Travelling / Backpacking / Flashpacking the World!

Well we obviously didn't bring enough beer with us, the 4 of us done about 60 cans between us last night, we've got a few left but the rest of it belongs to the others, good job we brought some Goon too, Hrrrrrrr, im not looking forward to starting that though. Im in the driving seat today, Matt, Kyle and Me all had a drive yesterday but at the moment im the only one out of the 3 of us that isn't either still pissed or majorly hung-over ha ha. Its an early start as we have got to get to where we are going before the tide comes in.

Down the beach and then inland along single lane sand tracks, good fun and very bumpy. Lake Wabby is our first stop, where from the jeep we then had to walk just over 2km through the rainforest to get to it. A green coloured lake with perfectly clear water, trees/rainforest on one side and sand dunes on the other, what can i say, its beautiful. Thinking ahead we all chipped in and bought a boogie board and some candles to wax it up. Time for some sand boarding, down the dunes and into the lake at the bottom, hours of fun, so good. After a good few hours of boarding and sitting in the sun it was then time to make our way to the next lake, Lake Mackenzie. What can i say, words cannot describe just how beautiful Lake Mackenzie is, its so nice, so beautiful.

A dark blue coloured lake with crystal clear water surrounded by pure white silica sand that is so fine not only can it be used for cleaning jewelry, but also for whitening your teeth. The water is just so clear, shoulder deep in water you can look down and see the bottom as if there is nothing in between, its like looking through glass, perfect. How does a sand island get lakes this beautiful? Iv taken some good pictures but not one of them will do it justice. We then drove back to the main beach, we are booked into another camp site for tonight but we have decided to camp on the beach instead.

Driving along the beach in the dark we spotted some other tour groups setting up for the night and so we pulled up to join them. Before we arrived everyone was setting up in the dark, we left our engine running, lights on and music playing. What a good idea they must have thought because within 5 minutes everyone's lights were on (5 different jeeps in total). Good atmosphere, lots of people drinking and gathering around our jeep where the music is, and unfortunately now though we are out of beer, so its on to the beautiful Goon. Also ended up bumping into the couple of English lads that Rachel and me met in Noosa. Lots of Dingo's sniffing around us too. Our lights and music were on until the last one of us (Matt who nearly got laid) went to bed. When i say us i mean, Kyle, Karl, Fabian, Matt and Myself, the other 4 aren't worth a mention, there unsociable and don't do anything to contribute to the team, ie setting up, cooking, packing up etc. We're having fun and that's all that matters, there loss.

Urrrr, I felt fine yesterday morning after drinking beer, a few glasses of Goon last night and xxxx i feel rough today. I spoke to quite a few random people last night as i do, most of which are just traveling up the East Coast. Most of them had not seen a kangaroo, but i also met a guy who had been in Australia for 4 months and had not yet seen an Aborigine (to be fair though i have seen very few since Adelaide), and then get this, whilst talking to him another guy who has been here even longer then asked what an Aborigine was. Crazy. Anyway this is funny, as i said we had our lights and music on until the early hours of the morning, the only thing is we made sure to turn the engine over every half an hour or so, looks like the others weren't so clever. Out of the 5 jeeps here 3 of them have got flat batteries, and no one has got a set of jump leeds ha ha.

Watching about 20 people trying to push a 3 ton jeep in soft sand was funny, it didn't move, your just gonna have to stand down on the beach and flag someone down, See ya. No chance of me driving today, i just want to go back to bed. Continued inland again to another lake, im so glad im not driving, what a mission, and we got stuck again. Lake Birrabeen was our first stop, another beautiful lake surrounded by soft white sand. Once again the water is perfectly clear, and its really cold making it an instant hangover cure, after a swim i feel so much better. No pictures of this lake, my camera battery is totally dead. After a couple of hours of chilling out we were ready to make our way Lake Boomanjin, the healing lake of the island as the water contains Tee Tree Oil from the surrounding trees. Unfortunately though we must have missed the turning for it and by the time we realized we decided that it was too far and too much of a mission to turn back. Instead we just drove back to the main beach and chilled out for an hour or so before finally making our way back down to Hook Point to get the 3pm barge back over to the main land.

