So the thought of coming all the way to Australia and not seeing or experiencing part of the Great Barrier Reef made no sense to me....I didn't have the time to get all the way up to be able to take a boat tour.....I found a tour that flies out of Hervey Bay to a place called Lady Elliot Island which is the southern part of the reef.....it looked amazing so I splurged and booked it! The day started with a flight in a small 12 seat two engine whoopa whoopa plane as I call all planes with propellers..... there happened to be 13 passengers.....so guess who got to be co-pilot.....ME!!! First squeal of delight of the day .....I think I saw the 22 year old pilot roll his eyes! The flight over was 30 minutes.....basically it felt like we were flying into the abyss.....just ocean and sky and the sound of the whoopa whoopas!! There was no chit chat with the 22 yr old pilot....this age is a guess....but he was young! After about 25 minutes a tiny island appeared....when we arrived closer the pilot took us around the island one way and then the other so both sides of the plane could have a look....WOW!!! A tropical island in the middle of the ocean it was! As we were coming in for landing on the short grass landing strip, hundreds of birds started flying out of the way and were every where..... 2nd squeal of the day... But not of delight..... 22 yr old pilot rolls his eyes again! We arrived and it was hot hot hot....not a cloud in the sky.....sunscreen applied and reapplied and hat on! We had an orientation and then were able to explore for an hour on our own. I went for a reef walk, the tide was out in the lagoon so I was able to wade in between the reef. The coral is amazing and had different colors..... There were not many fish but I did see the odd one. I made my way back up for our snorkelling tour....we headed out on a glass bottom boat and saw manta rays......wow they are huge!! We saw 4 of them.....then we came upon a stack of turtles....it is turtle mating season....so the males stack on top of the female....sometimes 2 or 3 will stack up and try to fend each other off....we then went snorkelling.....it was a really rough day so we could not get in too shallow, but still saw some neat fish. Back on the boat and back to the island for lunch. After lunch there were some tours of the island you could go on...I wanted to just explore on my own with my camera. I ended up crossing the island to the light house side and exploring the beach all the way back around to the main beach....I sat alone on the beach for a very long time.....white sand.....turquoise water....wind....waves.....not a sole to be seen. Guess what pops into my head....the theme song form Gilligan's Island! So I continued on humming and singing because I can't remember all the words and I found a few different kinds of chicks of the baby bird sort! I of course moved in for some pictures and the dive bombing began and crazed squealing birds were swirling....and I wasn't even that close! I carried on and left them be.... It took me over an hour to do the walk back around...... I wanted to meet up with the group at fish feeding time, so I headed up to the restaurant and at on the patio waiting for the group.....enjoyed a cold bevvie and enjoyed a bit of paradise. The island is a small Eco resort so there are small cabins and rooms where people can stay, a lot of divers come here and stay for a week and dive. I met up with the group at "The Fish Pool"..... An area where many years ago the lighthouse keeper threw a stick of dynamite in the water to clear some of the reef and voila a swimming area for his kids! Everyday they have a short fish feeding session where some of the fish come in for a treat....so the guide tells us about each different kind of fish all while she is throwing feed around....the fish are swimming in and around our legs..... 3rd 4th 5th etc squeals....those who know me well understand the girly squeals of delight and terror! That ended the day and we had to head back to the runway for our flight home, this time an even smaller plane but no co-pilot this time. Once again felt like going into the abyss but this time it was a stormy abyss..,. I am pretty sure the 24 yr old ( new pilot was a wee bit older) squeezed us right between two storm clouds.....we smoothly flew I between two of the nastiest clouds ever and you could see the torrential downpour,,,,.thankfully we made it back to the mainland and arrived safely! I drove my crib back to the caravan park and they had given my site away??!! So I am on a new site tonight then hitting the road back towards Brisbane. Many I have a wonderful life moments these past two days.....feeling very blessed!