myself (common with most ear perforations depending on size of rupture). I’ve also seen an Army doctor since I’ve been back but that was by no means a productive visit. He too, was not an ear specialist nor was he able to answer any of my questions. His advice was to wait. Thanks doc. In any case I spent the rest of my trip saying the word “what?” (I still hear very little out of my right ear) Later that night I met the Australian Police officer and the two Polish guys for drinks. I felt more like I was watching them on television than being physically there, on the account of my ear. It wouldn’t be until I actually left Australia that I started getting use to the detached feeling my broken ear gave me.

My options were now limited seeing as though all water activities were no longer recommended so I booked a one day rainforest trip. This would be the only other activity sort of thing I would do. The trip included a walk through park, a boat ride on the Daintree River and a trip to the Heritage Rainforest (a zoo). The walkthrough part of the trip was mainly devoted to looking at plant life. I don’t find this particularly exciting but I was determined to enjoy myself and take pictures. Also, our tour guide had some fixation on the sugar cane business. It started with scattered comments about the industry here and there. Pretty much whenever we saw a field or a farmer. The surprise he had for us was an ad hoc trip to the sugar cane mill itself. The mill just happened to be on the way to something or other and the tour guide couldn’t resist the opportunity to dart in there and share more of the sugar cane mystery with us. I started laughing by myself on this one. This had nothing to do with the trip and I couldn't have cared less about it. The brochure that lured me into this venture certainly didn't speak of it.This is pretty much were I’m going to stop. There isn’t much else to say. I made my way back to Sydney where I just socialized for a couple of days before heading back to the desert. Overall, I had an excellent time in Australia. There so much to do and I would really like to go back!

I doubt that I ever will.

~Rolligun

Sometimes it's the things that didn't happen that you remember most.