What a trip, it was awesome, quite possibly the highlight of Australia, at least at the moment anyway. Back at the hostel we then had to offload our gear, wash and dry all the cooking equipment, and sweep out the jeep. Once again guess who's doing the work and guess who's standing around watching, losers. Returned the jeep and after waiting for everything to be checked and given the all clear it was then back to the hostel for the race to get in the shower, sand everywhere. Dinner and an early night, im knackered.

Although our hostel is called the 1770 backpackers, its actually in Agnes Water. Due to there being no public transport around here the hostel runs a free morning tour bus into and around 1770. Not too much to see really. Agnes water has got a population of 2000 people and is made up of just a few shops and a supermarket. The town of 1770, the second place in Australia where Captain Cook set foot is only made up of 100 houses, a marina and a pub, and has a population of a little over 200. Most the houses in 1770 are wooden and on stilts in the hills overlooking the sea. We were shown a house here that is up for sale, a tiny wooden house with an outside toilet, no running water, and quite possibly the best view ever. The price, 2.4 million dollars, unbelievable. 1770 has got a lot of character, at least for now anyway, apparently its very up and coming with lots of property developers looking to make some big changes.

A couple of hours chill time and then in the afternoon we done a Scooteroo motorcycle tour around Agnes Water and 1770 on little 50cc choppers. It was a good laugh, about 30 of us in total driving and thrashing the bikes along the country roads and coast road around Agnes Water and 1770. After a couple of hours of driving and a few stops along the way we then stopped at the only pub in 1770 for a drink and some food sitting outside on the rocks along the beach watching the sun go down over the ocean. After the bike tour it was then just a case of hanging around for a couple of hours. Our next stop is up at Airlie Beach, from here to there is a 10 hour journey with a big chunk of nothing in the middle, nothing worth stopping for anyway. And so with that we are getting on the 8pm overnight coach.

Well that will be the 3rd time now since being in Australia that iv crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. 6am and we are in Airlie Beach. Dumped our bags at the hostel we are booked in at (Magnums), but we cant check in until 10am, Great. Down the road to the bakers and then we had a wander around, not too much to see really, all the usual la di da beach town shops plus Airlie Beach itself which is basically a nice but really small semi-circled beach with palm trees around the perimeter. Pretty but nothing overly exiting, and you cant swim in the sea because there is too many deadly jelly fish. Hence the reason why to the back of the beach there is a man made lagoon for swimming in, again very nice with some sand and little grass banks around the outside for sunbathing on, very pretty.

After lots of hanging around we then managed to get checked in, holding 500 people at full capacity this is by far the biggest hostel i have stayed in, its huge, not only has it got its own restaurant and bar area, its also got its own nightclub. Iv got to say though that the kitchen and cooking facilities here are truly pathetic, half the size of my kitchen at home and for 500 people to use, basically its the hostels way of saying why cook when you can eat in our over priced restaurant, personally i would rather struggle or eat elsewhere, cheeky xxxxxxx.

Split from the other 3 who have decided to hire some scooters and i had another wander around the marina, beaches, and a swim in the lagoon. Like i said not much here really but it does seem like a nice chilled out place, but that's probably because everyone's hung-over, the nightlife here is meant to be pretty awesome, i hope so, its about time i had a good night out. Other than that though Airlie beach is basically just a gateway to the Whitsunday Islands. Back to the hostel to chill and if we're out tonight i need to get my head down, didn't exactly sleep too well on the old coach last night.

A nice siesta and then its out for the night with the lads, a few jars of beer in the hostel bar which is pretty dead and then up the road to a place called Beaches. The groups got bigger, a few other people we met back at the hostel have joined us, and its now on to the jugs of Snake Bite, it goes down so well. A wander around to check out the talent and i got chatting to a couple of Irish girls, and that was the last i see of the lads. Up the road with the girls to an Irish bar, then to Juice Bar, and finally we ended up in Mama Africa's. I think the saying goes "A gentleman never tells" ha ha, lets just say that i along with somebody else woke a few people up nice and early, it was nearly 6am and daylight when i/we got back to the hostel.

