Day 2 of the PADI course was similar to the first with a pool session in the morning followed by a lecture on dive locations world wide and the pros and cons of various "software" (mask, snorkel & fins for the uninitiated). Lunch with the whole group at a burger restaurant (no not McDonalds!) was followed by a visit to the PD shop to give us the opportunity to purchase said software (which we did!) I did the exam whilst Nicola did some research for the days...

Fantastic breakfast, "Hotel Cairns" will have a lot to live up to. Pro Dive picked us up at 08:30. Met by Awesome Jack (our classroom instructor) and Nervous Andrew (on trial for a job with PD) The day was filled with classroom in the morning, medical at lunch and our first pool session in the afternoon. Met "Normal" Georg from Munich who was taking a parallel course for German speakers The course was run at a frenetic pace and Nicola decided at the end of the...

Arrived Cairns airport at 19:00 after the sun had set. Being the first to be dropped off from the shuttle bus we soon realised the hotel was not at Cairns Central! Acacia Court Hotel had been recommend by a guide in Uluru and was $45/ person / night and included full English breakfast. This was cheap for Australia. As we were not sure about the standard of the hotel we had opted to move for the next 2 nights to the package accommodation offered by the Pro Dive ...

Once again an early start, 4.30 pm to catch the Uluru Express to watch the sunrise over Uluru at 5.55 am. The sunrise proved to be better than yesterday with some gorgeous pink cloud around. I chatted to a lovely young girl who was on a 3 day visit to Uluru from New York. She said it was a special package and she was flying back after the 3 days! So much for saving the planet. On the coach we met a couple who had been in Cairns for 9 days who gave us some tips ...

Up at 4.30am to go on the 'Anangu' Sunrise Tour'. Everyone on the coach was very quiet, not a good time to start a conversation Nicola. We arrived at the sunrise viewing area along with at least 400 other sleepy heads. Everyone intent on getting the best spot for photos, all determined to stand their ground if necessary. As Henry was in charge of the camera I was under no such obligation. The good news was no rain, the sun rose and a feel good factor was had by...