Arrived safely in Airlie Beach. Got the car on Thursday and have been driving down the East Coast since then. After heading North for a couple of hours, I got absolutely charred/burnt to a crisp at Port Douglas. I'm still feeling the after effects at the moment.

The nice people in the rainforest hostel at Mission Beach say that sunburn is a fool's rash. I'm inclined to agree since it was my fault for not putting ANY suntan lotion on. I've learnt my lesson yet again. Met Scott, one of the guys I used to work with at Waterworld, up here quite a few times and in different places.

After Mission, we headed down to Magnetic Island. Apparently they have good full moon parties there, but I found it to be distinctly boring, sleepy and average. We went to an animal sanctuary in Townsville, which was awesome. I got to feed and stroke wallabies, put another snake round my neck, and watch crocodiles and snakes being fed. Sweet!

Then another 3 hour drive down to Airlie Beach. This place is alive with the spirit of backpackers, couples, families, divers... everyone who wants a piece of sailing, tanning, and diving at the Whitsundays.

Sarah and I are going on a 2 day, 2 night sailing trip tomorrow, which includes all food and obviously accommodation. I can't wait to get a rest from driving. But this does mean we're going to have a massive charge of driving to get to Sydney. Hopefully the suntan I get here will make up for that!