Whitsunday's today, iv not had a wink of sleep and im knackered. Most of the days gone and iv got to be at the marina in a couple of hours, got a boat to get on, 3 days 2nights sailing around the Whitsunday Islands leaving at 4pm. Turns out 3 out of the 4 of us had a result last night ha ha, unlucky Karl. Packed what i needed and then had just about enough time for a couple of packs of super noodles before walking down to the marina. Unfortunately i didn't get to say goodbye to the lads, Matt left on his sailing tour early this morning and Kyle and Karl are out and about.

Down to the marina and the tour meeting place and it turns out that the silent Irish couple from Fraser Island are on the same boat as me. Well there talking to me so that's more than any of us got on Fraser, also on my boat is Elise an Australian girl, and Jeremy a Canadian guy, both of which were in my dorm last night. 23 of us in the boat in total, and as usual the boat looks nothing like it did in the picture when i booked it, its cool though, just a lot smaller than i was expecting. Its bring your own alcohol for drinking on the boat, i didn't bother, 1 because its a dive boat and you shouldn't drink and dive and 2 because i had more than enough to drink last night. Out of the marina and its off towards the Whitsunday's.

A seriously rocky couple of hours journey, the boats all over the place and the waves are splashing over the top. Outside sitting at the front and hanging on is the place to be, its wet but its good, there were times when the boat was leaning so far over im surprised it made it back up ha ha. A few white faces hanging over the side, mines not one of them but xxxx i feel rough, not from this but from last night, im so tired and all iv had to eat all day is 2 packets of noodles, im so hungary. In regards to the boat journey i don't think anything will ever beat the ferry journey from hell in Thailand, the 1st and only time iv ever been sea sick, well dry heaving anyway.

All meals on the boat are included, i was so looking forward to dinner but i thought i would have a quick bit of shut eye whilst waiting. O'Dear, i woke up 5 hours later, iv missed dinner and the only people still awake are Jeremy the Canadian and Gareth the Irish lad from Fraser Island, who are both out on deck drinking. Apparently dinner was beautiful, im gutted, im so hungary, i feel so much better than what i did earlier though. Ended up staying on deck with the lads till the early hours of the morning. Gareth is as sweet as, he hasn't stopped talking all night, so different to how he was on Fraser Island, maybe its because his birds in bed, who knows.

Did anyone not hear the anchor winch raising the anchor at 5.45am? I don't think so. 7am and breakfast was on the table, out the way people iv got a days lost eating to make up for. The boats on the move again, what is with this weather, Unbelievable, cold, windy and very wet, what's going on? yesterday was beautiful, typical an it. A couple of hours sailing and our first stop was at Whitehaven Beach, one of the top 3 rated beaches in the world, what a great day for it. Anchored up and in the little speed boat being pulled along behind our boat we got a lift over to the island. Its so cold but putting clothes on is pointless, once there wet there staying wet, and so im making do with a stinger suit.

A short walk through some rainforest to the other side of the island and its onto the famous Whitehaven Beach. Well iv no dought that its a beautiful beach, pure white silica sand that is so soft even when wet, its just a shame about the weather. Im on one of the nicest beaches in the world and its wet, cold, and foggy, its not even worth getting the camera out, iv taken a few pictures but its seen enough water for one day, its soaked. I think i might have to cheat and take a picture of a postcard with Whitehaven Beach on it ha ha. After a couple of hours exploring and freezing on the beach it was back over to our boat for lunch, the boat rocking doesn't bother me, but eating whilst rocking is different, i cant seem to eat half as much as i normally would. On the move again for an hour or so, and its fish feeding time, once again im fine but some people are seriously struggling to keep there food down. Our next stop was at Luncheon Bay on Hook Island for some snorkeling and diving, xxxx its cold but believe it or not it feels warmer in the water than on the beach.

