More diving...

We decided to go a little bit off the beaten track and landed up in this very small town called 1770. No Aussies that we have spoken to have actually heard of it and it is a little bit of a mecca for the middle aged caravan types. Nothing wrong with that of course although not the coolest place to hang out, our van drew some attention but only of the nice friendly down- to-earth Aussie type that we have become so used to. It really is like being back in SA in the 80's before everyone got a bit scared. Really great to have all this beauty, friendliness, sunshine and safety to boot. Me thinks London is going to seem rather hostile when we get back.

We were once again lured by going diving on the GBR and we are still holding out to see manta rays. Unfortunately, we did not manage to see any but we had an awesome 2 dives & a snorkel with perfect visibility, masses of fish of all types & sizes and stunning coral. I can't remember them all but we did see reef sharks, a 1.7m Grouper, Barracuda, 1m long Flute Mouths, a stunning pair of Sea Eagles and to top it all off Dolphins followed our boat back into the lagoon on the way home. We also saw our first Crown of Thorns starfish which are stunning, but one of the biggest current threats to the coral. An individual can consume up to 6 square meters of living reef per year, so they are currently being 'controlled' i.e. sent to heaven a little earlier than planned.

After a few days chilling and doing some much needed laundry (unlike in Asia there isn't anyone to just hand it to), we set off nice and early to Rainbow Beach.

**Check out our 1770 Pics HERE - underwater 35mm uploads to follow soon!**