Hey everyone!

Today was sea kayaking day!

Yes, another early start. Today we were up and out at the bus stop very promptly, about 15 minutes before our pickup was due, ready for our morning of kayaking. However, things slowed down a bit when we realised we were half an hour early for our pickup and it was at 8:30 and not 8am. Eventually though we were on our way to Shute Harbour (a different one to yesterdays).

Things began by meeting our kiwi instructor and getting kitted out with a paddle and lifejacket. After a little briefing and lesson, we were in the water and paddling away, Alex at the back steering and Christina in the front... paddling. We had a little paddle around the harbour to get used to the kayak then headed out towards the Whitsunday islands. We tried to spot turtles but to no luck, so kept on paddling out to a tiny island - the only island not part of the national park as it's so small. We finally reached the little island and had a much needed rest on the beach, which was made entirely of bits of coral. We also did a bit of snorkelling but it the water wasn't very clear there wasn't much to see. We had some fruit and drinks, chatted to the instructor, and laughed when he asked us if he were on our honeymoon.

Whilst on the island Alex spotted a turtle out in the water, but Christina wasn't happy that she just missed it. We then began the paddle back to the harbour, and got our photo taken with our waterproof camera. Christina's heart skipped a beat when the instructor threw the camera into the water, not realising that it would float. We pointed out the nice looking houses on the hill near the harbour, and the instructor told us that they cost about $1 to 2million. He then told us that he lived there. We quickly asked what his last job was and found out that he used to work in 'Water Safety' for films (advising people on water scenes) back in New Zealand. This unsurprisingly included Lord of the Rings, which he worked on for 4 years!

We spent most of the afternoon recovering from the tiring kayaking, but gathered the energy to go out and have a browse around the nice shops. We also sat on the beach for a while and collected shells and pretty bits of coral, to make a bracelet out of later. For dinner we decided to treat ourselves to a takeaway pizza, and spent the evening sitting by the lagoon. Xxx