The Great Barrier Reef

I believe that self-growth is all about pushing out of your comfort zone, experiencing new things and  exploring new places. It was this belief that made me sky-dive many years ago despite no real interest in jumping out of a plane. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it but at least I know what it feels like to be hurtling down to earth from over 10,000 feet. It was the same with paragliding although that was much more pleasant (as it was Switzerland rather than A1/fenland with my skydive). My feelings about scuba diving were not dissimilar to that of skydiving but I really wanted to do it and could not think of a better place to do so than the Great Barrier Reef.

 We used Cairns as our hub for exploring the reef and stayed in a fabulous AirBnb place there too. There are *so many* options when it comes to reef exploration from Cairns and we chose a boat that wasn't too big or too slow and had good reviews. After about an hour's sail into the reef area, we stopped to get on to a glass bottomed boat and do some initial lazy viewing of the Reef's offerings.

After that, our interest definitely piqued, we were given thorough safety demos and training. I was mildy terrified ( as I'm not a good swimmer and a wimp) but decided to keep focused to complete my bucket list mission. The diving session started with us being kitted up, testing equipment and procedures at a shallower depth before heading deep into the ocean.

The diving instructors were absolutely brilliant and kept us safe whilst pointing our the wonderful features of the reef. One of my fellow divers had a panic attack and had to be taken back up so I had another instructor guide me - to be honest I was quite pleased to have kept my cool despite this other person throwing a wobbly under the ocean.

The fact is that once you relax and start taking in the magnificent underwater surroundings, you stop feeling terrified and are instead are awestruck but the curious aquatic life around you. My favourite bit was when a big scary fish came into our zone and all the little fish started scurrying away. We were so close to all the action - it was super!

In between diving sessions, we stopped by a little island in the middle of the ocean for a bit of a rest.  It was stunning wee place but the hot Australian sun was beating down mercilessly and our Scotland acclimatised bodies couldn't sun bathe for very long. So we headed back to the boat for another round of snorkeling and diving before calling it a day.

Unlike my skydiving experience, I loved scuba diving ( even if I was hardly a pro) and would highly recommend it to anyone!

Have you sorted out new year resolutions for 2016 and how much of them are about pushing boundaries? I'd love to hear about them! Ann x

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Exploring Sydney

I must start this post with a apology of sorts - this is written from the perspective of someone who had an incredible 10 days in Tokyo and Japan before landing in Sydney. We were prepared to be underwhelmed - few places in world are as 'out of the ordinary' as Japan. But, that does not mean they are not just as special in their own unique way. So forgive me if I do not ooze with the kind of enthusiasm  I've displayed in the past whilst writing about Japan, The Outer Hebrides and East Africa. Sydney is a very cool place too - big and gutsy -  it is just that bit more familiar than the others mentioned despite being so far away.

Whilst in Sydney, we stayed in a stunning AirBnB property in the Petersham neighbourhood. It was handy for getting to and from the airport and an interesting area too. Many of the suburbs in Sydney have strong European links.  Petersham, for example, is very Portuguese with houses that were beautiful and had ornate architecture. Even the local supermarkets and what they offer seem to vary depending on the locality. It felt very cosmopolitan. Plus, the transport links across Sydney are very good.

 We spent an afternoon in Manly beach catching up with an old friend and that was very pleasant. Not the most spectacular beach but it was lively and had a friendly vibe. We were told that Bondi is usually teeming with tourists and so we gave that a miss. The journey by boat from Sydney Harbour to Manly and back is well worth doing (on a clear day) for the spectacular views of Sydney Harbour.

Sydney is great for shopping too but I had only one shopping agenda on my mind - heading to the Bloch flagship store and stocking up on ballet flats at half the UK price. And I did just that as I know they will last me absolutely ages - I wore my last pair almost daily and in all kinds of weather and they looked reasonably good even after a year of heavy use.

Other things we did in Sydney included a trip to the Bally outlet (but we didn't buy anything), numerous pit stops in town for coffee and cake (Gumption coffee is well worth checking out), catching up with friends and checking out some local restaurants. City is even more stunning by night  and a walk around the Harbour area and The Rocks is a great way to finish an evening.

Hope you are all having a lovely holiday season! Ann x

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