Tuesday 18th May

Hot and sunny

Glad to wake up to sun shine and to expect our surf lesson to be happenening, but it was cancelled once again, Stephany and i went into town and chose to take part in a different surf lesson, we got kitted up and given our surf boards, when on the beach there was no waves at all, nothing! So i got my money back as i didn't see the point of learning something i already knew, so i went up and got my money back and sunbathed on the small beach, that night the scooteroo party was kicking off with a free BBQ and fre tattoos, there was a competition with the best place a tattoo can go, i helped a girl cover her arms and back in them, she went on to win but by the time they were calling the winners i ended up in bed!

Wednesday 19th May

Hot and sunny

Luckily today was sunny so Stephany and i went to the beach on the way we were told that we could have a free tour around Agnes water and 1770, so we hopped in the mini bus and it drove us around the 2 small towns, it only took 15mins but was nice to see the view of the whole town and beach, The tour guide explain to us why it was called 1770 as when captain cook arrived in the town it was in 1770, the crew of the boat hadn't eaten meat in such a long time and when they anchored up the first thing they saw was a bush turkey which they savaged and ended up calling the bay bush bay. I spent all day on the beach and hitched hiked back with Stephany and that evening i was catching the 9.30 nigth bus to Emu beach park. So we all lazed around the hostel and we got driven into town at 9pm to get on the cramed hot bus! I arrived in rockhampton at 2am and then got on another bus to Emu park which was another 40 min drive, the hostel was nice that i was staying in but i had to get up early the next day to catch the ferry across to Emu island,

Thursday 20th May

Cloudy

Unfortunately the weather was cold and cloudy so there was nothing to do on the island as it was to cold to snorkel and not nice enough to go onwalk, i spent 5 boring hours there and caught he ferry back, on the ferry the sun came out and stayed out all evening! I stayed in watching films and went to bed early as i had to get up for the 5.45am bus, i didn't really enjoy my time here as the weather ruined the island and i didn't get to spend a lot of time in the nice hostel, but atleast i didn't have to spend the whole 9 hours on the bus to Airlie beach!

Friday 21st May

5.30 start and i was in the bus by 5.45 40 min drive to Rockhampton bus stop and then about 1 hour wait for the bus to Airlie to arrive, the 6 hours went quite fast as i had both seats to myself and the driver put a film on.I arrived in Airlie beach in the afternoon and it had brightend up abit, I wasn't staying in a Hostel this time it was a hotel, I think it was a hotel and were it had run down they just gave it cheaper to backpackers! It was a nice room with 3 single beds and a huge balcony, kitchen in the room and tv with sky. so after luging all my bags up the stairs I went for a walk up the main road, considering it was a small town all the high street had to offer was travels shops, clothes shop and alot of fast food shops, I had to book into my boat at a trvel shop there I had to read about the boat, it as the biggest boast to sial the Whitesundays and had 54 people on it where most of the others only had around 20 people. that evening I had to pack my bag for the whitesunday boat trip, we weren't aloud zip bags because of stopping the spread of bed bugs so I put my stuff in a recycble bag and then put my big bags in to storage (meaning I had to carry my stuff abck down the stiars!) I treated myself to pizza and watched tv in my room, had an early night to prepare myself for the boat trip.

Saturday 22nd May

Really really hot!

My boat wasn't leaving until 2.30 so in the morning after signing out of the hotel I went over to the Saturday markets, knowing that if I bought anything I would have to take it with me on the boat so I didn't buy much just a few bits and bobs, I then took the coast walk to where the boat was leaving from was a 20 mins walk and would have been really nice if I didn't have to carry my heavy bag in the boiling sun. A guy from the crew of the Alantic clipper met us and collected our boarding pass we then went on to the boat and put our stuff in our rooms, they were obviously really small, my room had 3 beds - a bunk bed and a bed in the middle in the other direction. On the bottom floor was all the rooms, then the middle floor was the eating area and kitchen and then the top floor where most of the time was spent sunbathing and chilling up there, at the front of the boat there was a hot tub and slide off the side of the boat. So it was quite a big boat! We set off up to the Whitsunday islands was nice to be sunbathing on a huge boat, we had dinner which was fish and mash was so nice to have good food cooked for you.

Sunday 23rd May

The wake up was at 7am and if u didn't get up breakfast would have run out, and we had fruit salad, toast, cereal not the breakfast you want to miss out on, during we were sailing to White haven beach, notorious for its white sands and clear blue waters, when we got there we had to walk 10mins through the trees to arrive on this beautiful beach, we had 3 hours there, I cleaned all my silver jewellery there in the sand, was a great cleaner, made everything sparkle and wondered around the shores, in the water were sting rays we had been given wet stinger suits but I passed on wearing it this time and just paddled, I was talking to a captain of another boat and he showed me where the sting ray lye in the sand, as there were big circles of flat smooth sand, then he went a bit deeper I stayed back and he noticed in the clear turquoise sea 2 sting rays I tried to take a picture but it didn't really show up

