Dreams Do Come True (kind of...)

Today I got to be a mermaid. Yes a mermaid. Can you even begin to imagine how happy I am?

Awoke from our hostel Bohemia Central in Cairns and wandered down to the marina to board our vessel Ocean Freedom. Straight away we secured ourselves a spot up front kicking back relaxing for the journey out to the Great Barrier Reef. When we get out there we board a glass bottomed boat making sure we take our snorkels, masks and fins, so that when we land on the island (read: tiny piece of sand randomly sticking up in the middle of the ocean) we can snorkel back over to the boat. Driving over the reef wasn't all that good to be fair so I kind of stopped bothering to look and listened to some rather interesting facts instead. Corals optimium temperature is between 24*-29* which is why the GBR doesn't grow any furthur south or north of where it is. However it is versatile and has begun to grow in warmer waters, due to climate change. Coral is given its colour by algae that live within it, but algae can't stand to much heat and so when summer comes and the water gets to warm the algae will get out and leave, so the coral reverts to a white-ish colour, but when it is cooler the algae will return to the same piece of coral.



Anyways we get over to the island, do the old spit shine for our goggles and get ready to have a good look around. Snorkelling is bloody hard work. My legs were aching, fat feet getting pinched by the fins and trying to not bite down to hard on the snorkel and giving yourself copious jaw ache is all a bit much. There wasn't as much colour to it as you are lead to believe down there. Apparantly they photoshop a lot of the images they use for postcards and promotion etc, but it was still pretty cool to see all of the goings ons. Fish queing up next to each other so that the cleaner fish will get them next, literally at the car wash. Eating coral, whole schools swimming all in and out. Pink, green and purple holographic looking fish, NEMO (did you know he's of the pirrana family?), sting rays, black and white fish, big fish, baby fish, blue starfish, sea cucumbers. I've taken pictures so you can all have a look at them when I get back. I'll be doing scrapbooks of my adventures.



So we get across to the boat (I am now being towed along on an orange ring by one of the guides as I can no longer stand the pinching of my fins and have taken them off) we get briefed on scuba stuff and get ready. Weight belts are about as comfortable as a foot up your jacksy, as is the tank when on dry land. One of the lads pouring water on our googles to wash out the spit decided it would be amusing to ditch the bucket of water on me and then it's time to step out over the edge. My guide is a guy called Pete Tong (also the name of a very famous DJ, which impresses me no end to have to hold his hand swimming the reef) and he takes us down. Lauren has a bit of a freak out and has to go back to the surface so we're just hanging about waiting for her to get it together and when she does we're off.



I was a mermaid.



It was a bit annoying having to hold the guides hand, but to be swimming around breathing under water with all of these fish was a dream come true for me. It's a shame about the Darth Vader noise of the oxygen, but it's so quiet and peaceful and, serene, that even that takes on a really nice rythmn eventually and you just feel weightless. Actually weightless is probably the wrong word as even one of the guides said when I came up that she kept having to put air in my jacket because I just sink like a stone and I pointed out to her that'll be because of my solid tree trunk legs dragging me down, but you feel completely different to anything you've felt before.



We get back on the boat after about 30 mins down have lunch and me and Lauren promptly fall asleep on the front deck, being awoken about an hour later to get ready for our second dive. This time we went down just 3 of us with a girl named Hayley and we were allowed to just do our own thing as long as we stayed behind her and within a reasonable distance. This time we went lower and I had an absolute nightmare trying to equalize my ears. I was blowing, yawning, wiggling, the works, but they were just refusing to sort it out. At one point it was getting pretty painful and I thought I was going to have to go up, but I just stuck it out because I really didn't want to miss the opportunity to get pictures of it all. Fully felt like a mermaid then, not having to hold hands or anything. I even put my ankles together sometimes and swished my legs like I had a tail. I love playing pretend.



Once we'd finished that dive we got back on the boat where I stripped off my gear and dived off the back of the boat for a little swim. All around and under the boat were these huge fish that

came up sp close you could touch them. If you stuck your finger out they'd try and nip them like they were food. Was brilliant that they just kept coming up to you and brushing your hand. I got dunked a few times by some of the boat lads (if we'd have been at school i'd have said they were a bit interested...) After my swim that was the trip over and just chilled out on the hour or so back to shore by eating fruit, cheese amd biscuits and cake that the ship provide (stock up on the free food!) and doing a bit of writing. Writing out on the open sea is just something else.



Agreed to meet up with Pete Tong for a few bevvies later on, but instead have opted to stay at the hostel and chill out with a few English lads in the room next to ours.



That's all folks.



Bungee jump tomorrow, wahey!



Mulu x