Wednesday 9th April

Day twelve of the Connections Tour: An early start to catch the boat back to Shute Harbour and the 8 hour drive to Cairns! We drop Ellie off in Airlie Beach and the group drops down to 18. A quick stop in Bowen before our journey to Townsville where we stop for lunch. After lunch, it was back on the road. We stopped in Cardwell for a break before finally arriving in Cairns at 6pm. We checked into our hostel, The Hides Resort. A walk round the Night Market followed. Once we had had dinner, it was off to the bar for a few drinks before hitting the sack for the day ahead tomorrow and my first scuba dive since qualifying.

Thursday 10th April

Day thirteen of the Connections Tour: Up for breaksfast and at the harbour for 8am. we headed out on the Passions of Paradise MaxiCat to Michaelmas cay. Tea and biscuits was served before our briefing and my first dive. Went down to 14 metres. It was amazing - so cool! Felt like i was in a different world! I then went for a snorkel. I turned my head and there beside me was a turtle. Swam next to it for about 5mins - wow! I got back on the boat for lunch before heading out for my second dive off Paradise Reef. Saw alsorts of marine life - even Nemo! 45minbs later and i was back on board to fill in my dive logbook while sailing back to shore. Once arrived back, we walked to the hostel to get ready for The Tjapukai Experience, an Aboriginal Cultural Park. We jumped on the coach to Kuranda and were greeted by Aboriginies. We learnt about the history and culture then watched a group of Aboriginies perform a ritual. We sat for dinner. Once dinner was over, the Aboriginies took to the main stage to explain more about their culture and put on a spectacular show. By ten, we were back at the hostel and headed to a bar called The Woolshed. Was meant to be a mad one, seeing as thou it was our last night of the tour, but it was somewhat disappointing! People were tired after the diving and the "All you can eat" buffet in Kurnada. I was back at the hostel by midnight and off to sleep.

Friday 14th April

Day fourteen of the Connections Tour: Its the final day of the tour today - SOB! We get a lie-in as we arent visiting the Kuranda Rainforest until 10am. Once breakfast has been eaten and all our luggage was loaded onto the coach, we headed to Kuranda to take the Skyrail up over the rainforest, dropping Dani off at the airport first as she flew home today. We started our Skyrail journey at the CaravonicaTerminal and headed to Red Peak Station before going to Barron Falls. We visited the Barron Lookout - the views were so beautiful! We got back on the Skyrail to Kuranda. The whole trip took about an hour. The rainforest is huge and the views from the cablecar are breathtaking. We all walked upto the Koala Gardens to meet and have our picture taken with Hogan, a three year old Koala. A walk round the gardens followed, taking in the wombats, wallabies, reptiles and crocodiles. We had lunch before catching the coach to my new hostel for the next few days, The Nomads Serpent Resort. As everyone was staying elsewhere, myself and the girls said goodbye to the group enroute. Everyones meeting later, so its not farewell just yet! After me, Debs and Nina had checked in, i headed into town to meet Geraldine to do a bit of shopping. Said cheerio to Paola and mooched round the shops and the Night Market. I got a few gifts. We went to The Aussie Bum for a drink before meeting the rest of the group at the Hides Resort. We all went to Rattle n Hum for dinner. Once settled, we handed gifts and cards to Al and Adam to show our appreciation for their work on the tour - truely Legends methinks! After dinner, we went for a few drinks in Shenannigans. This is where the group started to go their seperate ways. First Lloyd and Karen left, as they didnt have ID. Simone and Nadine followed soon after. Adam then left. It wasnt long until the rest disappeared. James, Noelle, Lucy, Hayley and Leanna left; while Al, myself, Karl, Geraldine, Lawrence and Laurent walked backed to the Hides Hostel. From here, i said goodbye to Al and Geraldine before jumping into a taxi back to my hostel dropping the guys enroute. Got to my room and Nina had surprised Debs - they're staying in a hotel tonight! In bed for 11 as an early start tomorrow - the first day of my liveaboard trip on the Great Barrier Reef.

PS Feels a bit wierd being in a room on my own. Its the first time on this trip that this has happened!!

Saturday 12th April

Day one of the OceanQuest Liveaboard: Picked up at 8 and driven down to the harbour to catch ReefQuest. Headed to Saxon Reef. Tea and coffee served before the brief for my first dive. Once suited and booted, i ventured in. Went down to 18metres for about 30mins - its amazing!! The water is so clear and so many fish! Once back onboard and accounted for, lunch was served - soup and sandwiches. We got briefed and ready for the second dive of the day. This time i went down to 15 metres. Was scuba diving for 38mins! This is so cool! Theres so much stuff happening underwater - makes you wonder what tihe fist think! Back onboard, i got ready to jump ship to OceanQuest. Briefed by the new crew, mainly Ash and Heather, i checked into my room before getting ready for dive 3. Saw Turtles and Moray Eels. One more dive today, a night dive! Tanked up and torch in hand i stepped into the water. Its the most amazing thing diving at night. With the torches of many divers lighting up the reef - wow! After completing my first night dive, it was off to the bar for a well earned drink! Sat with a couple of the guys and a few of the crew til about 11.30pm before going back to my cabin for a few hours sleep ahead of the early wake up call at 6am!!

Sunday 13th April

Day two of the OceanQuest Liveaboard: Woken up by a knock on the cabin door at 5.50am! Its the morning already and time for the first dive of the day, and dive 5 of the trip. Its our last dive on Saxon Reef before heading to Norman Reef. A dive at 6 in the morning is definitely the way to wake up and its a dam sight warmer than the Jersey water i'm used to! After the dive it was breakfast before the boat lifted anchor and set sail to Norman Reef. Dive number 2 of the day and my first dive without a guide. Buddied up for this one as feeling confident. A quality dive - great visability! An hour later, it was back out there. Buddied up with Josh and two other guys. Went to a depth of around 18metres. Loved it. The views are stunning down there! Once back onboard, lunch was served and bills were paid. $100 for the hire of a camera - not bad for 5 dives. At 2.30, we climbed onboard the ReefQuest for our journey back to Cairns. Said goodbye to the crew and jumped on the minibus back to the hostel. A quick snooze before catching a taxi to PJ O'Briens to meet a few of the Connections Gang. A couple of drinks in there, we headed to Rhinos. Alan, Adam and Hayley left - think they knew it was Gay Night - the b******s! Think there were about 6 women in there, and 5 were with us! Once drink in there, we headed to Gilligans. We said goodbye to Karen and Lloyd and went in for a few drinks. By twelve it was time to go. After waving goodbye to James, Noelle, Lucy and Leeanna, i got a taxi back to the hostel and stayed up til 3 watching ManU v Arsenal - which we won 2-1