Happy Birthday Mark! I got ready and finished packing; I fit everything in my backpack minus 1 or 2 things I put in my beach bag, I was very proud of myself. We met at the UniCentral gate at 11:30 to catch the 11:45 bus to Alexandra Headlands where we met our shuttle that took us to the Brisbane airport. There are 10 of us total. 5 Germans- Gregor, Ulie, Sara, Liza and Julia; 2 Swedes- Linda and Isabell; 2 Finnish- Lena and Tommy; and me, the only American! The shuttle bus was a little bit more expensive that taking the bus and train but we got there heaps faster. It took just over an hour where as the bus/train would have been about 3 hours. We got our tickets and looked around the shops a little but before we boarded. They don't give seat numbers on Jet Star (the airline we took), the go by 3 colours. Orange boards first, blue second and grey third and we were grey. It still worked out well because I sat next to Liza and Greg. The flight is only an hour and 20 minutes anyway. We sat on the right side of the plane so we were able to see heaps islands on the way which was really cool. The Proserpine airport where we landed was more of a joke than Fargo's airport is. Fargo actually looks big. I think they only get 2 planes a day, one from Brisbane and back and one from Sydney and back. We got off the plane outside and walked into the 'airport'. There are 2 gates and the waiting area for them is partially outside in a fenced area. There were some small kinds climbing on the fence when we were walking in which made them look like they were trying to escape, it was pretty funny. To get our luggage we stood outside next to the building, they pulled up with everything on the trailers that they use and we had to get out bag off our self. We got a maxi taxi to bring us to Airlie Beach where the harbour is. We got dropped off at the tourist info so we could pick up our tickets for the trip tomorrow. We had to walk across town and out a little bit to get to our hostel, so it was about a 10 minute walk. Hostels are for backpackers, they are very cheap, usually around $20/night, the rooms are bunk beds fitting anywhere from 4-10 people in one room, the bathrooms are communal and it doesn't come with any amenities. Tommy stayed at a different hostel but the rest of us Stayed at Backpackers by the Bay. Since I booked so late we weren't sure if they would have a bed for me. They didn't so I shared a bed with Linda in her, Ulie, Isabell and Greg's room. I got a free night of accommodation out of it so I can't complain. We all got ready and headed back to Airlie Beach to meet Tommy and get dinner. Tommy, Isabell, Linda, Ulie and I ate at a place called Momma's Boy's. It was really good. We sat in an area with lots of picnic tables and it was full of young backpackers. They had live music and it was a fun atmosphere. The others eventually joined us and we sat around for a while talking. We headed back to the hostel early since we had to be at the marina by 7:30 for the trip. We said good-bye to Tommy because he will be getting his diving certificate instead of joining us.