Sunday 28th February 2016

We had an early start this morning to get on the boat for the Great Barrier Reef. We were both really excited about this day as we had done the coarse in Thailand specifically to be able to do this. Whilst waiting for the boats to be boarded we treated ourselves to a cup of coffee and a tea for Isla, well at least I treated myself as Isla dropped all of hers on the floor.

We boarded the boat which was a very good size, clean and the staff appeared to be well organised and professional. Definitely happy with the choice of tour we chose. We started our 40 minute journey out to the reef and the weather could not have been more perfect, sun shining, no clouds and no wind, making the water look like a mirror.

We reached the first dive site and you could see the coral beneath so clearly. We got Kitted up and performed our buddy checks, feeling well cool that we were qualified to dive. In our group of 8 with 1 dive master we jumped into the water and began our decent. I don't know what the problem was, whether it was due to my beard allowing water through the mask, having the stinger suite covering my ears or going down too quickly, maybe all of the above but I couldn't equalise my ears. The dive master noticed me struggling and came over to try and solve the problem. After about 3 minutes I managed to pop my ears and was able to descend. WOW what a sight, Isla and I dived down to 22 meters and the visibility was easily 50 meters, it was so clear. The coral was beautiful, the fish in the hundreds and all different colours. We then saw a turtle diving down to eat the sea cucumbers. Whilst eating we were all able to swim really close and just watch it eat. Such an amazing experience. The turtle was not bothered at all and just enjoyed his dinner. We took plenty of photos on the hired camera and then carried on with the dive. About 10 minutes later we saw a medium size, about 3 feet long white tip reef shark swimming beneath us. They look a lot bigger under water but the dive master was sure it was a small one. It is so trippy seeing a shark under water, they move so majestically and it makes you respect them for what they could do. After 45 mins the oxygen was getting low so we headed for the surface. 1st dive complete and super excited for the remaining 2.

Whilst waiting for other people to finish diving, we went snorkelling and saw the same turtle. This time he was playing at the surface, we got quite close to him and then saw him dive down again. They are so beautiful and look amazing as they swim in the water.

We then headed off to our second dive sight and got Kitted up again. We followed the same procedure as before, checking the kit and then jumping in. This time I put Vaseline around my mask to make a better seal and did not put the stinger suite over my ears. However the problem was not fixed, I could not equalise and my ears were hurting. I tried to make it work but it just wouldn't. The dive master got fed up and grabbed my arm trying to pull me through the water to catch up with everyone else. I had to push him away as it was really hurting my ears. I came to the surface and told Isla I had to end the dive. I was so annoyed for not being able to do it and also for stopping Isla as you have to dive in pairs. Whilst sat at the surface, I spat blood out which made me concerned that I had caused some damage to my ears. I swam back to the boat and got out and took the kit off. I was feeling a bit dizzy and my ear felt completely blocked.

I had some lunch and explained to the dive master when he got out that I was having trouble with my ears and could not dive anymore. He advised not to dive anymore, stating that it would cause damage. I was annoyed but at least Isla found another dive partner and was able to go on the third dive.

At the third and final site Isla went diving and I did some snorkelling. The third site was not as clear as the first but it had deep under water canyons which sharks hang around in. The murkyness makes you think that a shark will just come out of nowhere and grab you but it didn't. Isla returned from the dive and said it was good as they went through a cave and swam in the canyons but they did not see any big wildlife.

We headed back into Cairns and although I couldn't do the last two dives, I was still happy and felt amazing that I was able to see the beautiful reef and all of the wildlife. We dropped the camera back and collected our memory card. We spent the evening in the night market and brought 3 boomerangs to decorate our spare room, before heading off to bed for our flight the next day.

Monday 29th February 2016

We left for Cairns airport early and remembered that your supposed to have 18 hours between scuba diving and flying. I was almost 24 hours clear and Isla was just over 18 hours so we were fine. However my ear was still feeling blocked and I was nervous about flying, wondering what the pressure will do to my ear.

We brought some hard boiled sweets so that I could keep my ears popping during the flight. The flight to Sydney was about 2 hours and my ears kept popping, clearly suffering from the dive but thankfully no pain and hopefully no lasting damage.

We landed in Sydney and had plans to meet up with Lisa again and stay with her lovely family. However during the travel away from the airport another one of Isla' friends Angela, who also moved to Australia invited us to her house to spend the day with her family. We caught the train to a place called Hornby about an hour north of Sydney and got picked up by Angela. She took us to her house and introduced us to her husband Andrew and her two girls.

We spent the afternoon and evening with Angela but had the plan of going back to Lisa' house. The day went to fast, probably down to the alcohol being offered and lovely food that we ended up getting to 2100hrs, feeling rather tipsy and not really in a position to travel back to Sydney. So we stayed the night, which was probably Angela' plan anyway lol.

So we enjoyed the remainder of the evening speaking with Angela and Andrew, talking about travels and life in Australia. Eventually the British Navy rum at 75% came out and knocked me for six making bed a must.