Today was my boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef and it was brilliant. The boat left at half 8 and the weather wasn't that great. It was a bit cloudy and it started to spit a bit. I couldn't believe it, every trip I seem to have done lately it's rained. However, the further out we went the clearer it got and then the skies cleared and it was scorching hot.

I wasn't sure about whether to do a dive or not for two reasons. One because I had to lie on my form about having Asthma when I was younger, and two because when I last done a dive in Cyprus I had a horrible experience. But you can't go to Cairns and not dive in the Reef, so I decided to do it. I was in the first group to go and was feeling quite nervous when the instructor was going through everything with us, but he assured me I would be fine. After I had been plonked into the water we had to swim around to a bar on the side of the boat and practice our breathing for a bit. The instructor then took some air out of our jackets, to make us go down to the next bar and we had to practise how to clear our masks and regulator if they filled up with water.

It was then time to start swimming and experiencing the reef. We saw some great fish and coral, but we had to go quite slow, as one of the other girls was quite nervous. We were down for about half an hour, but it felt like 5 minutes. When we got up I had enjoyed it so much that I decided to do a second dive. This one I had to pay for, but it wasn't that expensive and definitely worth every penny. No one else on the boat wanted to do a second one, so I was able to go down on my own with the instructor. This was amazing, as he took me to a totally different part and we were down for ages. All the different colours of the coral and fish that I saw was just how I imagined the Great Barrier Reef to look like. The photographer picked up a massive sea cucumber too and gave it to me to hold, it was very strange and so squidgy. We was then left on our own to explore and we came across an Anenamy (think that's how you spell it), the place that Clown fish (Nemo) live in. We held onto the coral right up close to it and the instructor gently put his hand up to them and they were happily swimming around and poking out of their little house. They looked exactly like Finding Nemo and exactly what I wanted to see diving in the reef. I was very happy. I saw so many other lovely fish, some Jelly Fish, Reef Sharks and some Sting Rays too. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had, I felt so relaxed and loved every minute of it. When it was time to come up we were quite a bit away from the boat, so I was told to lay on my back and kick to the boat. This was easier said than done and I was knackered by the time I got there. I was all smiles when I got back on the boat (as you can see in the photo), it was just amazing, and everyone was gutted that they didn't get to do it!! Hee hee.

Our next stop was to a small sand island on the reef to do some snorkelling. After doing the dive though, snorkelling just doesn't compare, bu it was still good though. When we got back on the boat, it was time to head back to land, and time for sunbathing on deck. There was a lovely breeze and I was so happy that I had only felt sick once on the boat this morning. When we had nearly arrived back we were brought around some sparkling champagne, which was a great end to a brilliant day out. The crew were fantastic and all stood at the bottom of the steps to say bye to us, I would recommend it to anyone!

After all the excitement of today I'm shattered and having an early night. I have some very noisy people in my room though, so hopefully will be able to get some sleep.

xx