Once again, the intrepid travellers have returned, and are back safe and sound on dry land. And, I'm sure you will be pleased to hear, with big smiles on our faces!! Turns out the weather wasn't so bad after all... When we left on Monday afternoon it was still horrid, we spent the 2 hour journey to our resort on South Molle Island inside the boat while some of the hardier passengers braved the drizzle. We then got soaked to the skin walking to the cocktail bar (ha ha!) but it had more or less stopped by about 6.30. Happily, that was the last we were to see of the rain. The resort was lovely, at least we knew it would be if it wasn't currently soaked through. I felt sorry for us, but more sorry for the couple who had chosen to get married on a beautiful tropical island and were now having to smile through their tears! We were staying over in the backpacker section, which was slightly separated from the main part so that we could make lots of noise without disturbing people, but we were still allowed to use the resort's facilities, such as the cocktail bar, swimming pool, and not-so-hot-tub. Dinner was laid on for us by the crew in the backpacker bar, and there followed an evening of silly drinking games and general revelry, although we decided to keep a bit of a lid on it as we knew we had to be up for breakfast at 6.30am and would be on a boat the whole day! The second day dawned grey and miserable looking, and stayed that way for the entire morning. But, it didn't rain, and with the exception of the wind (and with the protection of a jumper and raincoat!) it wasn't that cold. Me, Sarah and a couple of girls we met on the boat spent every journey sat right up at the front of the boat with our legs dangling through the barriers - every time we hit a big wave we got our feet dunked on the way back down. It was hysterical, we were behaving a bit like children but I think we enjoyed the journeys more than anyone else! And, more to the point for me, I found that despite bobbing up and down constantly, I didn't feel sick at all sat at the front, so Mum, maybe that's a tactic you'd like to try some time on your next cruise?!? Our first stop was at the famed Whitehaven Beach - I'm sure its beautiful in the sun but in the grey it pretty much looked like any other beach. We got shuttled over in the little dinghy, and dutifully sat on the beach shivering for an hour or so, but sadly it couldn't really live up to the pictures you see on the postcards. After lunch we went over to a shallow reef where we could snorkel, and that was brilliant. The water wasn't as clear as in Byron, but we could still see really well, and there was loads of coral to look at. The only trouble was getting back to the boat - you had to get out the sea into the little dinghy, which involved being yoinked up by your arm by the first mate. Fine, but he seemed to think the most important thing was getting out the water, whereas I knew it was actually getting out of the water whilst keeping hold of both parts of my bikini and therefore my dignity, so it wasn't exactly the smoothest of processes! It was a bit chilly when we got out the water, but the sun came out on the return trip to South Molle and by the time we got back it had turned into a really rather nice evening. We did try the hot tub when we got back, but as you might have guessed it wasn't really that warm, so we opted for hot showers instead! We had dinner and a few drinks in the bar again in the evening, but most people were either hung over from the previous night or at the very least worn out so it was quite a sedate evening really! When we got up the next morning there was barely a cloud in the sky, so we got our Whitsunday weather at last! The deck was immediately covered with sunbathers - even those who'd stayed inside most of the rest of the trip. Needless to say Sarah and I were up at the front dipping our toes again, so not much changed for us! We went snorkelling again that morning, at a different site that had a little beach where you could get out the water. We bravely chose to jump from the boat and swim over, which was great fun. We unwisely decided to swim back to the boat at the end which wasn't so good - going against the current we weren't making any progress and were just wearing ourselves out, so we had to be picked up mid-sea! The snorkelling was good once again, we got very up close and personal to some very colourful fish. The crew were throwing bread from the dinghies to attract the fish, and it was definitely working! There was a little bit of bread floating just above my mask, and a number of little fish actually collided with my face trying to get to it! Kinda scary, I like being close but not that close! After snorkelling we had lunch and headed back to Airlie Beach, sunbathing and toe-dipping the whole way. It was a lovely journey, the islands looked stunning in the sunshine. Its amazing just how much difference a little sun can make! So that was the Whitsundays, and that was the end of our time in Airlie Beach. We spent yesterday evening watching the first of the famous State of Origin rugby league matches - its between Queensland and New South Wales and apparently is pretty much the most important game going. We supported Queensland (obviously) and they came back from 14-0 to 16-16, and lost in the final moments to a drop goal from NSW - disaster. Hopefully they will fare better in the next match! And then, this morning we got back on the bus and are now in Townsville, about half way between Airlie Beach and Cairns. We've just spent about 10 minutes exploring the town, and that seems to be all the time you need. We're off to Magnetic Island in the morning though, and the weather forecast is very promising, so that will hopefully be a success! And then on Sunday we're off to Cairns - final destination for this section of the trip! The East Coast has absolutely flown by, it seems like forever since we were in Sydney and Nicola was still with us. We'll be in Asia before we know it!!