J: We are in AUSTRALIA! It feels great to finally be here. We started out with some boring admin but we did it while sitting on the sea front Esplanade that is like a beach that flows into a swimming pool, which then flows into an open park with benches and free BBQ's! This is all looking out over the sea, you can't swim in this sea though as it has a very muddy bottom……. Oh and Crocodiles! At home we both loved Australian Masterchef and we both wanted to shop at the infamous Coles, so after coming out of Asia we fixed our food cravings; that evening we sat on the Esplanade and ate cheeses, lovely ham, French stick, vine tomatoes and various dips including hummus. It was all such a simple treat lol. The odd and unexpected thing is that we both felt cold - yes cold! We had to go put hoodies on and as we sat on the Esplanade enjoying the evening, everyone else were defiantly the odd ones, they must have been freezing in thier vests/t-shirts. We spent a couple days planning and relaxing and Sam even got a shift in a coffee shop to get some extra cash. Georgie couldn't resist spending more time with us so she had flown over to Australia to meet us which was cool and we had Marika coming from England in a couple days. We had booked up a diving trip on the Great Barrier Reef, I was completing my advanced course and spending 4 days out at sea living on the boat and Sam and Marika are coming out the day after for a 3-day live-aboard dive trip. I was all excited and ready to go, and then we got a message from Marika to say she was stranded in Tokyo due to an erupting volcano and she didn't know when she would get there! I had to leave Sam the next morning to go diving with no idea what was about to happen…….

S: So as some of you know I don't find diving particularly easy. I know what I'm doing; just sometimes the water and me don't get on. Now James had gone off to do his advanced and I had to cancel Marika's diving as all flights were cancelled at present, which meant I had to be a big girl and go on my own. Once James had set off I spent the day with Georgie. We just chilled out and caught up on gossip whilst sunbathing on the esplanade, great girlie time. Although I did feel a little lost, it was the first time me and James had been separated for 4 months - you kind of get attached to someone I suppose lol. So I'm aboard the day boat heading out to the large live-aboard boat, knowing that James doesn't even know I'm coming - I think he thought I was going to chicken out - no chance - I had to man up at some point.

J: So while Sam was on land I had got to the main dive boat with no idea what was happening, I wondered if I was going to be on the boat alone the whole time. But I quickly made friends with a couple Danish guys and a couple from Sydney who where all taking the same Advanced Course. My instructor Ned was slightly crazy I'm sure but he made the first day fun. I had to do a test dive and I got to see my first Turtles & Sting Rays. After we did a navigation dive and a night dive! The night dive was obviously different; using a touch to see meant only seeing about 5 meters in front of you & about a meter in diameter basically meaning you really can't see what is around you and having to illuminate the dials on my watch to check the depth. Navigation back to the boat was easy as it was a massive glowing object on the surface, it was diving and I loved it day or night. The next morning I woke up at 6am to do my deep dive (30 meter), Ned took some various things down there for the skill test including bottles of air (to show pressure change), a question pad and a chicken egg. The egg after it was cracked, stayed in shape due to the pressure and Ned indicated to pass it between each other when I had it I checked on the egg in my hand and a large fish behind me swooped in and ate it! It was fun to play around a little. After this the day drop boat came past to change people, and I was happy to hear my name….. it was Sam! She had made it out.

S: It was great to see James, although the trip out for some people was a bit choppy, and some were already being sick. So I had to dive on my own as James was doing his course, which I wasn't too sure about. But I geared up for my first dive, a little apprehensive and down we went nice and slow. It was at the location Club 10 and I saw my first Turtle and Black Tipped Reef Shark much to James's disgust. On my second dive you just paid for a guide so basically you are with your buddy, and I enjoyed it again without the fear of getting lost, watching all the marine life and getting use to things again. James was like a child constantly on sugar and caffeine (Now we have all seen those effects lol). I didn't want to night dive, as I was pleased that I had managed both my dives that day and everything was going great. The next day James went off in his group because he could dive deeper than me, and I didn't want him to miss out. I went into the water and just didn't feel comfortable, so got out again - much to my annoyance. We then moved sites and ended up at the fish bowl. Well first of all it was just James and I and I felt much more at ease, and we had a brilliant time. We just took it slowly and off we went. That dive was the best dive I had ever done; I actually came out of the water smiling. We saw Flute fish, Nemo's, a massive Trevalli and a Barracuda under the boat! Yes, James did make me swim under the boat twice, but after playing with Christmas Coral I didn't mind too much. We did 2 more dives together and it got easier every time. Oh and just to let you all know, James made friends with the cook and she made scones especially for James because he said he was missing them. The live aboard was brilliant you end up a massive family all looking out for each other and having a great time.

J: As Sam highlighted I was keen to see a shark while diving and 10 dives in I still hadn't found one, I found amazing fish and stunning coral but after 10 dives I still hadn't seen one and I felt I was missing out. Then it was a night dive in the Fish Bowl, I buddied up with another guy on his own and off we went to find the Turtle cove where they slept, on the route I had a large Red Bass swimming under my chest and as I dazed the smaller fish with my torch it would shoot out and enjoy an easy snack, it was fun having him round. When we found the small cove I couldn't see any turtles and decided to turn us around to follow the reef and just 2 meters away was a White Tip Reef Shark! Right there in front of me just turning, it was about 6 feet long and stunning, we followed behind it for a few seconds until it decided to zoom off, it was my diving highlight. When I told the instructors they said he was probable doing the same as the Red Bass and eating the fish as I dazed them and could have been following for 5 minutes, so in a way I was feeding a shark!

Diving on the Great Barrier Reef was a special moment; it was just so beautiful, I was lucky enough to do 14 dives over the 4 days living out at sea. It was simple fantastic! Oh and as Sam mentioned the food was incredible and after Asia I took advantage of the great free food…. all 4 meals a day lol.

S: We were just about to board the jetty on the way back to land when I heard our names being called, Georgie & Marika (she had finally made it to Australia) were our welcome party, I felt like royalty lol. We wandered back to the hostel, had a quick shower and met James's dive group from the boat. That was the start of a heavy night drinking and catching up, getting back around 3am ready for the 8am start in the morning lol.