Sadly it’s now time for me to go home, but I’ve had the most amazing trip. My dad joined me in the Philippines for a few days at a diving resort near Dauin on the island of Negros. We had a lovely time there and met some interesting fellow guests and staff, with whom we spent some fun evenings putting the world to rights and enjoying the resort’s delicious food.

The main focus of my stay was diving and I managed to fit eight dives into three days. Most of these were in the Dauin coastal area, but on one day we took the boat across to Apo Island, which is a marine sanctuary and a world-famous diving area. My dad joined me on the dive boat for snorkelling – I couldn’t quite persuade him to dive again in his sixties, but never mind! – and he said that the snorkelling was excellent. He also took the first photos and videos of me diving since I took my Open Water course in 2009! On the first day, I was diving with two fellow guests and a divemaster, but it soon became clear that the other guests hadn’t done as much diving as me, so from the second day onwards I had a divemaster to myself, which was ideal. The diving was excellent and very well organised; I’m thinking about going back to do my Rescue course at some point. Highlights included:

• Seeing five turtles within the first few minutes of a dive off Apo Island. I think they were all green turtles, but there are also Hawksbills in the area. Turtles were also visible to snorkelers and alongside the boat all day.

• Doing a fast drift dive (using the current to carry us along) over quite a long distance and ending up in a hot springs area, where we could feel the boiling hot water coming out of holes in the sand.

• Seeing a seahorse, cuttlefish and squid on a night dive. The squid was attracted to the light from our torches and inked twice while right in front of us. I don’t think I’ve seen a squid on a dive before.

Yesterday, my dad and I hired a driver and took a day trip to the twin lakes and Casaroro waterfall, both of which are famous sights in this region. The twin lakes were about an hour and a half’s drive from our resort. They were formed within ancient volcanic craters and are apparently very deep. A boatman rowed us across the first lake to the strip of land between the lakes, where we climbed a lookout tower for beautiful views of both lakes. There were hardly any other tourists around. This is a national park area and it is incredibly unspoilt and tranquil. One of the best things was the variety of wildlife visible around the lakes; we counted at least four different species of butterfly and also spotted a large brown snake and an iguana sunning themselves on logs.

After a bite to eat, we drove back towards our resort and stopped at Casaroro waterfall on the way. We had been warned that the 335 concrete and metal steps down to the waterfall were “gruelling” but we didn’t realise why we needed a guide until we reached the bottom of the steps. That’s not the end – there’s another half mile or so of scrambling over rocks and crossing and re-crossing the river before you reach the waterfall itself. Our guide was indispensable in showing us exactly where to put our feet and grabbing us if we slipped! The remains of a concrete walkway and bridges can be seen in several places; apparently there used to be a walkway all the way to the waterfall, but it was washed away in a typhoon several years ago. My dad and I agreed that, despite the risks involved, it was almost more fun without the walkway! Once again, we had the waterfall almost to ourselves. It is around 75m high and is a spectacular sight. The waterfall is quite narrow, so the quantity of water isn’t so much that it’s impossible to get close to it. Apparently it’s even possible to swim in the plunge pool (which again is very deep) but we decided against it yesterday. It certainly wasn’t an easy trek but it was worth it.

As I wait for my flight back to London, it only remains for me to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog! I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I’ll post more about other things in due course.