Day 78 ctd - We left our boat and caught the shuttle back to Airlie Beach. We were both hungry so went to the store and bought a hawaiian pizza to cook later before going to Peter Pan's internet to catch up with people. Once back at the hostel we realised actually a pizza required an oven, something the Beaches Hostel lacked, and so Olivia took charge of microwaving the lovely thing (it turned out to be suprisingly okay). After this we went for ice cream at McDon...

Day 79 ctd - Arriving early evening in Rockhampton we caught the shuttle bus to the basic Rockhampton Backpackers where we found our bunks before exploring the area. The area was essentially large industrial estate type buildings so we had a creepy walk in the dark through the empty streets to Woolworths for a little food shopping before checking out the culinary delights of Red Rooster with its oh so helpful staff. To quote Olivia - 'Rockhampton Rocks!'.

Day 78 - Another day, another boat trip. After our free breakfast at Beaches we walked up to catch the shuttle bus to Abel Point where we got on board our boat and drank tea and ate biscuits as we cruised out through the clouds and only a hint of rain to the Whitsundays. After picking up more people at Daydream Island our first stop was Hamilton Island where we stood in the somewhat heavy rain as Catherine fed bread to the big fish underneath us. The glasss botto...

Day 77 ctd - Once in Airlie Beach we found Beaches Hostel and put our bags in the dorm before setting off to research day trips to the Whitsundays. We were spoilt for choice but finally managed to pick Cruise Whitsundays before eating delicious fishcakes and chips on the beach with the seagulls (we have yet to risk the fish and chips of Spanish mackerel), Olivia had a go on the swings and we walked around the pretty seafront before finding some places with free i...

Day 77 - After arranging accomodation for later that week we walked back to Reef HQ and saw the bits we missed before as well as revisiting tree frogs, seahorses, sharks and other fish and seeeing a man in scuba gear scooping up baby fish from the main tank. Nearby the Aboriginal Cultural Centre had interesting information on the history and treatment of Indigenous Australians and a gallery of their traditional art works. On our way back the Perc Tucker Regional ...