Whilst waiting for my dive group to be called i had a snorkel around with Elise and Jeremy, the coral here is pretty amazing and its so close to the beach. So many different types including lots of soft corals that i haven't seen before and some of the colours are amazing, really bright as if almost glowing. Like iv said before, its another world. Back on the beach and waiting for my dive group to be called and it is far from warm, then a little later whilst waist deep in water putting on the dive gear from the little speed boat i was so unbelievably cold. So much so that i was contemplating not diving, it can be dangerous, the last thing i need is to start getting cramps under water, i toughed it out though and boy was it worth it, without a dought the best dive iv done to date, Awesome. Surprise surprise, as we surfaced it was raining again, its so much warmer under the water than it is on the surface. After freezing on the beach for a bit longer it was then back on the boat for a cold shower and some warm clothes. Out on deck and at last the suns out, at least it was for about 15 minutes anyway. Apart from Elise and Jeremy iv hardly spoke to anyone else all day, the three of us just seem to be getting on really well. Elise is lovely, and we've been flirting with each other all day, there's nothing in it though, im a flirt and she's a prick tease ha ha. A wicked roast dinner and then after everyone started playing card games. O'Dear im on Elise and Jeremy's Goon, not good. All in all it was a good night, that crap excuse of a wine called Goon makes me so tired though. Drink the Goon and sleep till noon, its so true.

Another early morning and im so glad i forced a litre of water down me before going to bed last night, no morning after Goon headache today. Another wet and windy day, il be walking with a swagger time i get off this boat. On the move again and then we stopped at another island beach stop. Iv got the option to dive but im going to give it a miss today, its far too cold and look at the weather. It would be nice to dive but to be honest if the snorkeling is anything like yesterdays then you really don't need too, you can see just as much snorkeling, and so that's what im doing. Most the group including Elise are staying out of the water today, and i can't say i blame them, its freezing, but hey i might only ever be here once so i cant be leaving and saying skipped the opportunity.

Jeremy was also up for toughing it out and so with that we hit the water for what was some more awesome snorkeling. Back on the boat for lunch and then it was time to start making our way back to Airlie marina, the boats all over the place again, its wicked. Don't get me wrong it was a good trip but iv got to say, i didn't find the Whitsunday's as impressive as i thought they would be, obviously the weather hasn't helped but even still, not at all what i was expecting. I know i shouldn't keep comparing but in my opinion i think that after sailing around Ko Phe Phe in Thailand, its going to be very hard to find somewhere that beats it. Back at the hostel and the 3 of us are all unofficially all in the same dorm again.

A nice well needed hot shower each and then its out to a place called Reefo's which is just out of town, where the crew from the boat have booked a table for anyone from our boat who would like to go, a kind of after party type thing. Not everyone showed up but it was pretty good, had a nice meal each washed down with a few jugs of Snake Bite, beautiful. There's been a lot more flirting between Elise and me today but i honestly didn't think for one minute that anything would happen between us. The next thing i know we're having a cheeky snog in the corridor to the toilets ha ha. The 3 of us left at about midnight and then got a taxi back into town where we had arranged to meet some others from the group in Mama Africa's. Not much happening at Mama's, no faces we know and so getting onto 1am we decided to call it a night.

Sharing the top bunk of a bunk bed with Elise last night was cozy, one wrong move and it could have been on the deck. Crazy a, nearly 6 months without so much as a sniff of action and then all of a sudden 2 chicks come along at once. I guess good things happen when you least expect them. Said goodbye to Jeremy and then the 2 of us got the coach up to Townsville, it looks a lot bigger than we were both expecting and looks as if it could be quite industrial.

Into a hostel that Elise has already booked and with there being no double rooms available we have ended up getting a 16 bed dormitory all to ourselves. Wicked. Elise is a dab hand in the kitchen too, she made some wicked spaghetti with garlic, fresh rosemary and cheese, i could get used to this ha ha. Whilst eating i spotted Matt walking past, i called out to him and he joined us, he too is getting the ferry over to Magnetic Island tomorrow. Matt knocked up a couple of lovely kangaroo steaks with mash potato for his dinner, and get this.

Elise is from Sydney and until last week when she visited 1770, she had never seen a wild kangaroo, but not only that it turns out that she has never eaten kangaroo either, shocking ha ha. Apparently Australians don't eat kangaroo its for the tourists ha ha, we talked her into trying it though, ummm Beautiful ha ha. An early night tonight, after a shower together the 2 of us just crashed out, well for a few hours anyway.

