Hello!

We arrived in Rockhampton in beautiful weather but were soon to discover the wet season really did mean wet! For the last week it has poured with rain. Several roads have been closed because of landslides and we have had to pull over sometimes because visability on the roads has been nill! However, we have found some wonderful places and have been very much enjoying our time here.

After staying a night in Gracemere, just south of Rockhampton, we decided to drive a scenic loop around the capricorn coast and found some beautiful little towns and beaches. We found a secluded spot for lunch with only a large flock of cockatoos for company.

The rain picked up as we headed south and it became so hard to see we were forced to stop whilst huge speeding Lorries ploughed on past us regardless of the conditions. We eventually made it safely to the twin towns of Agnes Water and 1770. This was a truly magnificent place and we definitly would have stayed longer if we had had the time. The first day there we spent hiking around the headland and enjoying the waves on one of the many beaches. The second day ranks as one of the best we have had since we have been away. We went on a tour to the southern Great Barrier Reef and, in particular, the area around Lady Musgrove Island. The day did not, however, start all that greatly. We were told that because it was Australia day the boat was expected to be full to capacity. Yet, what we did not expect was that it would be filled, not by ozzies, but by coach loads of Chinese tourists! After about ten minutes on board, a Chinese woman had a panic attack because of the choppy waves and demanded the boat turn back and return her to shore. The rest of the Chinese then proceeded to be sick on the journey out to the reef, to the bemusement of ourselves and the Australians on board.

Once we arrived at the reef we had a fantastic time. We headed straight for the scuba area and set off on an outer wall dive. It was definitly the best dive we have ever done. The visability was 25 metres (10m more than Thailand!) and we saw White Tip Reef Sharks, Green and Hawksbill Turtles and a huge Manta Ray! After diving we explored Lady Musgrove Island which is an island based entirely on coral, had a fabulous gigantic lunch and went snorkleing in the reef lagoon before heading back to 1770, where we had fish and chips for dinner!

We then headed south again untill we reached the small town of Beerwah. We camped the night on a strawberry farm and proceeded to explore the glasshouse mountains the next day. We hiked around the base of one mountain then drove up to a lookout where we had a great view of the whole area.

The next stop is Brisbane...