Monday 24th May

The engine of the boat started at 7am to wake us up, then we had breakfast - same as yesterday and because we didn't have long until we went back to Airlie beach I went straight over to snorkel, It was so cold in the sea today as the sun hadn't got quite over the island to warm it, so a quick plunge into the sea then swimming to warm up, the coral was much further away as the tide was in but this meant there were so many more fish, if you stayed still the fish came up and nibbled on your toes n hands, and got so close to your face they were near enough looking in the eyes, when I was staying still I saw something larger move underneath me but was happy to realise it was a huge turtle! I then followed it until I realised I was out of the bounds to snorkel in and the tide had taken me out so I had to swim extra hard back to everyone else, it was the turtles fault! Then when I got back on the boat there wasn't much time until we left to go back to Airlie beach so I just packed my stuff and sunbathed on top deck, we got hot dogs for lunch just before we left the boat. On the way back to my hostel/hotel I went via the book exchange and got another book, I hope I keep it up and finish it! I then lugged all my bags up all 4 flights of stairs and repacked my bag.......again! Then went and met up with some girls I met on the boat to look around the small town. Tonight everyone on the boat was meeting up for an after party so the crew could drink too!

Tuesday 25th May

Very hot and sunny

Woke up today and everything seemed to go wrong, first I realised that I didn't have my ticket to magnetic island, so I had to quickly pack my bag and run to the closets internet shop @(bearring in mind it was backing hot and all those stairs! Then run back up the stairs to sign out, and then carry all my bags down those stairs and then hurry to the bus stop for 10.30am! All within 30mins! The bus journey was ok but I felt sick the whole way L then when I arrived in Townsville at 2.30 I then had to wait to get on the ferry to go to magnetic island, which was another 30 min, so all in all a lot of travelling was done today. The hostel I stayed in was sooo nice, was a massive bar and seating area straight on to the beach, there were pool tables and massive TV's, the room was a little hut quite cute but small, that evening I met my friend Stephanie whom I met in 1770, she was on the bus from the ferry to the hostel was great to see friendly face. We played pool and went for a walk on the beach.

Wednesday 26th May

Cloudy n drizzle

Thursday 27th May

Hot and sunny

This morning I had to leave the lovely Base hostel at 10.30 to get on a bus to the ferry station, the bus was packed full of us back packers and had to stop for more people on the way, we nearly missed the ferry as there was so many of us! A short 30 mins ferry ride back to Townsville and then a grey hound bus up to Mission beach, i wasn't staying for long here but one night to break up the journey to Cairns, i arrived in the afternoon and went for a stroll around yet another small town and beach, we weren't really aloud in the sea anymore as there are jelly fish and sting ray, that evening i watched a film with some friend i had been bumping into up the east coast, and went to bed early as i was feeling a cold coming on!

Friday 28th May

Cloudy

I Caught the grey hound at 10.55am and headed to Cairns - my last stop!I was so excited not to be getting on any busses for a while and not having to pack my bag every morning. I had booked 3 nights accommodation then i was clueless what to do.....fruit pick, work, go home or even go ahead to do the west coast! So i went to a travel agents to help. Finding that the West coast was really expensive to do buy bus i had heard that some German friends that i had met in magnetic island were going to rent a car and travel it, i knew they were in town somewhere and stupidily i had given them my number and not got theres so i waited for a phone call so i could see what they were doing, that night i went out with a Swedish girl i had met on the bus and a girl i met in the room, there were so many pubs in Cairns that did free dinners when you buy a drink, we went to the rhino bar and got pizza and chips not so bad. Alot of people i had been bumping into up the coast had the same idea of free dinner in the Rhino bar and so i bumped into them again.

Saturday 29th May

Cloudy in the morning and baking hot in day

I was off on a Ocean freedom boat ride around the great barrier ref, it was an all day boat trip and snorkling or driving trip, i had to go and sign in at 7.30 at the harbour terminal which was just across from my hostel, it was still really cloudy so i was worried it wouldn't be a nice day to go but i was so wrong! After getting on the boat and having fruit n danishes the boat sailed for around 1 hour out to the Great barrier reef, by this time it was baking hot! we had a glass bottom boat tour to tell us about most of the coral and fish and then we could go snorkling after, i didn't fancy the diving as it hasnt appealed to me since Fiji, so i stuck to snorkling which i had got my head around now! The water was so warm like a bath, it wasn't long until i found the colourful coral and the millions of fish! There were marine bioligist's which would pull you around on a life ring and tell you what was what, she picked up a sea cucumber and let us touch it, and to be hostest it felt like a mouldy cucumber! She also dived down to get a star fish, and i learnt that if a leg breaks off it will grown another one and the broken leg will form another body! we snorkled for a while and igot out when my eyes couldn't take the salty water any longer, so i layed in the sun on the front of the boat but only lasted 10 mins as it was so hot! I just sat inside, it wasn't long until lunch was served, there was so much food - huge prawns, salmon, salad, chicken legs, bread loads! After lunch we sailed to another part of the great barrier reef, where the water was clear and there where 2 sand island in the middle of no were! once again the water was really hot i think he said around 23degrees, so we could stay in the water with out a wetsuit for ages, i thought the coral was more beautiful here as the water was much more clearer so i could see it in more detail, there were more fish here too, including sting ray and sea snakes, but i stayed away from them! it was so shallow here, wierd to think in the middle of the ocean miles away from land that it would be so shallow! We got called back in to set back home, the boat was running late as we spent so much time in the sea, on the way back i was talking to the marine biologist which i had been swimming around with in the first part of the day, her job sounded so amazing! It took about 2 hours to get back to Cairns harbour and by this time the sun had gone down more but it was still so so hot!