After seeing the Ningaloo Reef and swimming with the manta rays, I really wanted to get closer to the coral and fish and do a diving course. I haven't swum properly for years and I've been scared of deep water and uncomfortable being out of my depth for as long as I can remember. So admittedly, I wasn't an ideal candidate for a PADI Open Water course, but I thought it would be good to challenge myself. There was no reason, after all, why I should be frightened, it was all in my head - or so I kept telling myself. I had a look around the different dive shops and compared prices and asked questions. The Cairns Dive Centre offered a 10 minute introductory session in the swimming pool before signing up for the course to see whether you liked it, so I decided to do that. I felt so nervous before even going in the pool with all the scuba gear on, but the instructor, Adrian, was great and I found I could take the mask off and regulator out - first near the surface and then at 4 metres. I booked the course for the following day.

There were ten of us in the group and we had an instructor and a Trainee Dive Master who was assisting. We spent the first two days in the pool and classroom, learning about the equipment and skills. My dive buddy was Rachel, who was pretty nervous as well, which was actually good because we gave each other confidence without being pressured. I thought that I would be the remedial student in the class, but I did all right on the swimming test and I wasn't the worst at all with regards to skills, etc. When everyone else got out for lunch one day, the instructor, me and another guy, spent a while just messing around in the bottom of the pool, skiing down the slope with weights, somersaulting and blowing bubbles.

On the third day, we took a boat out for two hours to the Great Barrier Reef, where another boat was moored. I started to panic the first time we got in the ocean as it was a little choppy and I felt rushed, but once we were under the surface, it was fine. The weather was actually beautiful and it was pretty calm in general. There was so much to see in all the bommies: gorgeous corals, clams and fish - all in technicolour. There were angel fish, a giant trevally, butterfly fish, anemone clown fish and some fabulous Christmas tree worms, which vanished into trap doors when you got close to them. We shared an underwater camera, but the photos really don't do it justice. We did two dives and some snorkelling on the first day, then Rachel and I decided to do the optional night dive. It was amazing! We were both scared at first about being in the pitch black, but we each had a torch and it was a totally different experience. I saw an epaulette shark and a huge turtle asleep in a cave. Another turtle swam past and when it stopped on some coral, I floated down gently and stroked its shell and fin. There were red bass around, who used our torch light to hunt by. It was fantastic! We showered and had some beers on the deck, then went to bed with the ship's motion rocking us to sleep. We were woken up at 5.30 and had another dive, then one again at 8.00, and our last one at 11.00, which we did in pairs without instructors. It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to dive again!