Up at 4am to get ready for our Thresher shark dive. A lot has been on my mind of late and have to be in right mind set for this dive.
With the sun starting to rise, we board the catermaran. Getting our kit ready we are extremely fortunate to see a Thresher shark leap out of the water. It boosts my confidence no end. Water is much calmer than the last few days and we descend to an underwater sandy island. Visibility is excellent and we make the drop to 30 metres down a slope to a peninsular jutting off the side. As we kneel on the sand I see my first large shark. A Thresher swims past no more than 4 metres away. A beautiful shark with the most wonderous tailfin. I do my celebration scuba dance to Craig and sit motionless as Threshers are seen in the distance swooping in and out to be cleaned. A wondrous display of nature and would liked to have stayed down for longer. As we slowly start our accent we see 2 Threshers doing a flyby in opposite directions. We continue to see them till around 20 metres, moving slightly closer once the divers are out of the way. The icing on the underwater cake is presented in the form of a devil fish that comes in close to be cleaned also. A manta ray is top of my wish list, but this beautiful relative proceeds to scuba dance number 2. Back on the boat, the devil ray jumps out of the water to end a most memorable dive (LT).
Back on the island, we grab our omelette and toast breakfast and decide to go snorkeling near a Japanese wreck. A lighthouse looms above it and shouldn't be too hard to find on a small island. Moving away from the coast we walk through one of the villiages, smiling at the locals. Eventually we get to the other side and back on the coastline, the sun starting to cook us like the many trays of small fish being dried. Asking for directions we head along the coast weaving over and under the many boat ropes tethered along the waters edge. Climbing several rocky slopes and after asking for directions multiple times the lighthouse is in site. Spare T-shirt wrapped round my head to avoid further frying I now understand why the locals had kept telling us "very far, take moto", it was due to the heat of the sun. Down to final water reserves we speak to a local who takes pity on us and sends her 2 young children to guide us up to the lighthouse. I tip our 2 smiling saviours and they ask if they should wait. I shake my head as they run off giggling at the daft duo. Sitting under the shade of the lighthouse, we tuck into the bananas picked up in the villiage. Resting and unable to see any wreck we make our way back down. We learn from our new found wisdom and negotiate a motorbike back. Squashed into the middle with Craig hanging on the back, our driver begins a ride Thorpe Park would be proud of. Using Craig's knee caps to rest my finger nails in, we whizz up and down the bumpy hills, flying round sandy corners with gyroscopic precision. Nails left behind as a momento for Craig, I exit our ride. A funny memory and better than any rollercoaster.
We rehydrate at Thresher divers under a cooling fan, the first sip of coke added to my little things (LT) list. We see our dive guide and telling him our story he says " why did you not take a moto?"
Anyway we mention the wreck and he arranges his nephew to take us snorkeling there and take us around the island in his boat.
A few hours later we meet our young Captain who takes us to the wreck. Seeing the lighthouse, we had come very close to it on our Bear Grylls survival test. The water is clear but wreck in poor condition, split apart and in fragments. I hope the scuba divers i see are not doing a wreck dive. Exploring the remains we kick down the 5 metres where there are schools of small fish and ghost pipe fish. Rummaging around the grass and broken coral I spot a beautiful nudibranch tucked under a rock. Back on the boat we move further round and stop in choppy water quite far from the shore. Our captain tells us theres coral below. Taking his word for it, we jump in. Not as good as Indonesia but nice to see some healthy areas here. Some reef fish cling to the colourful patches. I watch a sea snake come up for air and we follow it for awhile as it searches in holes for food.
We finish off our tour of the island and head to the dive centre for a legendary roast chicken dinner. Most food I've eaten since I've been away. Half a chicken, stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, roast potatoes and thick gravy. Great end to the day, I update my notes and Craig heads back to the room. 3 days of 4am starts, has him dreaming of sleep. I enjoy the view and take a walk along the beach. Its quiet tonight but I find a bar with a band playing. I sit on the beach listening for a bit before calling it a night.