Oh my god, its been so long again!!!!.. Can't believe its gone so fast.... I'm on the East coast and have been travelling up it for 5 weeks now... since my last postcard in Brisbane I haven't stopped and have done tons of trips and some unforgettable things!!!.. I'll try and be as brief as I can so as not to bore you!! Update: Location.. - Nearly at the top.. Leave on Bus tomorrow for Cairns - last stop. Weather - Blimmin hot (its a family site!! haha) -I can't really sit in it now.... Tan - Coming along particualarly nicely - no peeling as yet...proffessional tanner now. After being drowned in Brisbane, I headed to: Noosa, a small little town which is fairly new on the back packer route, quite a posh place, nice funky houses and little cafes etc... From here we went on a Canoe and Camping Safari for 3 days.. great fun, except it pretty much rained the entire time.. it was turrential, tropical, thunderstorm stuff, ...... we canoed for 1 1/2 hours to camp, set up our very wonky tent with missing pegs and poles etc, then had to scare of the 5ft Giant Gyana Lizards that where stalking out our food supplies... next day another 2 hour canoe trip...hike up to a sand patch, in the rain and then all the way back again....33 k round trip all together... IN THE RAIN!!! we found plenty to amuse ourselves on route, including singing brownie chants from the tops of our voices... searching for water snakes and sharks that obvioulsy wherent there and perfected water stunts, such as swapping canoes simaltaniously in shark infested waters... I guess you had to be there really! but it took the edge of the weather! After 3 days camping IN THE RAIN, all we wanted in the world was a hot shower, however we managed to check ourselves into a delightfully scabby hostel with cold showers! -Left as quick as we could after a large celebratory night out for being back on dry land. Next stop Rainbow Beach - SUN AT LAST!!!! 3 days camping on Frazer Island...famous for being the largest sand island in the world and with dangerous Dingos.....(like skinny dogs really) 10 of set off with all our gear in a jeep ready to 4x4 it through the sand... so much fun and we all had a chance to drive.. and I didn't get it stuck either!! Visited Lake MacKenzie, and ideallic fresh water lake with amaxing colours and no animals at all!! After this Hervey Bay, famous for seeing whales migrating south, (there can be 20 pods at a time), however it was the end of season I think we must have seen the last 4 whales of the lot!!... thank god... this was my second attempt to see them after our disapointing attempt in Canada and I was ready to give up....after 2 hours searching for ripples, black lumps and air puffs on the Horizon.. they came through for us and were spectacular!!! Well worth it. After Hervey I split for Paula and Sarah the two girls I've been travelling with , they headed to a farm and I headed to 'The Town of 1770' - Yes that is the name... Its were Captain Cook landed and discovered Aussie.. in.. yes you guested it.. 1770!!! Great place, tiny, only 2 hostels, geogeous beaches and coves but not really much there a great place to chill out and very friendly. I decided to do my Open Water Suba dive qualification here for a week as there was a Shipwreck Site further up which I wanted to dive... so spent the week with my head in a text book by night and head the water by day...it was actually quite nice to get my brain working again.... It was fantastic.. very much got the bug... Qualified to 18meters - bring on the big fish!. As well as this I went Scotterrooing!!! ...3 hours on a scooter zipping around the town, beeping our horns and trying to go as fast as it will possibly go (which is only 65kmp!!)...oh...and looking for Kanageroos... (although due to all the noise.. suprisingly we didn't really see Kanageroos!!) Potato Wedges on the beach for sunset.. such good fun...,.definatley a speed demon bike chick!!. I want one now. 1770 is also a fab meet up spot... Met up with Tara for a few days which was great!!! and now shes over taken me I'm going so slowly.. and also Anne- Marie and her sister, that I met in San Fransico and then again in LA!! Great to catch up and hear yet more stories!! Bored Yet??? .... your about halfway promise... Whitsunday Islands - Airlie Beach... 3 days on board the 'Rouge 2.'