The wind howled around us, making my eyes water and my nose numb with cold. The waves were lapping worryingly higher. We still had a long way to go and I began to wonder whether we should give up and head back.

We had spent the day in Busselton, a pretty seaside town in Western Australia, and I wanted to see the famous Underwater Observatory before we carried on our road trip down south. The problem with this was that the Observatory is at the very end of Busselton Jetty: The longest wooden jetty in the Southern Hemisphere. It´s nearly two kilometers in length and not only is this a fair walk for a strict non walker, but it was also the windiest day imaginable!

Bracing ourselves against the blustery conditions, we struggled to stay on course and were buffeted from side to side. Still, the further we went, the more determined I was to make it to the end without being knocked over the rails into the angry Indian Ocean. I was very relieved when we finally reached the refuge of the Observatory.

Our guide ushered us down the wooden stairs where huge glass windows looked out into the ocean. As we descended below the surface of the water, I hoped that the glass was as thick as they said it was. There was a whole lot of ocean out there!

We admired the coral and colourful plant species on the sturdy legs of the jetty and soon spotted fish and other marine life being churned about by the waves.
It was quite surreal to have an underwater ocean view, whilst remaining fully clothed and dry.

By the time we reached the bottom, we were effectively on the sea bed: 8 metres below the ocean´s surface. There were some pretty big varieties of fish swimming around. I even spotted a blow fish. What we must have looked like to them, I do not know! Fish from all around probably come to see the spectacle of the strange two legged creatures, peering out of their glass cage in the middle of their underwater world!