After 3 months in each others company for 24/7 it was very strange not to have the easy company I had become used to and reliant on in some ways but at the same time there was no point in us both rushing our view of the east coast when only one of us had work starting in little over a weeks time. The first stop on my whistle stop tour of the east coast was Airlie Beach where I planned to join a kayak day trip around the Whitsunday islands. I checked into my hostel and took a wander around during what was left of the day, on return to my dorm 3 of my dorm mates had invited 5 of their friends in for drinks and giggles which turned into them having loud lairy drinking games until the early hours with no thought to myself and 2 others in the dorm that would like to get some sleep. I had ear plugs in but it did little to drown out the high pitch excited screams and shouts. I was starting to feel old!

With the weather closing in the following day the kayak trip was cancelled so I spent the day walking around Airle Beach and relaxing before the coach came to drive me overnight to my next destination, Rainbow Beach. Rainbow Beach was a welcome relief after my short stay at Airlie. For me Airlie Beach had simularities to Blackpool in the UK and most people who have been to Blackpool know that it's a seaside town frequently visited by stag/hen dos and the only difference between the 2 places was the price of the boats in the bays.

So to Rainbow beach. A quiet sleepy village, on the coast, relaxed, friendly locals, lovely hostel called Pippies. Arriving at 7am I was a little tired from the journey because unlike the coaches that run through the night in Asia the Australian night coaches do not provide you with beds or blankets. They are standard coaches and after a few hours into a 16 hour journey you have probably tried the full reportoire of comfortable posiitions available to you in a seat and will be trying them again to see if they feel any better 2nd or 3rd time round. After breakfast I quietly crept into my new dorm dumped my rucksack and fully clothed got tucked up into bed and slept untill lunch time. At dusk a large group from the hostel were taken on a free (the magic word) walk to the sand blow of Rainbow Beach. A sand blow is a massive sand dune that has been created by the wind blowing sand inland. Rainbow Beach was so called as it has different hues of sand on the nearby coastline. We sat on the sand as a group and watched the sun go down, it was really pretty.

The following day I was picked up bright and early in a 6 weel drive, beefy bus and taken to Fraser Island. This monster bus that could hold 22 passangers had just 6 today could travel at ease on the sand of Rainbow Beach reasonably fast. Once off the ferry I was amazed that the beach on Fraser Island was actually a main road and aircraft landing strip complete with speed limit signs and wind socks. We came across a large section of beach that was covered in blue bubbles that made the sounds of schrunching bubble wrap. These were called blue bottles and were a type of jelly fish. During the morning we visited a ship wreck, Elsie creek and some pretty sand cliffs. We were also lucky enough to spot some dingos. They look like golden/white alsations if you ask me. After lunch the sun came out "WHOOHOO" and we were taken to see the colonial settlements within the island and then Lake Mackenzie which is special as the island is made up of sand so how doesn the lake remain??

It was then time to head for the ferry and with high seas and the tide now coming in it was race to get the ferry before the tide came in too far. The journey was frequently like a rodeo and we bounced around in our seats but it was great fun and our tour guide was always keeping us on our toes with his funny sence of humour mixed in with local phrases. I felt I was being educated listening to him. My last day at Pippies was Boomerang painting that turned out more challenging then you might imagine with 15 or so travellers who started out on this painting session with jokes and smiles soon turned serious when we realised it wasn't easy as it seemed. It took most of us all morning to perfect our aboriginal pieces of arts.

Meanwhile at Mission Beach I(Andy) had booked into a pretty nice hostel and wanted to spend some time helping out with a local conservation group for a few days. They promote the awareness of the cassowary and also help to protect and revegetate the local rainforest which is the cassowary's natural habitat. First impressions weren't good. The few days I could offer seemed to be unwelcome at first but they could find some work for me in the plant nursery. I turned up ready to work and was set to the task of weeding plant pots. I spent the morning weeding the pots being careful of the spiders and being surprised by a leaf frog sitting in a pot. Didn't see him until he moved and I had the pot in my hand! At lunch some of the other long term volunteers started argueing which turned into shouting, swearing and eventually tears. The afternoon was going to be a great atmosphere to work in and as I wasn't getting paid I made my excuses and left. The next day I went for a walk through the rainforest hoping to see a cassowary. Unfortunately my yomping style isn't condusive to spotting nature and I didn't see anything. The next day or two were spent walking along the beach and recovering from a hangover obtained whilst helping a local self-help writer, who called himself Mr Wonderful, drink away two bottles of bourbon on his US army pension day.

Next stop was Airlie Beach which Helena has already alluded to as being a bit like Blackpool. Yeah the boats are more expensive here and yet for all the money floating around it seems more seedy for it. I'd rather be in Blackpool. Oh forgot to mention. This is the first time I was asked to present the contents of my bag whilst leaving a shop. The Australian mechanism to prevent shop lifting. I showed the contents of my bag to the shop assistant who asked where I bought the banana in my bag. I said "Mission Beach". To which her reply was "How do I know that". Well you can imagine how the next bit went. Needless to say she was happy when I left the shop and I was aghast that I'd pretty much been accused of stealing. I left Airlie quickly. What a horrible place.

Croc watch: 0

Andy + Helena