Airlie Beach was a 'normal' looking town thank christ! (I wasn't sure they existed in Oz anymore!) There didn't seem to be a red in sight! - back to civilisation! After checking in to 'Beaches' backpackers, we went up to the yacht office to check-in for the trip we were starting the following day, and then made our way back to the bar at 5pm to watch the premiereship football highlights......(now we are talking!) we didn't end up leaving until just after midnight - so as you can imagine, I was well loobed but this time.

We had breaky and then walked around town for a bit before making our way to the marina at 12.30 for the start of our yachting adventure! We got signed up and then had to pay $15 dollars for a sexy 'stinger' suit (which we all had to wear if we wanted to swim/snorkel because of all the jellyfish in the sea at the mo). Once everyone arrived, Laura one of the crew members from 'Condor' arrived and we all followed her down to the boat. The marina was - let's say 'exclusive' (!) - and all the boats we walked past loked like multi-million pound cruisers....nice! We walked to the end, and there it was - the huge yacht, Condor, that was to be our home for nearly 3 days. It reminded me of the 3 fantastic days I had on the liverboard with the Kho Toa crew. The Condor was 93ft long and must have ben almost 30ft wide. It's an ex-racing yacht and has won both the Around the World and Sydney to Hobart races, several times.

We climbed aboard (minus shoes) and went stright down the hatch to the lower deck - down almost vertical steps - where there was a tiny kitchen in the middle, surrounded by bunk beds all the way up each side of the yacht. We bagged the first bunk by the hatch and then sat around whilst Laura explained all the areas of the yacht and what we'd be doing for the next few days. Meanwhile, the guys up top had already pushed off and we were motoring out to sea. Once back up on the deck, we all gave a hand turning the winches and had the main sail up in no time. The engines were cut and we ploughed through the water with only the sound of the crashing water around the bow. Although it started healing over slightly, it was only slightly and we all hung off one side of the boat and even got a spot of sunbathing in.

At around 6pm, the sun had started to go down and so it got a bit chilly. Everyone put their jumpers on and we sat around eating nachos that Laura had prepared. With all the fresh air, everyone was quite knackered and so after dinner and a few beers, we all headed to our bunks. All was well......until the snoring bagan! There was a guy right by us and I swear, I thought his nostrils were about to explode. I have NEVER heard anything like it in my life. Everyone remained polite for the first 30 minutes, but then they started shouting and getting really annoyed. Becki ended up prodding the guy, which made him shut-up for all of about 5 minutes, but then...someone else started up. Becki couldn't take it and disappeared on the deck for the night!

Day 2 and after a lovely breaky, we motored around the islands and stopped at various points to snorkel and swim. At one point, Becki and I had just got out of the water and were waiting on deck, when suddenly, a dolphin jumped out of the water about 4ft from the boat. It was amazing. We saw about 5 of them all swimming together and they looked so beautiful - I've never seen wild dolphins before!

At 11am, we were dropped at Whitehaven beach, where we spent two hours on the longest, whitest, finest sandy beach I've ever seen. It was like johnsons baby powder! Totally relaxed, we headed back to the yacht for lunch and then carried on to the next stopping point. This turned out to be the absolute highlight of the trip. We stopped in a bay and walked 800m up a forested track to the 'Whitehaven Lookout Point'. I've seen this place on post cards and knew it was in the Whitsundays, but never imagined we'd actually see it. The view was totally breathtaking (well up there with the skydive view!). Whitehaven is the site of an old volcano and over the years, tides have created huge sandbanks under the water, which means that with water covering it, the different depths create the view of hundreds of shades of turqouise and blue, swirling together with the sand. It was totally awesome - I can't even describe it. See the picture for yourself - it's going in a frame on my wall as soon as I get home! Saying that I'll be moving back in with the old girl so maybe not!

We walked back down to the bay and again boarded the yacht for a trip to the last snorkel site of the trip. After that, we anchored up, stayed put for the night and enjoyed a few drinks and a BBQ on the boat before bed.

As the wind had gotten up a bit, we were able to sail on the final day and managed to put the main sail and the front sail up, all the way home. Becki panicked a bit at first as the boat was at a 45 degree angle. I had a brilliant time! The whole trip was actually amazing. I loved every minute of it - living on the boat and the sailing.

Once back on terra firma, Becki and I made our way back to Beeches and checked in again before spending the day sorting out Christmas things for home. In the evening, everyone from the trip met up in the pub and we made the most of the free beer that was supplied and then carried on drinking into the night.

The next day I watched every ball off the cricket in the bar. Obviously this was because I was waiting for the overnight bus to arrive to take us to Harvey Bay!! We'll be doing Fraser Island over the next few days and then start heading for Brisbane at the end of the week. It's only 2 weeks until I reach Sydney...and only 4 weeks until Xmas - it seems wrong!

On a happy, exciting note....IVE BOOKED MY TICKET BACK TO THAILAND!! We fly back on 19 Jan and plan to do Thailand, Laos and Vietnam before visiting a few of the Thai islands then returning to Sydney to do Ayers Rock in March.

Bye for now

Miffy x x x