There's nothing exciting about Mt. Gambier III

One of the GP-anaesthetic reg, P, has done it all. He is definitely my new hero and idol. Before getting into medicine, P worked as a policeman for years, he was a high-ranked detective in narcotics and stuff around SA, made a couple of busts of drug trafficking and smuggling (Close to Port Mac where the smugglers would land). He's a amateur diver who is quite well-known in the diving circles, who had doubled for films and movies. Most of all, he's a rock star. He has his own band, they perform regularly in local pubs, and they did a couple of gigs while I was there, so of course there was no way I'd look pass it. I went to two of their gigs, old school classic rock music, P on the vocal, great guitarist with ripping solos, and a solid bass. Problem is they have no drummer, and they are all very shy about showmanship. A timid guitarist looks just weird especially when doing solos. Nevertheless, it was right up my alley. I must have embarrassed him with the loud cheering and excited beyond control when they played Sweet Child o Mine, but who goes to a live gig and just sit there?

Anyway, we were in RSL where they were playing. I was surprised to find how friendly the locals were and how easily you can just strike up a conversation with anyone there. Apart from a cute girl who turns out to be the daughter of the guitarist, I randomly met a French guy whose name is Guy. He's a sculptor, with a reservoir of knowledge on cheese, women and all things artistic. Because he does body sculptors, he studies people's body language, and being trained in psychology he studies people in fascinating details and accuracy. Some conversations interest you, some makes you smile and nod while screaming in your head hoping for it to end. This was definitely one of those where you know you've met a like-minded person. I went to visit him in his gallery the following weekend, we sat down with wine and talked about arts and his adventures as a Ballet Dancer working around the world, and how he found a liking in the small town of Penola and stayed. He invited me to stay for dinner, and he was able to rustle up a delicious meal for 4 people just like that, with the little groceries that his girlfriend came home with, it was quite impressive. Don't you hate how some people just 'have it'? It being the flair of excellence in everything that they do.

Snorkeling in freezing water of less than 10 degrees isn't exactly my description of a lazy Sat morning, but I had never done it before, and the Adelaide uni kids I met (these two are actually quite nice) were doing it, so I thought, why not. We drove for about 20 minutes to Port Mac, then further couple of minutes out of town to a local dairy that has a shed at the back of it for wetsuits hire. From there it was another 20 mins drive on the bumpy gravelly road to Ewen Pond. Diving into the freezing water and looking through the goggles, the world underwater is surreal. The water was clear, but tinted by the grey sky that day, and it was greenish blue all the way to the bottom of the pond couple of meters deep. It felt like we landed on a strange planet.

It took a little of climatising, but once you are comfortable you start to enjoy spotting things in the pond. There are three main ponds with interconnected waterways paved with golden aquatic grass, so we were able to navigate from one pond to another. The waterways were very pretty as shown in the pic, you glide through the water just touching the grass, and pass the fish hiding in it. there were huge yabbies dotting here and there, and underwater spring bubbling out of little cones at the bottom of the pond. I think I understand the attraction of snorkeling the Reef, if I get a kick out of this freezing, rather lifeless pond.

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