OMG what a FANTASTIC end to my time down under!!!
I've just spent 3 days on a boat on the Outer Barrier Reef, diving my arse off! I did 10 dives in 3 days, which included 2 night dives!
The boat was really nice, miles away from the one on the Whitsundays, simply cause it was so big! The rooms were 4 share, and ensuite, tho I only had to share with one guy. There were 9 of us certified divers (yay, I'm now classed as one of them!) and we were looked after by our (really rather scrummy) dive instructor Phil, who was lovely, and didn’t mind hauling me out of the water after every dive, as I tended to get stuck on the steps! We dived in 3 spots, the first was Middle Hastings, then Saxon reef, then an different area on the same reef called twin peaks, then back to Saxon reef.
I had a little trouble with some of my equipment- one BCD was missing a dump valve, one weight belt fell off just before I got in the water, one inflator hose leaked, one BCD wouldn’t inflate on the surface so I had to do it orally, and on my very first dive my regulator (mouthpiece) kept flooding. But despite this, I loved every second of it!
Turtles were close enough to touch, I saw White Tip Reef sharks (one was an arms reach away!) saw a huge purple cuttlefish, 2x octopus, lots of Nemos (5 different species during one dive alone!), bright blue, purple, green and yellow coral, batfish, butterfly fish, unicorn fish, damsel fish, soldier fish, lion fish, Maori wrasses, angel fish, parrot fish, puffer fish, stingrays, lagoon rays, sea cucumbers, sea pineapples, giant trevallies, grouper fish...the list goes on!!!
The night dives were a little scary, as the only light u had was a torch, and u had to follow the instructor who had a blue glow stick on his tank. The visibility wasn’t that great at night as the sea was rougher so it was rather difficult to keep ur bearings. The only fish we really saw were the giant trevallies that were rather mean looking, and hunted by the light of our torch, often killing the fish we were looking at! Getting out of the water was much harder as u were tossed around like a rag doll in the waves, and the current which was normally quite strong during the day, was even stronger so u were constantly drifting away from the boat. My tank also fell off as I was getting out of my second night dive, which was kinda worrying! But the instructors were really gd (and didn’t tell me til they'd sorted it!)
My diving has really improved tho, even in such a short space of time. My buoyancy was really good, I only drifted up to the surface randomly a few times, and that was mainly due to the current. I also didn’t drink my air, meaning I often had loadsa air left at the end of the dive, which was good (would have been better had everyone else breathed as slow as me!). I enjoyed every single dive, and am quite sad its all over. Was really helped by the fact my instructor was so lovely, the crew took v good care of u and my buddies during the dives were really good, so I never got scared or un-nerved. Was so different to diving on Fitzroy. Plus the visibility was incredible! Up to 25m! Just had a look at my piccies that I got when I took my camera down, and some of them are bloody fantastic (if I may say so myself!) The dives started at 6.30am (yes, I managed to get up 
) which were great, cause all the fish were still sleepy so didn’t run away. We saw 5 sharks on one morning dive alone!
Back on land, we had a good night out in Cairns, meeting up with the crew and instructors who were on shore leave. Rounded the trip off nicely!
Then, today, I did a scenic flight over the reef! I got a v good deal - over 1hrs flight for 40 quid!!
The day was gorgeously sunny and clear, meaning the views were incredible. We flew over the reefs I dived at the days before, and even saw the Atlantic Clipper, my dive boat! We flew v low over Bat reef, where we say Manta rays, lagoon rays, sharks, turtles and even a whale and calf!!! We then flew back along the coast; so we saw the Daintree rainforest, Port Douglas and the Northern beaches from the air. And the best bit was I got to sit RIGHT at the front, next to the pilot! I could see all the dials and I got to wear the headset, so I could hear air traffic control and the pilot communicating! It was a tiny plane, a 6 seater, and was propeller driven! Completely different to flying in a commercial jet, especially when it comes to landing and ur looking directly down the runway, just like the pilot! The photos I got were amazing, just like postcards!
Tis my last night in Australia tonight, but as my flight is at 7.30am, I got all my partying out my system last night. So its dinner, laundry and packing for me tonight!
Off to Fiji tomorrow, where I'm not sure how good the internet etc is, so I may not be able to update frequently. But I shall be home in 10 days anyhow, so I can speak to u all then.
Final hugs from Down Under!
xxx
