I checked out at Airlie Beach and met some of my Fraser family who had just got off a boat, and some others that had just arrived in town. You really do bump into all the same people up the east coast! I found Taylor who I met in Rainbow beach who happened to be on the same boat as me and we checked in at the dock when the rain started to fall. Luckily this was the only time it rained on the trip..was worried for a while!

Getting on the boat it was soon apparent that it was very girl heavy, we had 17 girls a 4 boys in the end with two crew members. Glen one of the crew members went through all our safety talk and we were on our way. We sailed for a few hours and cracked open the goon and got to know everyone on the boat. We had a guy on our boat Bobby who had bought his guitar and we all ended up sitting on the roof of the boat having a good singsong, although poor Bobby was getting requests for everything. He played me black by Pearl Jam which was so good, even though I'm sure we were the only two who knew what it was.

Nearly everyone sleeps on the deck of the boat so we made a giant floorbed and set up for the night. My bed was right by the side of the boat and there was a strong wind so I woke up freezing, I went downstairs and took 3 sleeping bags and cocooned myself in them and was all good again. The girl next to me didn't even know it was when we woke up the next day!

We were woken up with Phil Collins 'something in the air tonight' blasting through the speakers which was an amazing way to be woken, especially that early. I had an awesome cup of tea before we got in the dingy and went to shore on Whitehaven beach. I don't think words or photos can describe how amazing the beach was. It has the finest sand in the world and is like walking on pure white flour it's incredible. We took some cheesy group photos and enjoyed the beach for a few hours but it all went very fast and soon it was time to head back to the boat.

Once everyone was back on board we sailed round to a spot we could snorkel in. Everyone had to wear stinger suits as there are jellyfish in the water which weren't really the most attractive item to say the least, but hey safety first and all that. The dingy took us from the boat in groups and as soon as you got in the water it was apparent that we were completely surrounded by fish it was crazy! I thought I'd seen a lot of fish snorkelling in Hawaii and Fiji but this really was something else. There were even some really large fish happily swimming amongst us all. With a lot of us bobbing in the water there were a lot of titanic 'is there anybody out theeeere' jokes going on, and was a good laugh.

Back on board we all watched the sunset which was incredible and had yet another awesome meal that Glen had cooked for us. A while after dinner Glen appeared on deck wearing a fairy outfit and an elephant thong, and it was clear we were going to be playing some games… we got into teams and were given a bag of outfits each, we got off lightly with lumberjack shirts where others had nightdresses and big pants etc. We then proceeded in playing stupid games that were pretty amusing, even involving me in an arm wrestling contest. You will be pleased to hear our team won (TIMMMBBEEERRR) and we were awarded a bag full of junk food for our efforts. Was definitely all a good laugh and put everyone in good spirits.

The ended up with some dancing and making Bobby sing for us again before heading back to floor bed on deck, this time I got a better spot away from the side of the boat and slept much better, to be awoken by good morning Vietnam which wasn't quite as peaceful the wake up as Phil Collins the previous day but was definitely effective on us.

We sailed over to another area for us to snorkel in, there were less fish than the day before but lots of beautiful coral. The tide was pretty high and the current strong and I could feel myself struggling with it, Taylor drifted into coral and cut his foot open quite badly. If it wasn't for Ted warning me I think I would have possibly suffered the same fate. I didn't spend too long in this time as I could feel myself being dragged by the current and I was aware of how I'm not the strongest swimmer so got myself back to the boat but was glad I gave it a go and saw the coral.

After this it was time to set sail back to Airlie beach which was going to take about 3 hours. The sea was actually really rough on this part of the journey and we decided the best thing to do was to sit at the front of the boat and just get wet with it. This was great until a freak wave came over the whole deck and got into the safe place some of our belongings were including my camera which I'm sad to say is now no more. Apparently salt water and electronics don't mix. I'm just glad my memory card was still ok and that it happened at the end of the trip as well. It did mean an expensive trip to the camera shop for me yesterday though!

Back on shore the guys on my boat convinced me to change my bus to Cairns from 8:30pm to 2:30am so I could go to the boat after party. Never one to miss a party I managed to do this and dumped my stuff in the guys room back at Nomads and met up with some of my other east coast buddies who were in town. After glamming up we went to the boat after party and had a good drink and dance together. By about 12 I was wondering if I could hold out until 2:30 but I managed to keep going!

When I got on the bus (another 12 hour, joy!) there was only one other person on there and it was FREEZING. I was lucky I hadn't got around to unpacking my boat bag so had leggings a jumper and socks otherwise I don't know what I would have done! I got into Cairns in the afternoon and checked into Gilligans, a hostel that everyone seems to stay at. Not that I've ever been to Magaluf, but that's what I would have expected it to be like.. plus there were 3 AFL teams staying so it was over run by highly boozed up lads, luckily my room mates were pretty sound, could have gone a different way!

I headed to the lagoon (you can't swim in the sea because of the reef) and found Lucy and Deb for a good catch up. We went for a wander around but I can't say we were particularly enamoured with the place. We went back to the hostel and watched programmes on shark attacks before deciding an early night was on the cards. After two nights on a boat and one on a bus I obviously needed my sleep as I slept for 12 hours, even though one of the guys said it was impossible to get a good nights sleep as our balcony overlooked the night club. Like I said, I obviously needed it!

The next day I caught up with Jen and Carrie and got a new camera (needed a stiff drink after that) and we again went for a wander about town and took in the sunshine. It was to be my last night on the east coast so in the evening Lucy and I got a box of goon and we joined Callum and Stu who had just arrived in. I even saw Ted from my boat family as he has got into town as well. It's such a small world up the east coast!! After drinking and dancing we said our goodbyes and I crashed out ready to take my next adventure to the west coast where I'm currently on a plane heading to… I think it goes without saying that I've met some amazing people on my travels up the coast and know I've made some friends for life. Love you all! xx