Back on the Pacific Highway and took a small detour for Rob to have a splash around at White Water World. Arrived at 'Banana Benders Backpackers' in Brisbane around lunchtime. The place was absolutely full of do's and dont's signs in every room. We felt like naughty children! There were 22 signs in the kitchen alone.

We wandered along to the Botanical Gardens and over the river to the Southbank area. It's a really nice place to spend a few hours as there are lots of cafes and, strangely, when there are so many beaches all along the coast, a man made beach in the City Centre, right by the river. Saw a couple of films as well (Bond and 'Burn after Reading') mainly as it was 30 degrees outside and we were melting - the cinema at Southbank was cheap and had air conditioning!

Leaving Brisbane we were now on the 'Bruce Highway' (!) first stop Noosa. We did an amazing walk between Sunshine and Alexandria beaches, over the cliffs. Saw lots of cool stuff incl. birds of prey but were slightly startled to arrive at the second beach and be pretty much the only people with our clothes on. Was very amusing to see a chap strolling along wearing nothing but a large backpack! In the evening we treated ourselves to a meal by the river where we watched pelicans swimming past the restaurant and fishing as we ate.

We used Hervey Bay as our base for the Fraser Island trip (as most people seem to). We stayed in 'The Friendly' guesthouse which was just that and had a lovely room. An early pick up in our bright green 4x4 bus took us to the boat across, on which Rob turned a similar shade. It absolutely tipped it down initially but after that we had pretty good weather the whole time. Our tour guide was called Alex and was a legend - he was a great driver/chef/mechanic and really knew his stuff about the island. He punctuated many sentences with 'Absolutely no worries at all' and 'No dramas' as he drove along and was always enthusiastic. On the first day we took in some rainforest, long beaches and good viewpoints, before checking in to our campsite. Alex whipped up a feast and afterwards one of the guides found a snake who was camping with us and passed it round or everyone to have a hold! Not happy with that, Rob went for a beach walk with some others and saw a wild sea snake as well - ugh! I stayed in the well-lit campsite jumping like an idiot every time a skink or mouse ran past.

We slept pretty well and spent the next day having dips in two of the freshwater lakes on the Island. Lake Birraboon apparently has rejuvinating properties if you rub the fine sand all over you. I don't know about that but I definitely have a new rash all over since doing it! Had a really good time on the Island with our group of 24 and typically ended spending most time with a couple from Leeds and a doctor from Norway.

One night back in Hervey Bay and then we set off on our 700km drive to Mackay. It got pretty boring despite amazing scenery; even beautiful grass plains and mountains can become tiresome after 8 hours of nothing else! Also we couldn't get music for a lot of the journey so had to amuse ourself with poor games. Notable highlights however were a wallaby at the side of the road and Rob whistling the entire Bohemian Rhapsody.

We had a quick stopover at Mackay before setting off to Airlie Beach for our Whitsundays Boat tour, which is where we're off to right now.....Just before you feel too jealous at the thought of us spending 3 days on a luxury boat in azure waters... it's 35 degrees and as humid as a steam room here. Ok, so I guess you're probably still jealous, but I tried.