Hi, Well we are now in Townsville after a really cool couple of days in Airlie beach. Airlie was a nice little place, with lots of bars, surf shops and a gorgeous lagoon for swimming and sunbathing. Whilst we were in Airlie we did a three day sailing trip around the Whitsunday Islands. Our boat was called 'The Pride of Airlie' and was referred to as a 'party boat'! We were a bit worried that we had enlisted ourselves on some sort of 18-30s drink fest but we didn't really fancy the alternative which was doing some hands on sailing as to be fair we just wanted to relax. We didnt leave until about 2.30pm on the first day and we weren't feeling in the best of spirits as it was pissing it down with rain! As this was the first rain we had seen in almost a month we were feeling a bit hard done by! So on the first day we just all huddled inside the catamaran as we sailed off to the island that we would be staying at. We stayed on South Molle Island which has definitely got to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. It was a gorgeous island with a stunning resort on it - and a backpacker part tucked away so we didn't disturb the proper guests! We were allowed to use all the resorts facilities which included golf, tennis, gym, hot tub and swimming pool. However as it was bucketing down we chose to make use of the cocktail bar! Dinner was all included on our trip and then we had a fair few rounds of drinking games that were organised by the crew so it was a fairly drunken night. The drunken night wasn't seeming such a good idea the next day at 6am as we got up! Breakfast followed and then we set off. We all had our fingers crossed that it wouldn't rain and luckily it didn't. It was fairly overcast though which was a shame, however we entertained ourselves by sitting at the front of the catamaran with our legs pocking out the front. It was quite choppy and so as the boat went up and down it felt like we were on a ride, we also got ridiculously excited when our feet went in the water - yes we are like small children!! After a few hours sailing we stopped at Whitehaven Beach. It was absolutely gorgeous with an enormous expanse of white sand. We had about an hour on the beach and we were like proper brits lying cloudbathing with our hoodies and rain coats on! In the afternoon we did snorkelling which was really fun. The coral was amazing, all different shapes and colours. We also saw some amazing fish, really colourful ones. It was quite shallow where we were snorkelling though so quite a few people did themselves injuries on the coral. After a few more hours with our legs dangling out the boat we were back on our resort island. The sun had come out so were hopefull for nice weather the next day. On the third day it was like a different boat! We set off at 8am and it was glorious sunshine. Gone were the hoodies, fleeces and people sitting inside to hide from the cold. The boat was suddenly one big sundeck with people sunbathing in every space they could find. It was so hot and just what we had imagined sailing around the Whitsundays would be like. All the other islands we passed were really beautiful and the sea was lovely and warm. We went snorkelling again and once again saw some amazing fish and loads of coral. Although one of the crew started feeding the fish right next to me and i was suddenly surrounded by fish banging in to me - i only like to see them from afar so I wasn't that keen on having them at such close proximity! We then had to head back which was a shame but we had an amazing time. The weather looks like it is going to be gorgeous for a few days so we are going to Magnetic Island tomorrow to stay for 2 nights then we are off to Cairns. xx