Hello again boys and girls,

On Friday the 11th of April it was time to board the good old "Greyhound" and head north to Agnes Water/The Town of 1770. Unfortunately we couldn't all get booked on the same bus, so Marc and I set off first in the morning and Jillian boarded the later bus at 1pm. After a long 7 hour or so bus journey we arrived safe and well, we booked into our hostel "Cool Bananas" and went for some fish and chips. Jillian was pretty tired once she arrived so it was off to bed, eye mask, ear plugs and all!! "Cool Banana's is a great cheap hostel with brilliant beds and a nice clean kitchen….would recommend.

The following morning we took a stroll around Agnes Water, it's a tiny town so it didn't take very long at all, we planned to go Surfing here but the company does not hire out wet suits so we decided to give it a miss…still Jelly Fish season after all. So it was another day at the beach, catching some rays and planning the next stage of our tip up to Airlie Beach. After a 14 hour overnight bus from Agnes Water we finally arrived in Airlie Beach at 6.30am on Sunday the 13th of April. We were all feeling pretty tired and hoped that we would get checked into our hostel "Magnums", thankfully we got checked in, but as it was so early in the morning and we didn't want to wake up the guys in our room we set off on a walk around Airlie Beach.

Airlie Beach is of course known as the Gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. Its full of holiday makers and backpackers eager to dive and see the Whitsundays. Our first impressions were good, the sun was shining and Airlie Beach had a great vibe. We were already booked to go on our cruise on the Monday so we decided to make the most of our Sunday and have a "sesh", Jillian led us astray as usual and we ended up in a Mexican Bar drinking Corona's, but that's ok cause we all know Corona doesn't get you drunk!! We went back to the hostel to mingle with our roomies which was fun…The guy called Deano was hilarious, a run away from Melbourne who had some cracking spoof stories. Anyway after a lot of laughing and abuse from the crazy Mexican guy working in Cactus Jo's it was off to bed. We were up bright and early on Monday the 14th of April, all very excited about our trip to the Whitsundays. The boat we chose to go with was called "Power Play" and it can be booked through a company called Oz Adventures who are based in Airlie Beach. It was a sunny day which was good as none of us were keen to take sea sick tablets although Nurse Jillian was all prepared in case any of us became unwell!! We left the Marina around 12.30pm and were introduced to the Crew, Steve was the Dive Instructor, Pete was our Skipper and Gemma was the chef and playmate. We were given the low down about safety, what to put down the toilet (NO strings or Wings) and the itinerary for the next few days. The power play goes twice the speed of a sailing boat and was very comfortable. Our first stop was Blue Pearl Bay. Marc and I got all kitted out to do our first dive in the G.B.R (Great Barrier Reef). It was pretty special, we seen the most amazing coral and fish life, although were slightly disappointed with the visibility….you can't have it all at once we don't suppose. We did however have a fantastic encounter with a Maori Wrasse who is called Pricilla, as you can see from the pics she was MASSIVE. It was a very surreal feeling being so close to a fish, we were so close you could kiss her. Once our 40 min dive was up we indulged in a bit of snorkeling and seen Giant Groper as well as well as a clown fish and heaps of coral. " Lady Muck" AKA Miss Jillian Downie decided that she was not up for diving or snorkeling so she stayed on board and enjoyed the hot tub spa which was on our boat. After a whole day in the water the boat finally stopped for the evening at Macona Inlets to watch the Sunset. We were constancy being fed, dinner was "Chicken Night" done on the BBQ with heaps of salad 'n' pasta dishes etc. The "Power Play" is NOT a party boat as most people go on it to dive, you can't dive with alcohol in your system and to be honest we were all pretty tired after a day in the sun, so it was early bed after a few games of UNO….yes of course we took it on the boat, it comes EVERYWHERE with us, ha ha ha…

The Crew made the whole experience really good fun, if you were caught saying "mine" you had to do 10 press up's, as you can imagine most people kept trying to catch everyone out, hilarious…poor Eve had to do it more that anyone.

It was an early rise at 05.30am on Tuesday the 15th of April. The engines woke Marc and I who were sleeping in the double room under the boat, right next to the engine. Thankfully we got up as we all caught a glimpse of some Giant Turtles having an early morning stretch and yawn….very cool! We were again served excellent food, a nice continental Brekkie with fresh fruit and a cuppa.

Our next port of call was the infamous Whitehaven Beach, it's the longest and probably most spectacular beach on the East Coast of Australia. First of all we went for a walk up to Tongue Point which is a viewing platform, bliss total bliss…. The next few hours were spent chilling on the beach which has the finest sand in the world, so much so that if you steal any you can be fined up to $200,000 we were not going to risk it, even although it does polish up the silver very nicely.

Lady Muck, Marc and I spotted heaps of Sting Rays, probably about 16 were counted in total, Jillian also noticed a few Spiders, that girl has a wild imagination! On our way back from the beach we all got the chance to lick an Ant's bottom….yes LICK!! Its like a burst of sour Starbursts landing on your tongue, interesting!! Jillian of course did not partake in this sport…Maybe she will do it the next time she goes to the Whitsundays??? Marc and I completed another amazing scuba dive in the afternoon, before we all chilled out in the hot tub and watched the sunset. The stars are also worth a mention, so clear and bright. Marc and I hit the hay and left Jillian scooping vino and playing "Poker" with some of our new mates. She actually done quite well, beginners luck Marc reckons.

We were all up very early again on Wednesday the 16th of April, it was our last morning on the boat so we made the most of it by snorkeling all morning, our diving instructor couldn't dive any more as he had caught a cold and was having trouble equalizing. Once we all arrived back at Airlie beach we said our farewells to the crew and our new friends. That evening there was a boat trip party organized so we all met up again for a few well deserved drinks. Jamie had to be taken home for being a tad tipsy, but lady muck stayed out for a few before returning to our new hostel "Backpackers by the Bay", very nice quiet hostel.

It was another early rise as we had to catch the 9am bus to Townsville. Until next time,

Jamie and Marc The "Jinty's"