So after a rather shaky week in Cairns struggling to find work (immediate vacancies at MacDonalds or the local topless/lingerie bar "Leather and Lace"), fortune smiles down once more and it's the Bay of Islands all over again - but this time, on steroids!

I've landed a chambermaid job on Lizard Lsland, a very posh resort 250kms out to sea on the Great Barrier Reef. (Don't we love Great things? Like the Great Yorkshire Show). Anyway, it's utterly the most amazingly beautiful paradise type desert island and i'm just over the moon to be going, even if it is to do a lowly job. I'll gladly clean toilets and make beds (again) if it means living in such a unique place.

Captain Cook was the first non-indig person to set foot there and it also holds great significance for the Aborigines as a sacred place. Go here for info on the resort. http://www.travelzone.com.au/travelzone.php?pageid=0775§ion=about

So i'll be working my ass off in 30deg heat for little under $14 an hour but on my days off i get to go snorkelling on the GBR! And yes it is so named because of the large goannas and monitors that live there. No mobile coverage on the Island but there is Internet and landline. About 80 staff work there and they have a social club and a little shop and staff rooms. There's a barge service from the mainland every 2 two weeks and you can order stuff to be brought if you need something special. They have access to the Flying Doctor for emergencies and there is a nurse on the island.

I'm booked on a charter flight out tomorrow so i've been rushing round today trying to gather up various things that i think i might need. Have got rid of yet more stuff too as i can only take 16 kilos (!). In the meantime, i've a had a particularly bad reaction to mosquito and midge bites and went to the Doctors this morning because it's been so bad. He was lovely and gave me some cream. He said living in the tropics takes some getting used to and you really have to take precautions to not be bitten. But if that's the most of my worries, then i'm doing alright aren't i?

x