From Airlie Beach we boarded a 75 foot boat called "The Pegasus" for our 2 day/2 night sail around the Whitsunday Islands. This is somewhere we were really looking forward to going as we had heard such amazing things about it. The tour basically took us around lots of the Whitsunday Islands -there are 74 in all- and allowed us plenty of time to discover the Great Barrier Reef with our snorkels.

We set sail around 4pm and dropped anchor in a small bay around 7pm. We had a slap up meal and got to know the other 20 odd people on board, a mix of germans, canadians and dutch. While we were having a drink, the crew put a spotlight on the water which attracts lots of small fish, this in turn attracted 3 or 4 dolphins who we all enjoyed watching dive and jump around the boat.

The next morning we were up for breakfast at 6.30am and arrived at our first dive spot, Hayman Island by 8am. Today was Vickys birthday so she got to open her presents from us sat out on deck with an early morning cuppa. Included in the trip price was a diving "taster" session which involved putting on full scuba gear, walking out so you were covered by the water and learning a few skills such as:

• Learning how to clear your mask underwater by pressing 2 fingers on the face mask and exhaling through your nose.
• Learning how to clear the regulator (breathing apparatus) of water by blowing hard into the mouth piece.
• General breathing exercises and underwater communication.

This was free and lasted around ten minutes and if you wanted to then go off and dive you had to pay. We had already booked a scuba diving trip to the Outer Reef for next week so decided not to do this as well.

Instead we donned our snorkel, mask and fins (I was doubly excited as I'd just bought my own set) and headed out to explore the reef. (NB. If you think we look ridiculous in the photos in what look like all in one lycra suits, you'd be right, but they do serve a purpose. It is still "stinger" season in Australia so we all had to wear fetching stinger suits to avoid nasty jellyfish stings that can cause severe heart attacks!)

Ali and I snorkelled for about 4 hours, (the water temperature was 29'C!!) and saw lots of pretty cool stuff, our favourites include: innumerable species of tropical fish, a giant wrass and a couple of big turtles that we swam with for about half an hour.

After a well deserved lunch, we headed to our second dive spot, Luncheon Bay, where we again spent a good few hours exploring the GBR. This reef had fewer fish but lots of different coral and reef systems that were really intricate and fun to explore.

By the end of the day we were absolutely knackered and devoured our dinner. Sadly, as this was to be our last night, the crew had organised all manner of party/drinking games which was the last thing we were looking for! Still, we played along for a few hours then turned in. We decided to sleep on deck underneath the stars on the second night as the lower deck was like an oven.

The next morning we were again up just after 6am and heading to Whitehaven beach, the picture postcard beach that everyone associates the Whitsundays with. We arrived fairly early which was great as it meant we could take some nice pictures before the masses arrived, and my god did they. By 9.30am the place was packed which, for me anyway, took away the whole essence of the place - bloody tourists eh?!! Still, we had a couple of hours there taking in the scenery before we got back on the boat and started the 4 hour sail back to Airlie.

We spent the next two days in Airlie as it was a lovely little town, with a huge, free, lagoon where all the backpackers congregated during the day. We then headed for Mission Beach where Vicky had booked skydive. It was a really small town but it felt like we were in the tropics due to the masses of palm trees and the searing heat. From here we would be on our way to our final stop in Australia, Cairns.

xxx