Hi everyone. It's been so long since the last update, so this postcard is going to be long, but probably not as descriptive as previous ones! We stayed at our help exchange for over two weeks and had a great time while we were there. Mick and Jan were so good to us and we will definitley be keeping in touch with them. Jan took us to the Eumundi markets the Saturday before we left and it's a good job we are travelling in a van or there could have been so many purchases! It's a very 'arty' type market and quite different to the ones at home. Fuz had a ball with Mick and picked up a good few surfing tips to help him on his way. Mick and Fuz also fixed up the van so we have now got an awning attached to it. It's great! The van is going to be some machine by the time we're finished with it! Since the last update we have been on a few organised trips. We went on a trip to Fraser Island, which is one of the largest sand islands in the world. It was supposed to be a group of 15 of us on a 4 wheel drive bus, but there was only six of us (Fuz and 5 chicks, he was not amused!) and they were the most boring group of people we have come across. There were two Irish girls and it was like pulling teeth to get any craic! Meal times were a nightmare, with everyone staring at their food, hoping it would do something exciting! It also rained alot on the trip and the majority of the sight seeing is designed for outdoors, so not much fun there either! Both of us were pretty disappointed in the trip in general and felt that it could have been covered in two days instead of dragged over three. The other thing is, we have been so spoilt by the places we have visited up the coast, that Fraser didn't seem to be anything special compared to them. Driving on the beach was pretty good though. After Fraser we went Bundabergt (where they make the rum), but jsut spent the day there, then drove on to a place called 1770 (and Agnes Waters) which is the last surf beach on the east coast. They were beautiful places and the camp site we stayed in was lovely. The weather was gorgeous too, so a bit of sunbathing was required! After 1770, we headed on up to Airlie Beach to sail the Whitsundays. We had quite a drive from 1770 and didn't get there until late, so we just slept in the van in a car park that night, which was quite bizarre. It has signs everywhere saying you can't camp, but lots of people do it so decided it must be okay! It was actually fine, apart from the legs on our bed collapsing (after Fuz had 'fixed' them) and us waking up on a serious slope and struggling to open the side door to get out! I had to roll over in an SAS style (or that's how it felt anyway!), pull the door really quickly and hold on for dear life in case I fell out onto the pavement. It is now fixed, but we haven't slept in it since, so not sure how it is going to hold up (am sure it will be fine...). We had two free nights in a hostel in Airlie beach and it was the worst place we have stayed in so far. The staff were rude, the place was not particularly clean, there was no hot water and there was 14 in a dorm! Given that we have been used with wide open spaces, it was a bit of a shock to the system, but at least it didn't cost us anything. However, we were at Airluie to sail the Whitsundays, so the dodgy hostel was well worth it. We sailed for 3 days and two nights on an ex racing yacht called the Ragamuffin II. There was two crew and 13 passengers whcih consisted of us two, an Irish girl, a couple from the Czech Republic an Austrian and 7 Germans. I can honestly say we were pleasantly surprised at how great the trip was. Everything about it was spot on - the boat, the weather, the company, the food etc etc. The first day we went to a place called White Haven beach and it was the most gorgeous beach we have ever been to. The water was so clear and the sand is so fine it's like talcum powder. We spent most of the day there, then returned to the boat, sailed for a while and in the evening we had tea and chilled on deck with everyone, having a few beers and star gazing. It's always great to hear other people's travel tales and listen to stories about where they are from, where they are going to etc. The next day we were up nice and early and while we were on deck having our breakfast a whale was spotted basking in the early morning sun. You just can't beat seeing something like that out in it's natural environment. After that we set sail and headed to snorkel for the day. It was amazing! And that coming from me, who is not at all confident in the water! The water was so clear and we saw loads of fish, swimming up beside us, staring into our masks and feeding off the coral. It is the most amazing thing to see what appears to be another world living in the sea. On the third day we spent the day in a resort, hiked up a hill and had a swim in the pool, played beach volley ball and done handstands. It was fab! I can't remeber the last time I did a handstand and Fuz says he couldn't even do them when he was younger, but htere we were doing handstand on the beach with a big German guy and a wee Irish girl! If anyone is bored, I urge you to go out (or stay in) and do a handstand - what fun! The weather on the trip was fab for sunbathing but not so good for the sailing, which Fuz was a bit disappointed in, but he got to help out a little bit. When the trip was finished we went out with everyone for some food and drinks. Unfortunately, we stayed out longer then intended and had the first hangovers since leaving Sydney! Never mind, it was good at the time...! I feel I must finish this postcard as it is so long, but we have done so much between Airlie Beach and Cairns including hand feeding wild rock wallabies (some had little joeys in their pouch and it was amazing!), going sea kayaking, going on a 12km hike (unintentionally I might add!) and a 2 hour trail ride which included going bareback in the sea! All this in a space of 3 days on Magnetic Island, am exhausted! Anyway, that is you all fully updated, all be it a bit rushed. I have also put a load of photos up, so you can see where we've been. We are now in Cairns and heading to New Zealand on Saturday, which we are really looking forward to. Going to take a bit of adapting to the snow though! Hope everyone is okay, keep the messages coming, I love reading them (and so does everyone else who logs on!). Take care, lots of love, Em and FuzXXX