I'd firstly like to thank myself for the good work. Then, I'd like to thank Eleanor without whose support this would not have been possible. Then my friends, family and anyone else that's helped along the way. What am I on about? Don't you know? I'm a published author now...

Well. It might only be the dive shop newsletter to you but to me it is...ok it's a dive shop newsletter but this will literally touch 10's if not 15's of people's lives and might even sell a couple of dives. For your reading pleasure, the 3 whole articles are reproduced below. Lucky, lucky you. Oi...What do you mean 'no one else could be bothered writing anything for it'? Eh? Ok then. The seahorse one is a bit random. I admit.

Diving in Stone Town

During our travels we've been trying our best to get in as much diving as possible. This recently led us to the beautiful coasts of Zanzibar, more specifically the ancient port of Stone Town.

Yesterday we arrived at the dive school happy to see that the sun was shining and the sea was at its turquoise, calm best.Having squeezed into our wetsuits we walked the short distance to the dive boat - Ana - a lovely, wooden Arabic Dhow whose sail is still there but for today is replaced by two big engines to make sure we get to the sites as swiftly as possible.We put everything we want to keep dry in the large, carved wooden trunk on the deck which looks as if it should be full of spices rather than the t-shirts and sun cream it actually holds.

After twenty minutes we got close to the first site on the south side of Bawe Island, we can see the shallow reefs that make the snorkeling here so good. These drop off from the island and we can make out the deeper formations through the clear water, beckoning us down to visit.

We jump off the boat and into the water where we deflate our jackets and sink down towards the coral awaiting us below. We start off at about 10m and edge along a wall before making our way across the sand to 16m.As the dive continues we move from coral bommie to coral bommie, exploring the nooks and crannies with our eyes as we spy on the daily lives of all kinds of fish, from tiny little glass fish floating amongst the sea urchins to large puffer fish hiding in their cubby holes, their large eyes gleaming through the darkness.As we navigate our way between the coral we go over stretches of sand but even these swims bring surprises in the form of blue spotted rays that hide under their sandy coats of camouflage. As we swim by, they explode from their hiding places in a cloud of sand before zipping out of sight.

As the dive progresses we find a plot of ten or more barrel sponges alone in the sand, creating the illusion of an alien landscape as small filefish buzz around their bases. As the last sponge disappears from sight we end up on an expanse of coral, an immense fish city, its inhabitants waiting for us to come and visit. The first thing we notice is the amazing textures as the brain corals meld with the stag horn coral, sponges and rocks. Giant clams abound, first seeming like ancient parts of the reef before they slam their mouths shut as we pass by. Shoals of fish swarm around us, snappers (which always make me hungry) swim enticingly close and two huge trigger fish occasionally dart by and then back out of sight.Tiny fish hide amongst their coral protection and nudibranches glow brightly where they sit as Mantis shrimp scuttle from cover to cover trying their best not to look tasty.The coral here goes on and on, we could spend a whole dive exploring the alleyways and streets of this place, much as we do in Stone Town itself.

Unfortunately, time flies by and we check our air to discover it's time to think about getting to shallower water, we swim up the sandy slope in the direction of the island itself where we send our bright orange marker to the surface so the boat can come and get us. As we hang at five meters for our safety stop, a lone remora begins circling us with hopeful eyes as it tries to hitch a lift but it soon figures out we aren't going anywhere interesting. We all look at each other before staring into the blue - remoras usually hitch a lift with much bigger animals, there might be a turtle about…we keep our fingers crossed but soon our safety stop is over and it's time to surface.

We'll be keeping our eyes peeled for that turtle next time we visit…

Mountain High and Ocean Deep in Tanzania

Myself and my girlfriend, Ellie, decided to walk out of our office jobs to start having the fun we'd been missing while chained to our desks.The trip was simple. Go east from Heathrow and keep on going until we got back home. Plans change and having completed the full circle we decided to start again so here we are in Tanzania, volunteering for an NGO and diving with One Ocean.

The NGO provides business training to widows with HIV and for this we have been living in our remote, mountainside home in the Pare Mountains - a six hour journey from Arusha but really only 1.5 hours with the difference being made up by the Tanzanian principle of 'Pole Pole', slowly slowly which has clearly been adopted by the driver of the Safari Line bus.

Aside from the work we did, spending time getting to know the community has meant we've started to get our heads around a few Tanzanian customs. Take greetings. In the UK a simple nod of the head will do the job nicely but in Tanzania we might start with a 'Shikamo' to someone older than us to be met with a 'Maharaba, Habari Yako' (What's your news?), to be replied with a 'Nzuri' (good), to be asked 'Jambo?'(problem?), to reply 'Sijambo' (no problem) then we're on to 'Mambo' (how's things?), 'Poa!' (cool), finishing with a 'Mzuka' (awesome). Phew…

We've also lived a very different life from normal - we've been woken up by chickens and hungry cows minutes before 5am calls from the mosque, we've accidently eaten goat tounge, we've woken up in a hotel to find all of the staff had been arrested, we've walked miles to remote homes to count how many fish shop owners have left, we've admired cows kept inside kitchens and given a presentation in the middle of a muslim prayer meeting with Ellie wearing a full Hijab.

It's been great getting to know a new culture and we've loved Tanzania, a country of variety - big cities, big cats, small villages, remote mountains, vast plains, beautiful islands and crystal clear waters. We're glad that we are spending the last weeks of our office freedom with Gary and his team, exploring the beautiful reefs of Stone Town.

Seahorses

Recently our eagle eyed Stone Town divemaster, Amani, spotted two Seahorses, the upright relative of the pipefish, at our dive site 'Two Stone'.

Sea Horses are not easy to spot, for a start, they are relatively small, 16.4 cm is the largest recorded in Tanzanian waters.If their size didn't make it hard enough they're also particularly well camouflaged by the small organisms that grow on them. Of those we saw at Two Stone, one was dark and one was light, each matching their chosen resting place.

To stay anchored, a seahorse coils its prehensile tail around the sea grass or coral on which it has made its home and that's where you are most likely to find them. Here they stay, using their elongated snouts to suck in any plankton or small crustaceans that are unfortunate enough to drift by. Like their on-land namesakes they graze continually and can eat over 3,000 brine shrimp a day!That means that next time you pass by those stag horn corals take the time to look a little closer, perhaps bit of weed is in fact a seahorse! Be careful though, seahorses are very fragile creatures and they should not be moved or disturbed so keep your distance and move carefully.

Seahorses really are truly unique, and not just because of their unusual equine shape. Unlike most other fish, they are monogamous and mate for life. Rarer still, they are among the only animal species on Earth in which the male bears the unborn young.

Male seahorses are equipped with a brood pouch on their front-facing, side. When mating, the female deposits her eggs into his pouch, and the male fertilizes them internally. He carries the eggs in his pouch until they hatch and then releases fully formed, miniature seahorses into the water.

Because of their body shape, seahorses are rather inept swimmers and can easily die of exhaustion when caught in storm-roiled seas. They propel themselves by using a small fin on their back that flutters up to 35 times per second. Even smaller pectoral fins located near the back of the head are used for steering.

Population data for most of the world's 35 seahorse species is sparse but worldwide coastal habitat depletion, pollution and harvesting for use in traditional medicine have made several species vulnerable to extinction so now is more important than ever that we understand these beautiful creatures better.