The next part of my amazing journey is the east coast from Brisbane to Port Douglas.

So I said goodbye to all my amazing new friends in Broome and flew into Brisbane via Perth. The flight took 4 hours altogether and it was an over night flight. I booked my travel through the greyhound bus, so basically it gets you from Brisbane to Cairns, you can do as many stops as you want, you just cant go back on yourself. Its a really good way to get around and you always meet loads of people on the greyhound too.

My 1st stop was Noosa. It was a nice town and I was there for three days. The only thing really to do is surf and go to the Steve Irwin Zoo. I randomly got talking to a honey moon couple on the beach who were the same age as me and I kind of tagged along with them for a couple of days. I felt a bit intrusive but they were Aussie and wanted to make sure I had a good time, evn though it was there honeymoon. Aussies are just like that, they would actually do anything to make you feel welcome in Oz!! From Noosa I jumped on the greyhound to Hervey Bay which is where you go for Fraser Island. Well it rained so much we couldnt get on Fraser Island so my tour was cancelled. Its not a problem cause I can always go back as the ticket is valid for a year. I jumped back on the greyhound and done the 12 hour drive to Airlie Beach.

Airlie Beach is amazing and anyone who has been will know what Im talking about. In all fairness the beach is awful but its a liitle party town and its where you cruise for Whitsundays which is the highlight of my trip for the east coast. The Whitsundays are a group of stunning islands which is kind of surrounded by the fringing reed of the barrier reef, although the Great Barrier Reef is further North. I landed up in Airlie beach to start my 3 day cruise the following day. When I arrived I had the hassle of having to find a new hostel as the hostel I booked into was so disgusting I couldnt even bring myself past reception, so after managing to get a refund and find a new place to stay I got a call to say my cruise had been cancelled due to lack of numbers but they were upgrading to a sailing boat and it was an "upgrade" to the party boat I had been booked into. I would have to hang around in Airlie though for 3 days before doing so. The good thing about Airlie though was the weather, scorching sunshine and that was there winter weather. I just lay on the lagoon and baked for 3 days. I also made a heap of really good friends and made the most of the Airlie beach nightlife. So it came the day of my sailing and my upgrade was the honeymoon boat ( I was the only single) and I was the only English speaking person!!! Not a backpacker or crazy party boat. this was full on saling, fine dining and drinking expensive wine. My 1st thought was " Oh My God Im actually going to throw up", LOL. But I actually had the best time. The boat was made up of 6 couples and myself. The others were Dutch, Swedish, german and Hungarian. So we set sail and the the crew got everyone involved in the sailing. I got to steer and help pull down the sails which was hard work. The winds were good so we sailed for hours, admiring the beautiful water and islands. It is the equivalent of paradise. We got dropped off at White haven beach. this beach is heaven. We then snorkelled for a while and this was beautiful although the water was freezing and the wet suit makes it colder too. The food was beautiful and so was the drink. We went into a little bay watched the sunset and the moon rise. We also saw lots of sea turtles in the nightime. They are so beautiful. the rest of the night involved drinking and chatting and everyone made an effort to talk in Englsih and I was making everyone laugh with my crazy Scottish accent! The following day we watched the sunrise over breakfast, set sail again and went snorkeling again. We also went to a look out point of the whole of Whitehaven beach. I managed to burn my whole body. Sailing can be chilly but the sun is still as strong and you burn like anything. My face was red raw for a week after. When we got back to Airlie beach myself and the honey mooners went on the drink and they wanted me to take them to the backpackers pub so they could get cheap jugs and always good banter in those places!! One hangover later, I checked out and headed another 10 hours north to Magnnetic island.

Magnetic island is beautiful, you get the boat from Townsville and it takes about 30 minutes to get there. I jumped on a bus to my hostel and ended up sharing a dorm with 4 cray Brazillian girls. Most of the day was spent chilling on the beach snorkelling or trekking around looking for koalas. i managed to spot a koala having a feed. They are so cute and there eyes are always half shut cos they are just too tired to open them. They are so cuddly but they smell weird. The hostel I stayed in gave the women free champagne so myself and the brazilians took full advange!! We took part in loads of the competitions and one a bar tap and a car rental for the day. So much fun. I was happy to leave Magnetic island as the weather was gorgeous but so windy so you ended up freezing after a while. From Magnetic island I headed to cairns for Daintree Rainforest and Great Barier Reef.

Cairns is a proper party town. it was roasting when I got there too. again my hostel was disgusting and was kind of glad my travelling was coming to an end cos I was sick of the hostels now. people live like animals. I have some horror stories but couldnt put them on my blog. My second day in Cairns was for my Great Barrier Reef dive. You set out early and get tea and toast on the boat. They do a little intro into the reef and help everyone get there wetsuits and diving gear on. Nobody on the boat had a diving cert so if you want to dive you go in a group. I met a group of German guys who were really sound so we went together. The reef, in my opinion, isnt great. The water is lovely but where so many peopla have been down there , the reed is 45% dead and hardly any fish. You do see a few weird looking things. I saw a big fish with googly looking eyes, he was massive, I also saw Nemo. When you get off the boat loads of weird looking thing surround the boat so you dont actually have to go far to see stuff. The water is freezing and the wet suits just makes you even colder. The dive wasnt great and they dont like people taking pictures, but you can. You do two dives or snorkels, I didnt even do my 2nd dive as the water was so choppy and I was frozen after the 1st Dive. I think all the cool fish, like the reef sharks and sting rays come out during the summer. I have Cairns booked for 20th to 24th December and doing the reef again with a friend on Xmas Eve so fingers crossed I enjoy better next time. I think I jsut couldnt be bothered, you see so many reefs and by the time I got to Cairns I was over it. Its best to see it now anyway cos the reef will be gone in the next 50 years.

So I left Cairns the following day. Cairns is too much of a party town and couldnt really be bothered with the thousands of backpackers, I wasnt much fun by Cairns. I ended up booking myself on a 3 day trip of the Daintree rainforest which i loved . I saw so many crocs on the daintree river. they are massive and some of them try follow the boat too which is a bit scary. Theres also a few wild crocs on the beach which is a bit scary. the daintree rainforest is the oldest rainforest, older than the amazon. It is really amazing and has a cool beach there, we done loads, including a midnight walk and I went horse riding round the rain forest and beach for a full day and that was just mental galloping in the sea with the horses. No crocs thankfully.

After I left Diantree I stayed in Port Douglas for three nights. Port douglas is the playground to the rich and famous. Its a lovely little town with a really cool beach. The shops are gorgeous too and the weather beautiful. I was a bit sad to be leaving Port douglas as that was the end of my travels. I booked Melbourne last minute cause I just couldnt be bothered with the hassle of Sydney and I knew more people in Melbourne. I dont regret it one bit cos Im having the time of my life and cant wait till summer , which Im told is just round the corner