The plan this morning was for the 3 of us to head over to Magnetic Island together, however with someone taking forever to get ready Matt has left on his own. When ready we then got a bus to the ferry terminal and a ferry over to the island, being only 8km off the mainland its only a 20 minute journey away. Again with there being no double rooms available we have ended up in the same dorm as Matt, we would have met up anyway but what are the chances, good job we're not trying to get away from him ha ha.

Elise is cooking lunch, spaghetti with vegemite and cream cheese. And your thinking what i thought, that's wrong. Well if its got pasta in it then it cant be that bad, and il tell you what it was surprisingly good, il definitely be taking that recipe home with me and i can't wait to tell Hans ha ha. Well El's feeling knackered and bunged up so she's off to bed and Matt and me are off on foot to explore. From what iv seen the beaches here on Magnetic don't seem to be anything to write home about, quite dirty and muddy looking, at least on this side of the island anyway.

Found some cool rocks to climb which was good fun and also got us sweating, its pretty humid today. After killing a couple of hours on the rocks we then had a cool down in the hostel pool, we also decided to hire a set of wheels between us for tomorrow, its not a big island but you cant beat exploring in your own set of wheels. A shower and a couple of games of pool and El must be knackered, she's sparko. Woke her up to see if she wanted any dinner and then we ate in the bistro next to the hostel. Just chilling out and getting an early night tonight. Matt's staying up to watch the football, England Vs Someone, just thinking about it is sending me to sleep.

O'dear, look at the state of the weather, proper blowing a gale, Great. Matt's picked up the wheels and its of to explore the island. Check out the bad boy motor, a small 4 seater pink and white plastic thing, a proper little chicks motor. Well we knew that the island wasn't big but we thought there would be more to it than this, most of it is rainforest and you can drive from one end to the other in about 20 minutes. Its basically just a rainforest covered island with a road joining the north of the island to the south.

The beaches here are said to be beautiful but from what we have seen they certainly don't look like it. By far the best beach we found was at Nelly's Bay, totally deserted and it had plenty of rocks for us to climb and explore. There's loads of marked out walking tracks around the island but the ones we walked seemed to be really short and not worth the effort. Iv got to say though iv seen more spiders today than i have since i arrived in Australia nearly 6 months ago. Leading the way along the walking tracks i lost count of the amount of spiders webs i walked into, i even ended up with 2 spiders on my chest at one point. The spiders don't bother me in the slightest, its walking into the webs that i don't like, you cant see the dam thing to get it off, you can just feel on ya when you move, Arrrr its horrible. In the end i ended walking along waving 2 long sticks in front of me to clear the way. We pretty much stopped and explored everywhere we could today but other than rainforest, beaches, an old wooden jetty, and the odd little parade of shops, there really isn't that much here.

The best bit of the day was climbing the rocks around Nelly's Bay. El and me were going to stay here for 4 or 5 days but as you can probably guess that has now changed. Today was good fun but there's nothing else for us to do here, we could do some snorkeling but it wouldn't do El a lot of good, she's got a cold and is feeling rough at the moment. Heard from Hans today, basically we have matched our dates and we are meeting up in New Zealand in 1 month today. That means iv got a month to get up to Cairns (via another 3 or 4 stops max), time to chill with El, and plenty of time to get back to Melbourne for a week. Matt's moving on first thing in the morning and El and me are heading back to Townsville for a couple of days, we're thinking about going on a 3 day diving trip to dive the SS.Yongala ship wreck and the Great Barrier Reef, but at the moment that basically depends on the weather dramatically improving.

Change of plan, we're staying one more day, El's really ill and needs a day in bed. Had a walk around the coast line and over the hill to the supermarket. The beaches here look a lot nicer when the tides in, they look awful when its out. For some reason i can't seem to talk El into putting all her clothes on and running around the island with me to sweat her cold out ha ha, so its a case of dosing her up. Lemon, grapes, onion, garlic, honey, and some good old Vicks Vapor Rub.

Quite a boring day for me really, had some lunch with an Irish girl that i got chatting to yesterday and then i just grabbed my MP3 player and chilled out at the top of the rocks that Me and Matt climbed on our first day here. That was basically the highlight of my day.

