It was clear right from the start that this assignment was going to be all about crazy travel schedules - 10 countries in 10 weeks, over 80,000KM from beginning to end. Starting on the 4th April, Simon Enderby started his marathon trip by heading to the UK via Manilla, Hong Kong and Bahrain, met with the rest of the crew and divers, before traveling on once again to Miami and finally Belize - 5 days after starting out Simon finally hit the water to begin the shoot.

Clear waters and pristine reefs greeted Simon, presenter Monty Halls and topside cameraman Richard Farish. The much hoped for whale shark encounters eluded the team however they still managed to film some great shark action in the Blue Hole and stingrays at Shark Alley. After being serenaded by the worlds worst hotel band on Richard's birthday the crew and dive team flew on to their next stop, Bimini. Unfortunately bad weather and an incredibly errant operator prevented the crew from achieving much during their time on Bimini. Luckily Ray Easmon, the series producer, managed to forge some great relations with the Bimini tourist board, and arranged a return trip to Bimini in October.

Next on the schedule were the Socorro Islands, some 370 miles from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Here Simon and the guys were met by Captain Michael Lever and crew of the luxurious and incredibly well equipped Nautilus Explorer. After some 16 hours of heavy sailing the crew and dive team dropped in first at San Benedicto - an ash covered active volcanic cone rising out of the ocean. Once again nature played hard to get and although the big animals, such as giant manta rays, scalloped hammerheads and a fleeting 3-4m tiger shark were seen below the boat, poor visibility and poor weather hampered filming. It wasnt until they reached the magical larva plug of Roca Partida that Simon, Monty and Richard hit pay dirt.

This small 15m high guano covered plug rises from a depth of several thousand meters, and the up-welling, deep water currents, combined with its isolated steep walled location means Roca Partida is an incredible refuge for huge amounts of life. Shy scalloped hammerheads were seen on every dive, silver tips, silky and galapagos reef sharks patrolled the slopes and hung out at the cleaning stations but it is the giant manta ray action which really blew away the team. Up to 5 huge mantas would cruise up to the divers and seek interaction. These mantas love bubbles and the caress of the divers hands! The crew's normal 'No Touch' policy was waved aside, not by Simon or by Monty, but by one 4m wingsan ray in particular which repeatedly swam up and 'sat' on Simon's head and camera system!

May 1st, Simon's Birthday, saw the crew load up the 300kgs of kit and head off to their next destination - the Hommassa River in Florida. Rain and cold weather greeted the team the next day and stayed with them for most of their week, making the 1-2 hour-long snorkel excursions with the famous Florida manatees somewhat chilly and grim. However the joy of being able to swim and film such a graceful and beautifully charismatic animal left the team very much elated - one of the rare moments when Monty was actually in danger at being at a loss for words! The crew also explored some of the local blue water caverns and caves, as well as the famous crystal river looking for giant catfish and snapping turtles. However by the time Simon and the crew left Florida, with Monty - the new catfish eating champion of the south - the tight schedule, long hours, cold weather and amount of time spent on planes started to take its toll with most of the crew suffering from colds.

By the time Simon reached Ecuador and the Galapagos he was taking in as much Vitamin C, decongestants and flu drugs as he possibly could to make it possible to continue diving and filming. Much to Simon's delight the team would first dive and film around Enderby Island! However rough weather and a water-laden dive boat meant everyone had to survive a 3 hour harrowing boat ride to get there. Once underwater everything began to fall into plan and the divers found them selves swallowed by vast schools of Salema, somewhat resembling the vast sardine bait balls of South Africa. Simon filmed Monty as he completely disappeared in the centre of the fishy mass swaying rhythmically in the large swell. In the next few days the crew filmes green and hawksbill turtles, eagle rays, sea lions, fur seals, the incredible Galapagos penguins and prehistoric marine iguanas.

The weather eventually dried up but the waves remained huge and angry and so it was like diving a washing machine as the team dived the infamous Gordon's Rocks in search of Hammerhead sharks. As Simon descended through the white water he had to work hard against the strong current flowing through the channel which makes this the perfect site to see big pelagics. A small school of 15 or so sharks first showed itself at 25m. The encounter was brief but left us with a taste of what to expect from this incredible place. As Simon filmed the shark action, Monty and guide Macaron watched as an underwater tornado spun down the channel and caught the cameraman unawares. Simon later described the incident as being twisted by two huge hands, one on his upper body twisting him one way whilst another twisted his waist and legs in the opposite direction. After several interesting minutes Simon managed to break free of the twisters by finning sideways to safety, shaken but still up for some more.

The last day of underwater filming saw the team return at Gordons Rocks to try again with the hammers. The weather had calmed a little but the swell and currents remained as fierce as ever. The first dive saw more scalloped hammerhead footage safely in the can and although there was a strong current running all looked set for the second and last dive at the location. Simon, Monty and Macaron descended once more to the channel floor and it wasn't long before the hammerheads cruised by once more. Just as the divers were planning to ascend the reef wall current like a freight train swept through the channel, grabbing the divers and whisking them from 30m to 8m in a matter of seconds before they could find a handhold and put a stop to their uncontrolled ascent. On the way up Simon experienced immense pain in his left ear and immediately realised he had suffered some extreme baro-trauma to his ear drum - the technical term for blowing an ear drum. A visit to the local medical centre confirmed a blown ear drum, already compounded with an infection - the end of Simon's diving for Great Ocean Adventure. As a result, Jason Isley flew out to New Zealand to join the team a week early for the second half of this incredible marathon.