Dear all, Two days ago I celebrated my birthday. We were supposed to be going whale watching but sadly the sperm whales had moved too far out to find food and so the trip was canceled. Instead we went to the beach and watched the wild seals. In the afternoon we went to a cave which was discovered years ago by some people digging in a quarry. The cave is millions of years old and used to be under sea level. The next day we went back to try again with the whales but they were still too far out for the boat to reach them and so the trip did not go. We decided that it was time to leave Kaikoura but we will be traveling back that way in a few days...so hopefully the ... read more

Dear all, Its my last night in Sydney. Since I last wrote we have been diving at Shelley beach which was enjoyable but very cold! Over the past few months I have been enjoying diving in temperatures of about 28 - 30 deg C, which is often like diving in a warm bath. The water temperature here was 18 deg C...which was not as bad as the UK but it was still VERY cold! During our first dive we saw lots of stingrays and then we warmed up in the sun before our second dive. The previous weekend the second dive had been cancelled as a spotter plane had spotted great white sharks and so the beach was cleared. Thankfully no dangerous sharks spotted and so we got back into the water. We were actually looking ... read more

Dear all, Road Trip 1 - Melbourne, Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, Sydney. Day one We got up really early and went to Sydney airport where we caught our flight down to Melbourne. Then came the exciting bit...picking up the camper van. The three of us loaded our bags on board and set off out of Melbourne down the Great Ocean Road. The scenery was great as the road hugs the coast. After a while we spotted some wild Koalas in the trees so we stopped to take photos. We found a quiet town called Apollo Bay and stopped at a camp site for the night. After dinner we went for a walk but this was cut short by rain! Typical camping weather! Day Two We were up early, had our breakfast, packed up the van ... read more

Dear all, After Dan and I left Palau we began our long journey to Chuuk in Micronesia. First we flew from Palau to Yap and then on to Guam. In Guam we changed planes, stuffed our faces with Burger King and then flew on to Chuuk!! We arrived here in the morning having missed a whole night of sleep...but according to the immigration lady we still looked like Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio!!!! We were staying on the island of Weno. Our hotel was nice but very hot and had nothing around it. No restaurant and no taxi's to go anywhere! In our room we had a kitchen, so I thought that I would cook us dinner. Then I went into the shop and realised that it wasn't going to be easy. No fresh foods, ... read more

Dear all, Where to begin?? We arrived here in Palau in the early hours of the morning feeling sleepy but excited. We had finally arrived at one of our dream destinations!! Palau is a group of islands and we stayed in Koror as its a good jumping off point for all of the divesites. Next morning we were up early even though we had barely slept as we were eager to explore Palau. We wandered into Koror town and I was feeling a little disappointed....it was just a town, where was my amazing tropical island?? Next day we got on a dive boat and that was when I realised that you have to go out to sea to realise that the other parts of Palau are beautiful...totally beautiful and like nothing that I had ever seen ... read more