There are some weekends when you later wonder why you bothered getting out
of bed.
Last Saturday we, the New Zealanders in OZ that is, celebrated Waitangi
Day. A full day of cultural entertainment plus stalls selling everything
from gear unique to NZ, kiwi kai (food) that covered everything from paua
fritters, kiwi hotdogs, mutton bird, lollies, hokey pokey ice cream, steam
pudding .. to the popular hangi. Though a stinking hot day - 40C - the
crowds just grew hour by hour. Even tho I was hiding under a huge straw hat
and umbrella for most of the day I still ended up getting sunburnt while
waiting in the hangi queue. A bit tender that night ... teach me to forget
the suntan lotion :-( Knowing I had a early morning dive on Sunday, my
normal sleep-in day, I went to bed earlier than normal and woke feeling
quite energetic.
The 9th was opening day for the Cottesloe Reef UW Photo Comp. I arrived at
8am to find many of the WAUPS group have already entered the water, though
the plan was a 8:30am start, as they found it too hot to wait for for the
rest of us once kitted up. It was already 25C so I got all my gear ready in
the boot of my car so all I had to do was slip on weight belt, BCD and then
waddle down the sandhill with fins & camera in hand. I nipped under a shade
stand on the beach foreshore to slip in to my dive suit. Just got myself
zipped up & suddenly I heard a bang. Whirled around to hear my tank going
off. My HP hose had gone. Damn!! A few choice unladylike words crossed my
lips but all I could do was peel myself out of my wetsuit - know how Strike
feels when it starts to stick to you in the heat - and think of my next
move. Thought about nipping over to a dive buddy who lived one suburb away
in City Beach but I knew he was already at sea heading off to Carnac Island
for a dive so it was a back to the diveshop job. Feeling the heat abit, I
was so much looking forward to this dive just to cool off, I decided to
detour home first. Had the bright idea of pulling everything out of the
boot of the car after a quick drink & nibble on watermelon. Bad, bad
idea .. forgot to bend my knees while pulling my tank out and ping - there
goes the back. So, while everyone else was enjoying themselves down at the
beach, the temperature crept up to 41C and I was doing time laid up on the
couch. Bummer.
Oh, well .. got next w/e to get it right this time. A 2 tank dive somewhere
off Rottnest Island for the annual WAUPS Day Dive Comp. Got everything in
for servicing as I plan to do some serious wreck diving after a 7 day dive
trip to Kadavu Island, Fiji in June with Strike & Don Ward's dive crowd.
Actually, out of curiosity, how often do the more regular divers on this
list change their hoses?
Viv
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