The bus to Airlie Beach was jam packed and trying to sleep in the confinement of one seat was pretty difficult although I am getting better with practice (and I have had a fair bit of that). We eventually got into Airlie at around 10 the next morning just a few hours before we were due to board our boat and sail off around the 74 tropical island that make up the Whitsundays. After showering, packing a small bag with just what we needed and picking up our stinger suit (to protect us from the numerous jellyfish that inhabit the water and could potentially kill us - nice eh) I headed over to the briefing. By complete coincidence we were asked to get into groups of six. 5 lads + 1 girl = 6 people (and not a whole lot of fun like you disgusting people were thinking - tut tut!) but sharing a room with five lads was an eye-opener to say the least, but I won't elaborate. We picked our snorkels and headed down to the marina where we were going to jump aboard our boat - the Pride of Airlie. The Pride of Airlie was a catamaran that accommodated seventy-two of us; it may seem like a lot but because we were staying on an island for the two nights there were no sleeper cabins on board therefore plenty of room. We were all assigned security numbers to ensure we weren't left behind or lost at sea - I was 44. You feel so special when you know your just a number. Hehe.

As the boat headed out of port it bounced up and down and a few of us were holding on as tight as possible but it soon calmed down and we were all served a glass of champagne each - classy hey! That day we were sailing straight for South Mole Island, our home away from home foe the next two nights. The boat weaved its way in-between the islands, many of which were just outcrops in the sea but a few big enough to accommodate houses and resorts. I imagine it must be wonderful to live on a tropical island but it must also have its drawbacks. No.1, it must get lonely sometimes and be a major effort when you need to go to the mainland to get supplies. No.2, when the weather is bad there is not all that much protection from the elements. Just a month or so before I reached the east coast the whole of queensland was hit by a cyclone. Airlie Beach was severely hit and many boats didn't survive the weather. A few friends of mine from Melbourne had been there at the time and all the Whitsundays trips were cancelled. I was so lucky, I have had near perfect weather the entire trip so far.

When we reached South Mole Island everyone headed up to the rooms, quickly got showered and changed before heading over to the bar for happy hour and to watch the sunset. It was beautiful to watch with the palm trees silhouetted against it. The five lads, Yvonne, Sinead and I had a good laugh dancing and attempting to pole dance on the not so discreetly placed pole in the middle of the room - I had bruises on my thighs for the best part of the next week and I only attempted the pole the once!

The next morning we woke up early and were on the boat and sailing by 7.30am. We were heading for Whitehaven beach. Whitehaven beach is the third best beach in the world and it is not hard to understand why! The sand on the beach is 98% silica, so fine that it can clean jewellery. After diving off the boat into the crystal clear seawater and swimming to shore in our very sexy stinger suits, Joe and I decided that we would attempt to walk the entire length of the beach along the shoreline. It was a stunning day and we were lucky enough to see whole schools of fish and were three feet from a ray swimming in the shallows. Back on board the boat we spotted the most enormous fish and a huge leatherback turtle that was at least two metres in length! It was an amazing sight. It was a pity we couldn't have stayed longer but we were off to snorkel on part of the reef.

The snorkelling was great. I got to see some beautifully coloured fish and chase them around the coral. The water was a little murky but it was stunning all the same. After spending a fair time in the water we headed back for South Mole Island. We arrived back with a good hour untill sundown so Joe, Stu snd I took it upon ourselves to play a quick round of golf. It was a while since I had laughed that hard. We were awful! We lost so many balls, but to be fair we found a fair few aswell - it seems we were not the only ones to play shockingly. I had the power and the lift, however, my aim was a little off we I succeeded to hit the top of a thirty foot tree! The other two weren't all that brilliant either and by the time it came to the seventh hole it was too dark to see who was worse.

We had dinner, a shower and then the drinking games began - we had to pass balloons between legs, swap tops with the person next to us, along with many other obsqure games. It was another fun night which got funnier when at some rediculous time in the morning, after we had all gone to bed, one of the lads from our boat walked into our room and tried to get into bed with Mark, thinking it was his bed, in his room. We all had a good giggle at that.

It was our last day and we were heading back to Airlie Beach. First we went for a snorkel on the coral surounding Black Island (whos former name was Bali Island but was changed following the Bali bombings). The reef was similar to the first, but still special and just made me more excited about getting up to Cairns to have the chance to dive on the a couple of the individual reefs on the Great Barrier Reef. We got back into the Marina at Airlie at about midday. The three days had been great fun and it was hard to believe that I had actually been sailing and snorkeling amongst tropical islands off the coast of Australia and visited the third best beach in the world! It is all so far far away from home.

That night the lads headed up to Cairns and the girls and I stayed an extra night and headed up the next day on yet another overnight bus - my last one though - Yey!