Hi from Airlie Beach! We're just back from a 3 day boat trip to the Whitsunday Islands which was fantastic and the best thing we've done since arriving in Oz. We went to Whitehaven Beach one morning and it was a beach like paradise, on par with Phi Phi Le in Thailand. We saw some sting rays and small sharks as well as a masseef lizard thing! Part of the trip included a dive on the Great Barrier Reef which was also great - saw so many different fish and corals of all colours. Both nights on the boat were spent drinking and partying until the early hours under the stars. Our skipper, Wozza, was a great bloke (reminded me of Mick Dundee) and had plenty of drinking games to keep us entertained! After our 2nd heavy night we had an early start (6am!) and to wash away the hangovers we were jumping off the roof of the boat into the sea and thankfully didn't come across any stingers! We slept on the top deck under the stars both nights which was great and I'm suprised Butts' snoring didn't keep the whole boat awake! On the trip we also saw some eagles, loads of turtles and a dolphin, which swam alongside the boat as we were travelling and really amazing to see.

Our first stop on our trip from Cairns to Airlie Beach was at Mission Beach where we camped the night. It wasn't too bad but we definitely need to acquire some camping mats before our next camping adventure. Mission Beach was quiet so only had the one night there - in a bar with a fancy dress party and where Butts managed to win a pool competition, well done wee-man!

Our next stop on the road trip was at Townsville where we had a couple of nights. This place was bussier and we also spent 1 day at Magnetic Island where we went on a trek and saw a koala Bear asleep in a tree as well as some great views of the various bays of the island.

From Townsville the road trip continued to Airlie Beach and we leave here tomorrow heading for Rainbow Beach/Fraser Island as we have a trip there on Saturday which will be awesome.

Laters, Dan