On Saturday we went on a trip to the Whitsunday Islands and the barrier reef. Thankfully the weather was better. We took a 30 min hellicopter ride over the islands, the famous whitehaven beach & hill inlet and then over the reef and the famous hear shaped reef as shown above. The snad at whitehaven beach is pure white, and the colours of the sea were a gorgeous green colour. There are lots of small islands mainly inhabitated, some with some hotel resorts on, and most with lovely secluded beaches. We ten flew onto the Barrier Reef, and were so pleased to finally see it as it should look, you have to fly over it to really apprecaite it. It was awesome, all the colours of the sea, and you could see how clear the water was, and see the coral below, you could also see how large the reef is. We flew over the heart shaped reef, and it really is just like in the pictures, a heart surrounded by other reefs, very magical. We landed at the pontoon and got kitted out for snorkelling. We were surprised to see a huge groper fish underneath the pontoon, which looked very scary. There was also lots of big shawls of fish swimming round. Jill was a little scared getting in the water. We wore lovely stinger suits. The rref here was much easier to see, less choppy than Cairns and lots more fish. It also was set up so you could swim along the edge of the reef drop, so you could see down about 20metres plus. Saw loads of fish, at one point we were in the middle of a large shoal of fish, with larger fish diving into them to feed. It was just like youve seen on tv with the fish moving round in a huge pack together darting in different directions trying not to get eaten. There was also lots of huge clams. This was the barrier reef we had hoped for, and made up for the disappointment of our previous trip. It was another fantastic day, the photos dont do it justice, you really need to see it to appreciate how amazing it is. And if I can do, when im scared of fish then anyone can! We got the boat back to the main land, the wind had got up so another bumpy ride with lots of ill green people. We sailed through the islands and dropped off at a couple of island resorts. We were so lucky with weather as today the weathers gone rubbish again, a cyclone warning is in place due to hit the coast some point tomorrow! Thankfully we are heading south today on our journey to Brisbane.