Hi!

Have had a fantastic few days on the farm! Managed to stay awake till 6:30 and then got picked up and taken to Myella Farm. It's a working beef farm but I think the main income is now farmstays for tourists and travellers.

The weather was glorious but to do any activities we had to wear jeans, long sleeved shirts and boots which made it a VERY sweaty few days! The first day we arrived around 8AM and the first activity was horse riding. I've only done this once so was pretty nervous but it was actually pretty good! I had a very calm, quiet horse and stuck to walking rather than trotting! We were taken all around the farm (1100 Hectares) and saw loads of kangaroos and cows!

After lunch I collected eggs from the chicken coop and milked the cows! I still can't believe we weren't paid for this it was like manual labour!! Took a break and went on the 4 x 4 for another trip around the farm which was ace. The driver told us about the history of the farm and even showed us a redback spider which COMPLETELY freaked me out. Managed to get a pretty good picture though.

The next day I was up early to milk the cows again and collect more eggs, the chickens decided they didn't like me very much so I got pecked and bitten trying to get the damn things but Imanaged it in the end! I didn't really fancy the horse riding again (My ass was KILLING me) so I chilled out in the sun and played (Fought) with the tame kangaroo (Who I of course named Skippy). She started out really cute playing but then tried to kick me do the farmer came over and kicked her back!! Apparantly he had to do that as that's what would happen in the wild! Anyway, that ended playtime so I went to have a motorbike lesson instead!

I've done lots of cool things since I've been away but the motorbike was AWESOME and I've decided (Sorry mum) that I want one when I get home! I passed my mini test thing anyway and we took an awesome trip around the outskirts of the farm which was really off road.

That ended my stay ans I had to head back to the bus stop for yet ANOTHER overnight bus to Airlie Beach. We were dropped off really early so passed time by going to see Australia which was ACE.

Made it to Airlie Beach early in the morning and then checked in for my boat, the Tongara to cruise the Whitsundays for a few days. As with everything else it was AWESOME (My word of the month) The weather wasn't fantastic, it was pretty cloudy for a lot of the time but I still managed to scorch the back of my legs falling asleep on deck!

The highlight of the boat trip was Whitehaven Beach, absolutley gorgeous but we couldn't swim without stinger suits. It seema that EVERYTHING in Australia wants to bite, sting or eat you. Apart from that it's a great country! I went snorkelling again and found Dory (From Finding Nemo) and some MASSIVE Rainbow fish things. Wasn't as clear as Fiji but was really cool. Tried to snorkel again today but the current was REALLY strong so I stayed safely on the boat reading my book!

There were 26 of us on the boat, all a young backpacker crowd but sensible Shah wasn't drunk (Though enjoyed some Morgan Rum...I felt like a pirate Oooh Aaar) and had early nights going to sleep on the deck looking at the stars. It was ace and so much more comfortable than sleeping in the cabins which were stuffy beyond belief.

I'm now back at my hostel in Airlie Beach heading to Magnetic Island tomorrow.

Sel

xx