21st Jan - We checked out of our hostel and walked to the Marina to board our boat to the Whitsundays. Our boat was called 'Apollo' and was a sailing boat. We had to fill in a form to allow us to do scuba diving before we boarded the boat and got given our stinger suits.

We boarded the boat and had a briefing by Josh who was the person looking after us on the boat. He explained that only the 3 'P's could go down the toilet... Pee, Poo and Paper!!! Nothing else. He told us a few other rules on the boat and then we headed downstairs to sort out beds. Me and Hannah shared a tiny double bed and Shuv had a single.

We went back on the upper deck where the crew prepared to sail the boat. The sails went up and shortly after the boat tipped to one side. The boat was bobbing up and down and the waves were crashing down on us. I felt like I was living life on Pirates of the Caribbean. It was fantastic.

We had lunch which was pesto pasta and then we sailed for a couple of hours until we came to an island with a tiny little beach. We were given a briefing by the scuba diving instructor and he told us we would diving at this beach. We were s***ting our pants!! He went through all the safety procedures and signs to use underwater. We hopped onto a little motorboat and headed over to the Island. We put on our stinger suits, flippers, mask and goggles and headed into the sea to go snorkelling.

We were, as usual, the last group to go snorkelling. All 3 of us went together with an Irish girl called Mariana. We were soooo nervous! They put the tanks on us and Andy, the scuba diving instructor, took us 1-1 underwater to do a few tests beforehand. The first test was to take the regulator (mouthpiece) out of your mouth and put it back whilst keeping it in your hand. That was fine. The second test was to take your mouthpiece out of your mouth and throw it behind you then find it and put it back in. That was a bit scary! The third one was to put water in your mask and then clear it. I freaked out and had to go to the top of the water!! Then I had to do it again which was ok. When we had all done the tests, Andy took us down one at a time to the bottom of the sea bed. He took me down first. I was SO scared!!! He kneeled me down on the bottom of the seabed and left me on my own while he swam back up to the top to bring the next person down. I felt so claustrophobic being on my own... just hearing my breathing through my mouthpiece and watching the bubbles in front of my mask. The next person to come down was Hannah. I was so happy when she came down and we were waving to each other underwater. When everyone was at the bottom Andy signalled for us to follow him and we went for a swim. I was so paranoid about losing my mask that I spent the whole time biting down so hard on it not to lose it! I kept right behind Andy just incase there was a problem but I was so worried about the girls behind me as I knew Siobhan was really nervous and Hannah had problems with her ears. We saw quite a few fish and then swam up to the surface. We were under the water for about 10 minutes. I absolutely loved it! As soon as we got out, I was already talking about paying to do another one!

We came back to the boat and had nachos!!!! Best post diving food ever. Then we had dinner which was beef stroganoff. I have now made a promise to myself that I am gonna learn how to cook this when I get home! I LOVE it!! We had some drinks on top of the deck underneath the stars, most incredible moment ever. We went to bed shortly after in our double bed.

22nd Jan - The next day we woke up and I still wasn't sure whether to go scuba diving. The nerves had come back but I knew I would kick myself if I didn't do it as when you learn something, you have to do it again to remember it - right?! Siobhan didn't want to do it and now Hannah wasn't keen to do it either. But I guilt tripped her saying I would only do it if she did it with me (as I'm a wimp) and she gave in. Woohoo!!! At $40 for a dive, you can't say no!! We spoke to the scuba dive instructor, and as usual, we were put in the last group. We sailed to another snorkelling site where we snorkelled once again. I had finally got the breathing sorted so I was loving it! The water was so clear so you could see everything underwater. The fish were soooo beautiful! We saw so many more than the day before. We finally decided to get out the water as we had been snorkelling for about 2 hours and then 5 minutes later someone shouted that they had just seen a turtle. Wow, I don't think I've ever moved and swam so fast!!!! And there we saw the little turtle just cruising along :) We finally got out of the water and were absolutely knackered. We still hadn't been called to go diving and it was going to get dark soon. Our group decided to do it the next day, which I was happy about as I was so tired!

We headed back to the boat where we were shortly greeted by Ritz crackers with a sweet chilli and sour cream dip. After we had a cold shower (as there was no hot water on the boat), we indulged in yet another delicious meal cooked by chef onboard Josh which consisted of steak, veggies, mash and gravy. It felt like homeeee :) Tonight I felt like getting on it!!! So the goon was cracked open pronto! We got chatting to all the girls on the boat and formed a girls circle. It was really nice as we haven't met many girls! Then later on the music got turned up and the top deck was turned into a sort of dance floor. This night, the jellyfish dance was created by myself and Andy (the diving instructor). Probably the best move I've ever made up. This is definitely coming back to the UK, so watch out! The girls headed to bed and I stayed up drinking and dancing. I swapped clothes with a guy called Dan on the boat. It was hilarious seeing him don my playsuit! Think it suited him more than it did me. I decided it was time to go to bed as we were diving the next day so I needed to get SOME sleep!

23rd Jan - I woke up not feeling the freshest I've ever felt. We had some brekky and then headed upstairs as we were going to be sailing shortly. We were informed that we would be diving soon so to go and get ready. I couldn't believe it!!! I needed time to recover from the night before! I wasn't ready to risk chundering under water this time in the morning. I was contemplating dropping out but decided to man up. What's the worst that could happen?

We got our diving gear on again and headed out on a little boat into the water. I felt like it was my first time diving all over again! Andy said to us.. right, we're going to do a James Bond off the boat. We all just looked at eachother and said.. No we're not!!! He replied 'Yes you are. After 3. 3, 2, 1... Go' and we all fell backwards off the boat into the water James Bond style Ooooh yeah! Bet James Bond doesn't swallow and choke on water afterwards though. Everyone was a bit scared after that so Andy told us to 'lose our vaginas' and then we had a cuddle in the sea before going down under. It did the job. I was ready!!! Me and Hannah went down to the bottom first and we waited for the others. We chilled at the bottom of the river for a little bit to equalise our ears and then headed for a swim. We swam deeper than the first dive and swam through the coral. We stopped at one point and Andy grabbed a jellyfish and licked it. Then I touched it!

Our dive was a bit longer than before - about 30 minutes which was really good. I love the feeling of being at the bottom of the ocean; it's the most peaceful experience ever. When we came up to the surface, I felt elevated. Such an amazing experience :D I want to do it again! When we got back to the boat my ears were really hurting and I had a pounding headache from the dive. I had to go back to bed! It was still only 9.30am. Who wakes up just to do a dive and then go straight back to bed?! I spent the rest of the day in bed right up until we got back to the dock in Airlie beach. I was so sad the trip was over. It was for me by far the best trip in Australia! I loved the crew, the people, the boat, the food and of course the scuba diving! It was the BEST experience.

We all went out together that evening for our last night together. Needless to say, we all got Donald ducked.