Just Another Smith...

After years of saying I was going to learn to dive, I finally booked myself on to a Prodive PADI Open Water Course. And, of course, if I was going to learn in Australia, I may as well learn on the Great Barrier Reef. I was beyond excited to be able to explore the underwater world, this was a skill for life and hopefully I would love it! Before we set off into the open ocean, there were two days of theory and pool practise. On our first day, I met everyone else on the course and we were put into groups. There were seven of us in Team Niki, and we were fortunate enough to have the head instructor. In fact, we had two instructors all to ourselves. Kevin was having a trial interview type thing. Wouldn't it be great to have an interview just doing what you loved out on the reef!? We were given a massive manual to read through, and had to learn about nitrogen absorption and other factors that can affect a dive. We watched a few videos and had to answer some questions before getting k...

I spent my first few days in Cairns exploring and enjoying some chill time with the Fraser girls. It was a great place to just relax and enjoy the perfect weather, laying by the lagoon, which is shaped like Queensland (fun fact). I even took part in an aqua zumba class. One day, after wandering around the beautiful botanical gardens, I found myself hiking another mountain. I didn't reach the summit of Mount Whitfield that day, I wasn't prepared and didn't have enough water, but I did return. I had an awesome day out, exploring Kuranda. There was a tour of the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park in the morning, complete with spear throwing and boomerang throwing. I was better with the spear, apparently I have "weak wrists". We also got to watch a special performance showcasing aboriginal dances and songs, and learn stories from dreamtime. I then took a cable car ride on the Skyrail, up above the rainforest and into Kuranda itself. It was a quaint little town wit...

I was so glad we still had the cars, it meant we could sleep in a little longer and not have to rely on public transport. It did however also mean that I had to drive Rosie's jeep up to the ferry terminal with half the team, and drive back to collect the bags. I was the only one that knew the way! I understood now why she had been struggling, I could barely change gear and had to floor it to get up the hill. On our second journey I let Rosie have one last hurrah, content being passenger. Once we were all at the ferry terminal we had a rush to get on the boat. We all grabbed whatever bags we could and hot footed it on board. A short ride later we were back in Townsville. Another short ride (this time by bus) and we were at the train station. Of course, the train was late so we had some time to kill on the platform. I stretched myself out, laying with my head on my bag in the shade and my legs in the sun. I was surprised I didn't fall asleep, for once. The train finally arriv...

My alarm went off so early, I felt like I'd barely closed my eyes. We were to meet at 4.30am outside of the hostel. I lugged my belongings down the stairs and met my new Loka group at the bus stop. Niki was to be our guide until Cairns. Waiting with her was Mario, Aquiles and Gabriele. I was amazed to see the latter two accompanying us, they were at least in their sixties. Two English girls, Pippa and Rosie, were next to join us and we were all ready to go. The same shuttle bus from before arrived, with the same driver. He welcomed us on board and informed us that our train was running very late. Either way, we had to get to the station. Once there, we checked in our luggage so that we wouldn't have to carry it any longer. I felt cheated, I'd woken up before the sun to catch a train that was going to be two hours late. Oh well. The nice shuttle man took us around the corner to the bakery. There was so much choice I didn't know what to have, add the fact that it was b...

I walked down to the marina much earlier than I needed to. I had left my luggage at Base and got bored waiting around. The sun was warm, but there was a nice breeze, meaning a lovely walk. I met a sweet elderly couple from Kettering in the camera store and ended up chatting for a good while. The marina was buzzing with people, and I loved speculating over the prices of boats and who the owners were. There were small fishing boats, motor boats and jet skis, to medium catamarans, sailing catamarans and sailing boats, I even spotted larger vessels, looking like they belonged to the elite upper class! Fascinating stuff. It really was a whole other world. The group around me began to grow, as we all stared at our home for the next few nights, PowerPlay, and wondered when we would be allowed on board. Finally, two of the crew came to meet us and we reconvened on the bridge. Here, we had to double check our paperwork and take our shoes off. The lady at the town office had told me I wouldn...