Well we survived the night better than others. Quite a few were sick and one of the English women, (a young doctor) got thrown across her bathroom and has a badly bruised hip and lower back. Pam and Nigel, the other Kiwi couple had a water pipe burst above them so the upper bunk got soaked. There was also quite a bit of water downstairs and the mats in the dining room were pretty wet. The boat must have rounded a headland at about midnight and then it was less choppy but the engines came full on so it was still pretty bouncy. Our bed has a heavy wooden base and it shifted out from the wall and that was with us in it! I saw the crew carry Pam’s mattresses up onto the sundeck and with the wind it should dry ok.

We had a slightly earlier breakfast as we were the first group on the island and have an allotted time slot until 10am. This stop is mainly about the geology. The island group is volcanic and today’s island had wonderful lava flows. There is evidence of iron throughout the rock and plants are just beginning to recolonise after the last eruption in the part we visited in 1835. There have been more recent eruptions (ie 5-10 years ago) but that was further over.

It’s like an alien scene and very beautiful in its own way.

Close to the shore are lots of brightly coloured crabs then some tiny plants just beginning and a couple of lava cacti. We saw one locust and that was it in terms of animals once we got more than 50m from the shore. One of our group (Kim) is a geologist and was in his element. Mike came across a different kind of rock and that turned out to be a lava ‘mortar’ that had exploded out from the volcano.

After the walk we were quickly back onto the Daphne to change into togs and wetsuits for a snorkel along the shore. That was fantastic. We don’t have an underwater camera and it is impossible to describe all the fish and corals. Most of the coral is not highly coloured as in parts of Fiji but there are small patches of oranges, blues and yellows. Some of the fish were quite big and we saw a decent sized reef shark when we got in but it was clearly timid and swam off pretty quickly.

We were hoping to find penguins but it was not to be. Evidently there is a colony there and they are very inquisitive and will come right up to swimmers and peck at your goggles but no sign of them today. Others saw a large turtle and some stingrays. The water was much colder (well 2C colder) but we got used to it quickly and it was great fun.

We had hot showers on our return and some time to relax while the boat went round to the other side of the island. It’s overcast today and the wind feels a bit chillier. I have managed to hit either rocks or coral with my knees so will get some cream on it. That’s a disadvantage of using a shorter wetsuit I guess – although it is much easier to get in and out of.

We had some sort of yummy steak in a sauce for lunch together with octopus rice, green beans and carrot, beetroot salad and a tomato salad, followed by fresh fruit.

No siesta today. The boat had already travelled to another island so we grabbed our snorkelling gear and headed off in the zodiacs to the island, which had a bright red beach.

First we went for a short walk to this little lake just behind the first dune. It is a lake that would regularly get salt water and is the home to a colony of flamingos. Only 3 at home today but they obliged by swimming close to the shore by the time we got back from our walk.

The walk took us up and over a hill where we got great views and then over to the windy side. On the way, Laura spotted the orange tail of a snake under a cactus. It was about 1m long but quite thin with a small head. Jacinto says it’s a Racer Snake and that one would be an adult. It is a constrictor rather than venomous and quite timid.

After the walk we headed back to our snorkelling gear and had about 45 minutes swimming along the cliff edge. I had a sea lion swimming along beside me to start with. Lots of brightly coloured fish, some of the quite big. There were also huge schools of fish that might be sardines all along the edge of the cliffs. There were more starfish this afternoon but no sharks, although we’d spotted a couple from the windy side when we looked down.

We snorkelled as far as where it got too rough and wavy and then back to the beach. That is our last snorkel on this trip.

On our return to the boat it was hot chocolate for afternoon tea together with these yummy banana donut things. Having a shower was tricky as the boat was on the move quickly and it’s quite rough. I got thrown against the door knob coming out of the bathroom and suspect that will leave a tender bruise for a day or so. We can’t be going too far as the boat is always anchored when we eat.

We had the farewell meeting and complimentary pinacolada before dinner. Pam and Nigel had thought to make an award ceremony. Nigel dressed up as a Frigate bird with a black hood and pair of tongs for a beak and a red top tucked into the neck of his shirt. He’s tall and thin and did a remarkably good imitation.

Pam and drawn Boobies in each sheet of notepaper and had an individual citation for everyone. Mike’s was for booking the honeymoon suite out from under the honeymooners and mine was for having a top shelf taste (gin and whiskey) and best knowledge of current affairs (know it all ?). It was very well done and all the citations were very appropriate and taken in good humour.

After dinner we had to get packed as it will be a 6am start. We also had to pay our bar bill, wet suit hire and put the crew and guide tips into the envelopes supplied to our rooms. The trip information gives you a suggested range for the tips: US$8-10 per day per person for the guide and US$12-14 per person per day for the crew collectively, which is divided around the 7 of them. I hope the chefs get plenty. It’s a miracle what they can produce out of a tiny galley and when the boat is often rolling all over the place. On the way back to the cabin we stopped to see the sharks that Kay had spotted off the back of the boat. There were 3 at first. Quite a lot bigger in girth than last night and then the number swelled to 8 while we were watching. They were Oceanic White Tips evidently and looked pretty menacing but probably wouldn’t take on any of us individually. They didn’t seem hungry but had a sea lion and a Pelican nervous. At one stage 3 of them circled the pelican so it took itself off. The sea lion stayed just under the edge of the boat and didn’t flaunt its presence too much, but clearly they could have taken it if they were so inclined. All of them were at least 2m long and reasonably chunky.

The boat is at anchor all night so nice and smooth.