The pic is Whitehave bay where I was before on the Whitsunday Islands - just found that pic! Still haven't managed to get the pics from the boat CD on here, but will keep trying! There's some good uns!

Anyway, its 7.30am and I have had a NIGHTMARE! The coach doesn't drop you off in town but at the road off the highway that leads to the town (which I already knew) and you get picked up by a shuttle bus to take you in (which I knew already) and pay $15 (which I didn't know!). Anyway, I'd called up the hostel 2 or 3 days before and made a reservation. I told her that I would be arriving at about 2.30am, but she said that was fine and that the shuttle bus ould be there to pick me up.

When I get to this shuttle bus, the guy driving tells me that he hhad rung the hostel, because they don't usuall take guests in the middle of the night. Turns out they didn't have my reservation - GR. The driver was very helpful and rran through all my options - sleep in the park, sleep on the beach, or sleep in the bus shelter opposite the hostel.

So I got set up in my little bus shelter. Luckily it was literally 30ft away from a police station and there was NO ONE around so it was fine. I actually managed to have a sleep! But I was woken up by heavy rain and then I was panicking that the metal shelter was going to get struck by lightening! Haha, but it didn't! The driver before told me that he always drops people off at that bus shelter and yesterday a girl he'd dropped off there slept so well that she didn't wake up until 7am when there was a crowd of people round her waiting for the bus! Haha.

I came into the hostel at about 6.30am, and have to wait til 10am to check in which is annoying! All part of the experience though I suppose, hahaha!

..... It's now 2.30pm! I managed to check in at about 8.30 which was a lot better, had a bit of a nap and feel better now lol! In my annoyance this monrning I forgot to say about what I did yesterday!

Went on a day trip to the Eungella national park, which is about an hour west of Mackay. Its the most southern rainforest in Australia and has been isolated to 30,000 years so has loads of cool plants and animals that they don't have anywhere else in the world! The tour guide was funny bless him, we couldn't shut him up! He was telling us every little thing possible! Went for a walk through the rainforest, went to a roadside pub bar thingy and had a pie (apparently they're award winning infamous pies - this seemed to be a big promotional point for the tour!), which was lovely!

Went swimming in the Finch Hatton Gorge - the biggest waterfall in this rainforest. It was nice! The water looked black because it was so deep - it was clear cos when we were in it you could see your feet really clearly, lbut it just looked black! Apperently they've sent scuba divers down there but no one has ever got to the bottom because its so deep. That must be really deep cos divers go to 50/60m all the time!

Anyway yeah, had a little swim there! I didn't take a change of clothes or towel so I was wet for the rest of the day! And because of the time we got to the bus station, and then I didn't hae a hostel I didn't hav chance to get out of the wet stuff (which had dried) until 9am today. lovely.

Anyway, after that little swim we went to the Broken River. Spent ages standing there watching for platypus - probably about 45 mins with the 6 of us there silent staring at the water! Saw loads of turtles (which everyone kept thinking were platypus), lots of fish a couple of really blue kingfishers and a big water snake thing! A couple of goannas, brush turkeys, cockatoos (but they're everywhere so they aren't cool anymore!) a cookaburra, a HUGE spider. Defo the biggest I've seen now - bigger than my hand!

Then we moved spots along the river, and saw some platypus! Saw about 3 in the end I think! they're funny little things! They have th beak of a duck, the tail of a beaver and they look like roddents and have the feet of an amphibian! So th tour guide Alan tells us! And they lay eggs, but are mammals. They feed their young milk, but they don't have teets (or whatever you call em!), the milk comes out through the pores in the platypus' belly!

But yeah saw a few swimming around, one spent ages on the surface scratching and spinning around! Tried to get photos but don't think I could really zoom in enough so you can't really see! Pretty cool though. there's only about 100 left in Oz so glad to hae seen a couple!

Have booked a reef trip tomorrow. Was going to do a trip to lady Musgrave Island, but am doing a different one now to a bit of the reef called Fitzroy lagoon (or something). the Lady Musgrave boat has like 200 people on the boat, whereas this new one only has 70 and it is a brand new boat and this bit of reef is supposed to be a lot more spectacular than lady Musgrave! Should be good. Might do some diving too.

Have booked to go down to Hervey Bay on Sunday and do the Fraser Island trip on monday - exciting! Bye now!