Whitsunday Islands: Upon arriving to Airlie Beach, we were all a little worried because it was pouring rain & we would be spending the next 3 days on a Maxi sailboat...not the weather we were hoping for. Fortunately it cleared up for the whole trip & rained both before & after the sailing! The sailing trip was great & we got spoiled with some great cooking which was a nice break after eating mostly noodles as its the easiest thing to cook in a backpacker hostel. We spent the next 3 days lazing & playing sports on Whitehaven (nicest, white sandy beach I've ever seen), sunbathing and partying on the sailboat, and participating in a sailing race while we got soaking wet as the skip tried to go through the currents intentionally. One short scuba dive on the great barrier reef was included with the trip but it wasn't very good. The snorkelling was fantastic so it compensated for the poor diving.

Cairns: I arrived in Cairns from the overnight bus, where little sleep is possible & went straight onto a Catamaran to do another scuba dive on the outer portion of the Great Barrier Reef. This dive was much better since visibility was great & the dive master was actually interested in the diving. We saw the biggest lobster & turtles I've ever seen & the colors of the corals was stunning. The rest of the time in Cairns was spent going out with people from the Whitsundays tour, a group from the hostel and others from the days dive trip. The night scene in Cairns was great & we met a bunch of locals who showed us the city.