Hi again! I know it's been a while since my last post, but there really isn't anything worth saying. I'm getting a few more hours work these days, so I have a wee bit more cash. Other than that, we've just been wandering around and watching TV. Boring, I know! Today we finally went on a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. We decided to spend a bit more cash to get a decent trip. That way there would be less people there, and we would get to see better quality reefs. The reefs are meant to be better the further north you go, as all the ones round here have been over visited and are half dead. We got a lift to Port Douglas at 7 in the morning to join the Quicksilver tour to the Agincourt Reef on the SilverSonic catamaran. I hired out an underwater digital camera for the day, so most of the photo's you see are our own. This was a fantastic day. The boat was really nice, and the staff were really helpful. On the way out to the first site, we saw a Humpback Whale and her calf. They were really close to the boat. I'm gutted I never managed to get a photo. Everyone was in the way. We'd both chosen to do an introductory dive, so we were given a briefing on procedures and what not. We didn't get to dive the first location, as each instructor only took 4 people at a time, so instead we went snorkelling. We saw some really nice fish, and a giant clam on the ocean floor. It was a wee bit too far down for us to visit only in snorkel gear. I didn't enjoy the snorkelling as much, and it couldn't finish quick enough so we could go to the next dive site for our diving. At first I think Merle struggled a wee bit, but she got the hang of things after a while. She had some problems with the pressure on her ears, but got over it towards the end. We were followed for about 10 minutes by a massive fish. It's the brown and white one in the photo's. I was told it is some sort of Cod, but I'm a bit dubious. It was absolutely massive. Nearly the size of me. He was really close, and we got to touch him and he didn't mind. At one point I thought he was away to bite me, as his mouth was wide open and he was coming towards my hand! We knealt on the sea bed many times to stop and look at all the things around us. We all picked up a Sea Cucumber, and the dive guide put it on my head. Hope it didn't poop on me! We also picked up a piece of Mushroom Coral. It was really heavy. It just looks like a rock in the photo, but it is actually a living creature! On both occasions, I had to be the first to give it a go. The dive lasted for about half an hour in all. We bought the DVD footage of our dive, so that will be good to see. When we came up, it turns out Merle only thought it was OK. I couldn't believe her! I thought it was amazing. As soon as I was out of the water, I was booking another dive for the final dive site. The crew had prepared a really nice buffet lunch, so we had seafood, salad, fresh fruit, curry, chicken and heaps of other stuff. Later on we also had tea with biscuits and cheese, and cake after. Mmmmm! At the final dive site, Merle went on a snorkelling tour with a guide while I did another dive. This dive was more comfortable, as there was only myself and another girl with the instructor, so it wasn't as crowded. We saw a heap of Barracuda straight away. I wanted a photo of them, but didn't want to get too close, so didn't bother! On this dive, I saw fish I hadn't seen in the previous dive. I saw Unicorn fish, so called because they have a horn sticking out the top of their head. I saw some really nice fish I don't know the name of (their in the photo album), and got to go close up to a giant clam. We even put our hands inside it! It didn't close all the way, so it was quite safe. I was gutted to finish the dive, but that's the way things go. As soon as I was out, I was asking about doing the PADI Open Water course. The dives I have done can count a little way to that. We then just sat back and relaxed on the way home. It had been a long day, so Merle slept a bit on the boat, and I slept a bit on the bus. After getting off, we headed straight to the camera shop to hand back the camera and get our photo's onto a CD, and now here I am. Merle has picked up some work cleaning at a hotel, so she's up early tomorrow again to head back to Port Douglas. I'm going to allow myself a long lie to recouperate. My tasks tomorrow are to pick up the DVD we bought and to find a place to book my PADI dive course. I'm looking to do the Advanced course too, as I'll get to do a deep dive (30m), a navigational dive, a night dive, and a choice of 3 adventure electives. I'd probably choose Underwater photography, Conservation of Marine Life, and Wreck Diving. I can't wait! Is there any better place to do it? I don't think so!