.. Advertised as a a champion sailing boat thats once some race or another, Party boat for 21 people. Hummm... Think my bedroom is bigger!! It was 30 years old and a bit run down...we considered wearing life jackets at all times!!.....The thought of 21 people squeezed on there was not a nice thought but thankfully there was only 9 of us so we could all spread out on the deck... it worked out well.. and we 3 made it into a party boat for 1 night but then need the next night to recover...sun sea waves and alcohol.. not a great combination! slept on the deck, watched sunrise and jumped straight in the water when we work up... ... Went snorkelling on the Reef whilst wearing a particularly fetching Stinger suit.. to keep out all those nasty jelly fish..and the Skipper threw bread in the water right by my head and about 500 fish swammed around me, flicking around my face and banging into my googles!! Absolutley amazing after the intial shock wore off! Whitehaven beach - one of the top 10 most beautiful beaches in the world was awesome!!!.. power white sand, blue and turquoise sea.. I think this is where the word 'Paradise' originated. On to Ayr.. the cheapest place to Dive the Yongala Wreck...... I realise why now.. actually its the wierdest place on earth ...particualarly unfriendly, didn't want to give us any accommodation or let me dive the wreck as I'd only done 4 dives....a lot of odd people, so much so... I didn't even leave the bus stop.. got straight back on the next bus out 2hrs later to Townsville - Magnetic Island... Had to complete my advance Diving Course in order to dive the Yongala Ship wreck which is Australias best dive sight!! Another 2 days in a class room and bed time reading. Learnt to use a compass underwater...although seem to have forgotten my brownie guide skills and ended up on the wrong side of the bay??? Still not quite sure how than happened!! haha... Then a naturalist Dive.. where you go a spot fish and then Identify them... not that good at that.. you see one and go 'oh wow.. I'm rememeber the colours on that' and then you see another.. and forget the first one!!!... Although I did spot what I know now is Batfish and Parot Fish, and Nemo (clown fish) -Parot Fish is my favourite Last dive before Qualificaiton is a Night Dive... not compulsory but a choice of two..and being my what seems to be adrenalin seeking self though ..oh cool that will be fun!!!..Oh my god it was the worst experience of my life!!!. NEVER EVER AGAIN.. I've never been so scared... Pitch black under water with a sad excuse for a touch and about 2 ft visability, kicking people behind me thinking I'm hitting the coral or other animals.. Surfaced twice out of shear panic and experience claustraphobia for the fist time!!!... Grabbed hold of my instructor the whole way around and basically never want to do it again!!! Full stop!! Although saying that for a split second I remember thinking to myself, there are not many people who have really seen what is going on under the water at night!!!.. and form what I did see when I could focus was pretty cool... I'll leave for TV screen in the Future!! Yongala Ship Wreck.. sunk 1911 on its way from Brisbane to Cairns during a cyclone.. 121 passengers and crew on board, no survivors. THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE.. (EQUAL TO SKYDIVE ANYWAY!!) Deep dive down to 28meters...FISH THE SAME SIZE AS ME - LITTERALLY!!! no exageration... Parot Fish, Queensland Groupers, Baracuddas..the biggest pufferfish ever... (see - getting better at this fish spotting lark already!!!) Literally everything was about 30 times the size as usual. Sea snakes which I thought I'd be so scared of.. but actually didn't seem scary at all.. didn't see a shark, which I've quite relieved about but even by the end of the dive I was willing one to swim past....its just not scary at all...AND I saw and touched my first turtle.. Such an amazing experience, very humbling, and a new appreciation for the sea... So incase your weren't quite sure about that.. I really enjoyed it!! So I'm fully fledged diver to 30meters now! So thats where I am todate.. I leave for Cairns tomorrow to go on a 3 day Cape Tribulation Rainforest trip.. after that I'm still trying to decide what to do....such decisions to make.. Shall I go to the Red Rock or not!!???? I hope you got to the bottom of this... sorry I've left it so long... I'm rubbish I know.. Now, make yourself a coffee and check out the piccys!!! I hope you are all Ok, Love to you all PS Can you believe I have 4 months left!!