El's feeling a lot better today which is good, i should think so too after over 30 hours in bed. What a surprise, we're packed up and ready to leave and it looks like its going to be a nice day. The ferry back over to Townsville and then by chance we're staying in the accommodation at the Transit Centre. Its really nice, and with a maximum of 20 beds, nice sofa's, and the huge plasma screen TV, its really quite cozy and homely.

Walked into the main part of town and having some stuff to sort out El ended up spending most of the afternoon in the bank, leaving me to explore the shops. I think i can honestly say that this is the first place i have been to since leaving Sydney where i have seen Aborigines. I like Townsville its really nice, lots of cool little shops and its got a nice feel to it, really chilled out and relaxed. El's beautiful pasta for dinner and then we just spent the evening in the hostel.

Basically spent the whole day either hanging around the hostel or wandering around the town together. We're splitting up later today, El's got some work stuff to sort out and some people to meet and then we're going to meet up again in a couple of days, either here depending on what i decide to do, or up at my next stop Mission Beach. The only reason iv got to stay in Townsville is to dive the S.S Yongala wreck, unfortunately though after making some enquires at a dive shop, it turns out that sea conditions at the moment are too rough and dangerous to access it (3m swell), and so at the very earliest conditions depending there won't be any boats going out until after the weekend. Well that's that sorted, its meant to be an awesome wreck dive but im not going to hang around here for a week on the off chance of maybe getting out after the weekend.

Up to Mission Beach it is then. Later on whilst watching TV back at the hostel, El received a phone call and some bad news from her Dad. A few hours ago it was "Il see ya in a couple of days" now she's packing her bags and making arrangements to head home, im sure at the moment seeing me again is the least of her worries. O Well, it was good while it lasted, i guess some things just aren't meant to be. One of the best things about traveling is the people you meet. You can be anywhere in the world but at the end of the day its your friends and the people around you that make the world your in. Unfortunately though we have all got different paths to follow and so saying goodbye, as much as i don't like it, almost becomes routine. To you at home what im about to say is probably going to sound stupid and soppy, and it does to me too ha ha. One week iv been with El but for some reason i can honestly say that saying goodbye to her on the Townsville Victoria Bridge, was the hardest goodbye iv had to say.

White water rafting today, for which i was picked up along with a load of others and driven to the town of Tully and the Tully River. The town of Tully is officially known as the wettest town in Australia, and true to its reputation, its raining. A run down on some safety stuff, bla bla bla, and then it was into the raft. Six per raft plus a guide and there is another 8 rafts going down the river with us. Even though it was wet and cold it was still a good day, not as good as i was expecting, but still very enjoyable. The Tully river itself which runs through World Heritage Rainforest is beautiful, but if im honest the rafting itself just wasn't exhilarating enough for me.

We crossed more than 45 rapids in total but most of them were pretty tame, in total there was probably about a dozen good ones, with either rock boulders to maneuver around or drops. The first half of the day was the slowest and i guess most dangerous, lots of stopping and starting making sure that all the rafts made it through. However the second half of day was a lot better, not as dangerous but at least we didn't have to keep stopping for safety checks. All in all a wet, cold, enjoyable day. Back at the hostel and iv booked a dive trip for Sunday leaving from Cairns.

As with elsewhere down the coast a lot of the smaller dive boat operators aren't operating at the moment. However Cairns Dive Centre has got a 25m live aboard catamaran permanently based out on the Great Barrier Reef, if im going to dive it i might as well do it properly. Basically im going to be on the catamaran for 3 days and 2 nights, all meals included, and il be doing 10 dives including a night dive at different points along the reef. I cant wait it should be really good, obviously doing this way works out more expensive than just doing a day trip but how much better is it going to be, like iv said before, i might only ever be here once, im not going to be diving when i get home am i. And lets be honest 400 dollars for 3 days diving on the Great Barrier Reef with everything included is hardly expensive.

Time to check out the Great Barrier Reef - The worlds largest expanse of coral reef, it stretches over 2000km from Papua New Guinea down along the Queensland coast to just south of the Tropic Of Capricorn. The Great Barrier Reef is the only form of life on earth which can be seen from space. The worlds largest marine park and a World Heritage Area, (supposedly protects), 1500 variety's of fish, 400 types of hard and soft coral, 4000 Mullusc species, and six kinds of turtle.

