Right, we arrived in Airlie Beach (famous for being the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands) around sunset on the 22nd. We pulled up into the caravan park recommended in our site book and found that it was a pretty un-organised hole. We were given a map that did not actually resemble the park and it took us about half an hour to actually find our berth. After doing that we just headed to the internet cafe to upload our photos on to CD's as we had met so many people that had lost their photos! The guy in the shop was really helpful and actually let us stay after it had closed to enable us to put the last of our pictures onto disc.

We spent the whole of the next day walking around the main street and headland. We had beautiful weather with few clouds in the sky and we had great views of thebeach and harbour from the headland. We booked our Whitsundays tour, our Fraser Island Safari and bought a didgeridoo each! When we arrived in Australia we saw so many for sale in Cairns and all the way down the coast for quite low prices, but the thing that put us off was the cost of sending them home as not only would they be likely to break from the pressure in the plane, but they would cost in the region of $300. One of the main reasons for buying them when we did was because the shop offered free air mail, so we saved lots of money. The other main reason was the fact that we actually designed them ourself by describing our travels so far. The symbols were then passed on to the artist (the aboriginal owner of the shop) who painted them on for us. We have not actually seen the final product so they will be waiting for us when we return! The symbols that were used consisted of animals like goanna's (large lizards), turtles, and kangaroos. Other symbols that were basic shapes like circles and waves were used to describe certain parts of travelling like meeting people. We spent the evening at the lively Beaches Hostel bar where we met up some friends from the White Water Rafting in Tully and had a few drinks.

The main reason for travelling to Airlie Beach was of course, to sail around the Whitsunday's. These consist of hundreds of reef islands that have amazing terrain, pure white silica sand beaches and pristine waters. The boat that we booked onto was called Condor and we were to board it at 1pm. At about 11am we set off for the marina and on the way we met a German guy called Thomas. We stopped off at the last bottleshop on the wharf and bought some whiskey and coke mix in a can! Australia has cool beverages such as mixers and spirits already in cans and bottles so you can buy a six pack without looking like a homeless guy with a bottle! I also bought a bag of white wine which is know in Oz as 'goon'. Apparently goon is an aboriginal word for pillow and once the bag of wine is finished it is commonly blown up to resemble a pillow, therefore the wine is referred to as goon. Whilst waiting for our boat to be ready, we made friends with 2 English guys, both of whom were called Harry and a German girl called Alex. We then collected our stinger suits (lycra wet suits that protect you from jellyfish) and boarded Condor. After a short briefing from the crew and captain we set off out into the sea by sail - we both helped put the sails up. A few hours later we stopped in at a cove and went snorkelling around one of the reefs. We put our stinger suit, mask and fins on and jumped in. Every little itch was met with a jump in the water as we were still quite worried about the jellyfish. Those found in the coastal waters around the Eastern borders pack enough toxins in their tentacles to kill you at the slightest touch. They are commonly known as box jellyfish and fortunately we did not encounter any. After seeing a few tropical fish we swam back to the boat and were greeted by the crew who informed us that tea and coffee as well as biscuits were waiting for us below deck. For dinner we had chicken and vegetables in a honey and mustard sauce which we were allowed to soak up with bread! After finishing dinner we stayed out on the deck and chilled out with whiskey and goon for the rest of the night before heading below for bed. The beds were set out along the sides of the boat with a double sixed bunk below a single hammock style bunk. It was quite cramped and hot but we managed to get through the night without being woken up too many times. We woke up early the next morning to the sound of the engine as there was not enough wind to sail with. On the positive side, we had clear blue skies and beautiful temperatures. Our first stop today was Whitehaven beach where we walked to a lookout and had amazing views over the beach and mountains of surrounding islands. Whitehaven beach is famous for being 98% silica meaning it was pearly white and squeeked when you walked. We spent 2 hours relaxing and taking crazy photos on the beach before heading back to the boat by dingy where we were lucky enough to see a turtle swim past. We also saw dolphins whilst sailing. We spent most of the afternoon sunbathing on the deck before we went off snorkelling again, but this time we had clearer water and I managed to get a few photos of clown and anenome fish (Nemo). For dinner we had steak and vegetables which was even better than the previous nights meal. We again spent the evening drinking and playing games with all the people on board the boat. We arrived back at Airlie Beach around 11am the following day and we walked back to our van where we unloaded all of our stuff. Because we had no food left we joined all the others from the boat in having some fast food before we went and relaxed by the lagoon. Most coastal towns and cities in Australia have a man-made lagoon where everyone can relax and swim as the seas are too deadly. If it is not because of crocodiles it is because of jellyfish, and if it is not because of jellyfish it is because of sharks! For dinner we shared a $5 pizza and while we waited we had a free didgeridoo lesson but found out it is much harder than you think as well as tiring. The guy who gave the lesson can circular breathe which makes playing a lot easier, so we will have to learn how to do that before we can progress. In the evening we went to Beaches Youth Hostel where we met up with all the people from the boat and we had a great night playing games, watching the football and just relaxing. Our next stop is Fraser Island where a 4 wheel-drive safari is on the cards.