I guess you're wondering how and why I went diving! Yesterday I went on a boat with about 55 other people onto this pontoon about 90kms out to sea on the Great Barrier Reef. I was on my own cos simon decided to do something different. The pontoon has a glass bottomed boat, a semi-submersible boat and snorkelling and diving facilities. I was intending to try snorkelling but not diving. However, on the boat out there they did a talk about diving and showed us the equipment and they said "People are scared of the unknown about scuba diving, but it isn't that scary." They offered a money back guarantee, so I didn't pay for the dive until afterwards. I was kind of curious about trying the equipment and putting my head under water, and with nothing to lose (except my dignity!) I had a chat with the instructors and explained I am very nervous and they said it isn't a problem, they'll look after me. So I signed up!

So then we arrived and I went on the semi-sub and then the glass bottomed boat and the water was so clear and so many fish and the coral so weird and amazing. But we couldn't see all the colours from the boats because of something to do with physics and sediment in the water. By the time I got back, it was time to select a wetsuit for my dive!

They dressed me up in three wetsuits, so I could hardly walk. Then I was given flippers, which I'd never worn before, then they put on a special inflatable jacket and a weight belt, which wasn't too heavy, then they put the tank on my back and I wondered how I'd ever move!

The instructor, a lovely man called Gareth, took me and a Brazillian girl, who had dived once before, down to "the pool", which was actually a platform in the sea under the boat. I have always been a bit freaked out by the thought of having fish swimming around me. And fish there were, but loads of cute little ones.

Gareth told me to come over and stand by a bar and hold onto it, but the air tank kept pulling me backwards and I couldn't figure out the flippers so he had to drag me in the right direction. I wasn't scared because there were so many new things going on to try to concentrate on that I didn't have time to get scared. Then it was time to put on the mask and try breathing. It took me a while to get used to breathing only through my mouth and not using my nose. When I first tried to breathe underwater, I forgot that and tried to breathe through my nose, felt I was suffocating and put my head straight out of the water again. The cold water going down my neck and over my head was a bit unpleasant. It was warm really - about 24°C, but it still felt cold at first. I also found it hard to trust that it would work and I could see and breathe with my head under the water as I have never managed to use swimming goggles without getting them full of water before and I'd never snorkelled either. So I got the hang of taking a deep breath in through my mouth and the bubbles as I exhaled. Then Gareth explained about how to get water out of the mask and the hand signals if we have any problems under water and then he moved us over to the edge of the platform. We got in the water and the scariest moment was when my flippers were no longer on the platform and the ocean was beneath me and the boat above. I started to panic a bit but Gareth took my hand and pulled me and the other girl further until we were away from the boat and then pressed the button attached to my jacket and I began to sink. There were fish around to distract me, which was great. I was concentrating hard on keeping the mouth piece in my mouth at all times and breathing through my mouth, not my nose. I soon got used to the bubbling sounds when I blew air out - I'm a big kid really and blowing bubbles is fun.

Gareth led us over to some coral and I got to see how colourful it is. The fish are so beautiful. I saw all the ones I'm used to seeing in aquariums. I kind of felt like I was in a big aquarium. I saw these purple, blue and green fish that look like they were designed by a hippie on an acid trip. There were lots of small fish too. Gareth took me to see some Nemo fish - clownfish - they're tiny and dart out from the coral. The coral was amazing - some of it looked like brains, some had maze patterns on, some was branch like. I did let go of Gareth's hand for a while and I got some underwater applause from him. I didn't really feel like I knew where my legs were going though and I was so scared of hitting the coral that I didn't want to go too close to it. I think I saw a reef shark or ray on the bottom - I saw something brown and stripy. Gareth mimed to me that I wasn't kicking right with the flippers. It's amazing how much you can communicate with only hand signals. I was having a little trouble with the 'ok' symbol and had to remember not to give a thumbs up, because that means "i want to go up". I saw the huge anchor that keeps the pontoon in place. We must have stayed close to it but I don't really know where we were because it's hard to tell underwater and I was having enough trouble telling up from down.

They have a huge Maori wrasse living there called Wanda, who is quite friendly. She showed up and swam around us and we got photos taken with her by the underwater photographer who had joined us and apparently knows Wanda well. Wanda didn't seem to be in a touchy feely mood though.

All too soon Gareth took both our hands again and he pressed buttons and we ascended, very slowly, and I saw the diving platform again and swam back on to it.

The first thing Gareth said when we were breathing human style again was "welcome to my office!" Yes that is definitely the coolest office I've ever been into! He said to me "you're a fish!" which I think indicates that I did well. I felt a sense of achievement for doing it but I mostly felt shaky from the adrenaline and still in disbelief that I'd actually just done that. The instructors helped me to get the gear off and I somehow managed to get all the wetsuits off and I went to get some lunch. While i was eating my lunch I was offered the chance to go on a second dive, but I figured it was more than I could cope with only 20 minutes after the first dive. I think I will dive again, maybe on the reef nearer Cairns, but I don't think it will become a regular hobby for me like it is for Anna and Simon.

After lunch I went back in the water, snorkelling this time, with just the one wetsuit. I got into the water and managed to get going ok, seeing more beautiful and funny fish. I put my head up after a few minutes though and then down again, and this time the mask filled with water, which I inhaled through my nose. I couldn't sort out the problem, so I swam over to the life guard, who called somebody over to help me out. The guy showed me how to wear the mask properly and adjusted it for me, then I swam off and he actually got into the water to give me more hints about how to avoid getting water in my mouth. I saw more of the psychedelic fish and whole schools of smaller fish. Then they put a bucket down with food inside and fish swarmed to it. I watched them feeding for a while, then Wanda the big wrasse came along and tried to eat with her huge mouth and completely failed - much like a pigeon trying to use a seed feeder, and I laughed, which was a mistake because everything filled with water. Soon after that it was time to get out and go home.

On the way back on the boat, they had a hula hooping competition, but most people weren't prepared to try it. This little boy of about 8 was the best at it by far, but somehow I came second, and they gave me a turtle beanie toy as a prize. So that was pretty random but cool, I'd had my eye on the turtle toys already!

Today I went on a sailing boat around the actual Whitsunday islands. A few of the same people were there from yesterday who I knew and also a girl I'd met on Fraser Island the other day. It was more relaxing, we spent a lot of time lying on the deck. More yummy food was served. We snorkelled and the water was less clear and there were more people to watch out for but there were still some awesome fish. Before I even got my head under a fish jumped out of the water right in front of me. I saw a pipe nosed fish and some really colourful ones and some hiding among the coral at the bottom.

After that we went to Whitehaven beach, which has amazingly pure sand - 98% silica. It was very white and reminded me of sieving icing sugar. When you walk on the dry sand, it squeaks. It's supposed to be good for polishing jewellery in. I went in the sea and I saw a couple of turtles swimming by in the distance and some schools of quite big fish swimming by. When it was time to take the launch back to the boat, I saw these fish in the shallows, right where the waves break on the sand, about the size of goldfish and mostly see through or sand coloured with town and tan stripes on their backs. They moved so fast and were hard to see. Apparently they're baby mullets of some kind. I thought they were going to end up beaching themselves, they went that shallow!

Then we went back, and here I am.

I'm not actually in Townsville yet but been having trouble getting it to recognise Airlie Beach as a place. Moving on to Townsville very soon!