Well, I arrived back yesterday from my Whitsundays sailing trip. It was fantastic!

We were on a Catermaran (not sure how to spell it), it was very stable but it didnt stop 9 people being sick. There were about 25 on board, with two diving instructors, a cook and a skipper!

We lived on board in little bunk beds which were surprisingly comfortable. The food was fantastic. It consisted of: nachos, sausages, three different types of salads, biscuits etc- really good range of food.

So we set off on the sailing trip at 1pm with the intentoon to visit three snorkelling/diving sites in one day. It was great- there were thousands of fish (really, thiusands) just swimming around you: honestly spectacular!

The instructors gave there introductory dive talk to the 8 that were going on their first dive- but I wasnt one of them because I have quite bad ears (which is not really the best thing to have when diving as the pressure can be quite uncomfortable!

So I just snorkelled- however on the second day I begged the instructor to take me on a small dive to test out my ears- the risk of ear drum rupture is quite high (apparently) but I still wanted to say that I had dived in the barrier reef- she soon, after much pleading by myself, agreed to take me on my own to see how it goes. It was amazing and I didnt even feel that nervous because she was so calming and funny that I had no time to feel anixous. She taught me how to clear my mask under water if it gets full, and how to retreive your breathing equpiment if it were to fall out of your mouth- sounds abit scary but I guess its important to learn!

We then started the decent- ears buckling under the pressure. We only made it 3.5 metres but was still amazing- held a star fish and touched coral that sticks to your hand or disppesars into a hole when you go near it. The fish were everywhere and made up of hundreds of colours- it was breathtaking. We then came up to the top and I realised that I loved it and begged her to take me the next day on a proper dive down to 12 metres instead of 3.5 metres- (you cant take new divers below 12 metres) she agreed and said we would take it slowly- but then the worst thing happened!!!!!!

A girl on our boat dislocated her shoulder so we had to sail for hours to get medical attention. The next day we woke up and were told by the Skipper that we wouldnt be able to dive or snorkel anymore because we were too far from a good site- i was so gutted.

So today at 6am I got up and booked a cheap trip out to the barrier reef (that looks just like the above picture) so that I could dive properly. When I arrived there were only 8 on board and it was just for the day. It was only 20 pounds a dive (which is very very cheap). SO FAB FRAN or FEARLESS FRAN as she is now known dived down to 10.5 metres!!!- it was amazing! The pain in my ears was not too bad- there are no words for how amazing it was. The only thing that scared me was when my tank got stuck on the coral and everyone swam off because thry hadnt noticed- I had to alert them with my whistle!- Ha Ha!!

The Visability was very poor so he couldnt take me down further. Apparently there are some good dive sites in Thailand so might have to pop by- also 'learn to dive' courses are cheaper there'.

There are no words for how great it was- I could go on forever but I would be wasting your time.

Tonight im going to Rockhampton (going south on the east coast) it takes about 6 hours or more to get there. Tomorrow I will then be met by a farm stay company. The two days consists of working on an outback farm. E.G rounding up sheep on motorbikes (dad you would love it) and horses. Milking cows and looking after there ill baby joeys (kangaroos- yes I mean it) I cant wait.

Il keep you updated!!

I love this county!!

Fran aka FEARLESS FRAN!