It rained for most of the journey from Townsville to Airlie Beach and when we arrived it was tipping it down. A group of us all huddled under the bus shelterand ended up calling a taxi as it was raining too much to walk.

I met up with 2 girls I met on Magnetic Island Leah and Kim and we headed to the bar next to the hostel to get something to eat and drink. Laura and Frida who I met on the bus also joined us along with Misha and later that evening Emma who I met in Cairns and Jenny and Bobby came and joined us. Was so good to see everyone and we ended up staying in the bar till closing getting to know and catching up with each other. When we headed to bed it was still raining!

The morning after the night before and guess what it was still raining! I headed out to meet all the others from last night for 'brunch' and then Misha, Laura and I went shopping! Was so nice just to buy a couple of new items of clothing as I am starting to get fed up of the small selection of clothes that I brought away. I checked in for my Whitsundays trip the following day and then met the others for a couple of drinks and then had an early night in preperation for my trip. When I went to bed it was still raining!

I woke up the following morning and it had finally stopped raining. I headed to the harbour and found the check in point for my Whitsundays adventure on 'Wings'. We set sail and all sat on the back of the boat enjoying the brief bit of sunshine. We reached our first stop and I got ready to do a dive. I went out with Woody the dive instructer and another girl from the boat and after doing our core skills we were good to go. We saw so many pretty fish and coral and was a great experience. Once back on board I got changed and tried to get warm while we set sail again. In the evening we stopped and had a bbq and a few drinks and then it started to rain again!

The following morning it was still raining and we set sail at 6.30am which woke most of us up, had breakfast and stopped at our first location of the day. We went snorkeling and along with lots of fish and coral we came across a Mantaray which was about 2-3 metres wide. We were able to follow it and I got to swim along next to it. It was such an amazing experience. After an hour in the water we all got out and headed to our next location. When we stopped we heard a noise in the water and saw a whale breach so close to the boat, we had such a great view, I still cant believe I actually got to see a whale in the wild. We headed back into the water and came across a group of Mantarays. We followed them and swam with them for ages. They were playing with us and kept swimming up to us and changing directions. They were so big and gracefull and it was such an amazing experience to get to swim with them. I loved it!

After some lunch we stopped again and were taken to the shore by the smaller boatso that we could walk to the lookout over Whitehaven Beach. It was still pouring with rain and we all got so wet. We stopped for photos along the way and then took lots of funny ones on the beach. It did not stop raining the whole time and we were soaked right through! Whitehaven still looked pretty, but nothing like the lovely photos you always see. We headed back to the boat and tried to get dry and warm. While we were waiting for dinner we spotted 3 dolphins playing at the back of the boat so we sat and watched them before we ate, as it had finally stopped raining. We spent the evening watching the dolphins and having a few drinks before heading to bed.

I was awake at 6.30am again when they moved the boat. After breakfast we headed back into the water and managed to find a Turtle. We followed it and swam with it only for it to lead us to a massive Turtle which we ended up following for ages. Another great experience! It was then time to head back to the boat, pack our things up and head back to Airlie Beach. On the way back we saw another 2 Whales swimming in the distance, it was great to get another opportunity to see Whales in the wild and a great end to our Whitsundays trip! After we said our goodbye's I headed back to the hostel to have a nice hot shower, nap and wash and dry all my wet clothes. Even though the weather had been pants it was such a great few days and I got to enjoy so many amazing experiences!

In the evening most of the people from the trip headed to the bar to have a few drinks together. Misha, Laura and Frida also came out and after our drinks at Down Under Bar we headed to the Irish bar, then Mumma Africa's and back to the Irish bar. There was a great band in the Irish bar and they even played a Greenday song for me - Time of Your Life, which I have always loved. At 3am we left and Misha and I went and got a pie and sat on the pavement eating and chatting until it was time to go to bed. A great last night in Airlie Beach!

The following moring I had to check out the hostel and luckily I was not feeling too hungover. Misha and I had breakfast and then spent the day at the lagoon as the sun was finally out! We were catching the Greyhound Bus at 11.45pm so the day dragged as we tried to find things to occupy ourselves! The bus was late but we finally set off just after midnight! Was sad to leave Airlie Beach as I had such a good time here with some great people!