Monday 14th April - Day 71

Diving at the great Barrier Reef. I'm sure I've seen this in one of those '101 things you must do before you die' type lists they have in magazines sometimes.

The two hour journey to the Reef by a speedy boat is an unpleasant one. I desperately feel I'm about to be sick thanks to the choppy seas. As soon as the boat stops I begin to feel a little better. It was worse on the way back.

As a team of six of us are under water, we are all acutely aware of this iconic place. Ideally, I would have liked to have seen turtles, sharks, anything out of the ordinary, but it was not to be. Nevertheless, I did see many fish of many colours including clown fish (Nemo) and many others I couldn't name. To be on the Great Barrier Reef and see this underwater world that is shaped by nature not man is a memorable experience. That's pretty cool, pinch yourself.

One of the divers is quite inexperienced and he descends too quickly into the water. As a consequence he has a bleeding nose and can't carry on the dive. He is taken back to the surface by the master diver and then back to the main boat.

After the first dive we are taken to a small island where the snorkellers from our main group are. And we get a chance to sunbathe for a while before returning to the main boat where a buffet lunch is served. Five of us then go for a second dive at a second location.

Another day goes by very quickly.