Ok as you can see I have now made my way to Cairns in Australia, woo hoo! I arrived as planned last Monday along with my cousin Steve, who I was fortunate to meet up with at Singapore airport.

Monday was a bizare day as we were both completely shattered and jet lagged, especially Steve who had travelled non-stop from London. So we spent most of the day taking it easy, until we eventually gave into temptation for a quick nap! They say this is the worst thing you can do, however it kind of gave us both a second wind and we ended up on a very drunken night out!

The following day, having spent most of the day in bed sleeping off our hangovers and jet lag, we chilled out in the afternoon in this big man-made lagoon pool, as the beach is not safe for swimming. This was really cool. So much so that I continued to do the same for both Wed and Thurs, whilst Steve started his PADI. It could not have worked out better, as I have already got my PADI we wanted to both dive but still be together. So Steve signed up for a 5 day PADI including 2 days in a classroom and 3 days onboard a boat. I was fortunate enough to join him for the last three days on a live-aboard as a certified diver......

Day 1 -

We set off at an ungodly hour of 5.45 and made our way to the dive centre to register, and board the boat and our home for the weekend. We then set sail for the 3-hour ride to the reef, which was a tad bumpy, which made most people feel nausious! Anyway, we arrived in the end around 10am and after checking in and getting settled we were given the briefing for the trip and the supervisor mentioned that we will literally dive-eat-dive-eat-dive-eat-dive-sleep over the next few days. They were not kidding, as a certified diver I had a very hectic schedule of 11 dives accross 2 and a half days. We were told that the busiest of which was the first day, as we had 4 dives to fit in and we had already spent 3-4 hours getting there. So anyway the first 3 dives were superb, although I had a little difficulty in making my air last much to the annoyance of my buddy. One thing I felt from doing my PADI was that diving can be extremely tiring, well by the 4th dive, a night dive I was litterally in my full on zombie mode. From experience, when I am like this I am often at my most 'dappy' lets say:

So I grab my wetsuit and struggle and squeeze into it!  Then of course I realise that it is not my wetsuit, but Steve's.  So I squeeze out again and into my own, this time I have it inside out.  Again I squeeze out of my suit and back into it, this time I have it back to front!  By this time people are beginning to laugh, back out I go and try again, I put my foot in the bloddy arm!  So eventually Steve who was by this stage in hysterics decided to help me and decided to help me into my suit correctly and with my gear!  I know you are thinking knowone can be that stupid, well I beg to differ!!!!!!  Anyway the night dive was pretty strange and a little scary, especially as I had to jump off the boat where there were 2 sharks swimming just below the surface!  I know that they are harmless, but still a part of you thinks that a shark is a shark!

Day 2 -

Felt slightly more awake and once again with another busy day with 4 dives including another night dive, although this time a lot my spread out!  This was much better and I was able to enjoy the reef without the zombie mode!  In the evening after everyone had finished the night dive, we played a few games, which was a lot of fun, although as they involved stretching, a lot, very painful.

Day 3 -

We had yet another bus morning, 3 dives to squeeze in before midday.  Which means another 5.45 wake up call.  As it was my last day on the boat and Steve who by this stage was now a certified diver, I decided to go with Steve and his buddy.  This was a good choice, as Steve and his buddy like to go slow, you actually ended up seeing more if that makes any sense, but also lasting longer as you are using less air.  So in the 3 dives I was able to see lots of Nemos, turtles and more sharks, which was fantastic!  I actually found myself lasting twice as long as I previously did on the other days, which only added to the experience.

OK, I am now back in Cairns, tonight everyone from the boat, some 30 plus people are all meeting for a piss up!  I can not wait as I definately feel we have earned a decent night out.  The diving was superb and only now I am beginning to feel totally at ease with it!  So all good, I am now exhausted but have thoroughly enjoyed my last few days.

Tommorrow I am planning to catch a bus down to Mission Beach for a few days chilling.  It should be nice before continuing southwards to eventually reach Melbourne.

I hope everyone reading this is well!

Take Care

Jon