Got picked up by the dive centre, a bit of paperwork to fill out, and then it was on to the transfer boat for the 2 hour choppy journey out to the live aboard catamaran. Once out on the reef its not actually that choppy, its just the journey out here that's a bit wet and wild. Check it out, 4 decks, nice cabins, a bar, restaurant, and a sun deck. A quick tour of the boat, a dive brief, and then we got kitted out with all our equipment which is ours for the next 3 days. Some lunch and then our first dive was at 1pm. With it being our first dive it had to be guided to make sure that everyone was confident and happy with the conditions and equipment.

Not a great dive to start with and with there being 8 or so people in the group everyone was a bit on top of each other, like the crew said though, this is just the transfer sight. Back onto the boat and its off to the next dive site ready for the 4pm dive, and tonight's night dive. After the first dive all the dives are now unguided, unless of course you want to pay for a guide tour, where's the fun in that? For the 4pm dive i budded up with an Irish girl, and i have got to say that it was by far the best dive i have done, absolutely amazing coral, and the best of it was all so close to the surface. A blowout dinner and then literally as soon as i had finished eating the night dive briefing was called, Great, the amount iv just eaten i think i might sink straight to the bottom, so much for not swimming after eating.

All geared up, and with this being my first night dive, it means that once again it has to be guided, 7 of us in the group in total, and 2 guides. Well as you can guess the main difference with a night dive is that it is dark, which means that our only visibility is either from the moon light which there is very little of, or the torches in our hands. Iv heard that night dives are really good and i was really looking forward to it. I wasn't very impressed though, and where have all the fish gone? being in a group again was hard work, all the space in the ocean and people cant stay away from ya, xxxx off. Back on the boat and im absolutely cream crackered, time for bed, 5.30am wake up call in the morning ready for the 6am sunrise dive.

How cold was the air conditioning in the room last night, unable to block it up i ended up getting up and sleeping in the bar area where it was nice and warm, lovely. A quick dive brief and then as soon as the sun started to come up it was into the water with my new dive buddy, a Korean guy. Another good dive, the visibility isn't great though, probably about 8-10m max, spotted a white tip shark and a big group of Buffalo Parrot fish though. Some brekki and chill out time and then the journey to another part of the reef for the 1pm dive. Same dive buddy again and another really good dive, loads of colourful coral, and coral swim throughs and caves to explore.

On the boat, and again off to another dive site for the 4pm, this ones with the on board video guy filming us. It was really good, cant wait to watch the video later tonight. Dinner and then its time for another night dive. After last nights dive i wasn't too fussed about doing another one tonight, especially with it being so damn cold as well. Now that iv already done a night dive though i can now go unguided which means that all iv got to do now is buddy up with someone who too can go unguided. Sorted, a lad from Ashford that i got chatting to over dinner. Torches in hand and its into the water. I am so glad i didn't think xxxx it, last night was crap i cant be bothered. Tonight's night dive was so good, so much better, and we see loads of stuff including a shark, a giant sleeping turtle, a sting ray, loads of red bass, and loads of really really tiny fish that are virtually transparent but light up with the torch light on them, you definitely would'nt be able to see then during the day.

A lesson well learnt tonight, if you don't like something the first time you try it, always try it again to make sure. Tonight's night dive was a completely different story from last nights, so good. And if i hadn't done it tonight i would have walked away thinking and saying that night diving is pants. Its wicked. After warming up back on the boat with a nice cup of rosie lee it was then time to watch the video of the 4pm dive. It was really good, its just a shame about the 2 knobby Americans that are also in it. And they wonder why they get so much stick for being American. Titts.

Up bright and early for the sun rise dive, and this ones actually on the Outer Great Barrier Reef Wall itself, as opposed to on the bombies, lagoons, and other coral clusters within it. At this point the wall drops down to about 30m, technically im only certified to dive up to 18m deep but it hasn't stopped me before, so if my dive buddy is up for it, we're going deeper. Once again the visibility isn't that good this morning, very murky.

The actual barrier wall itself is impressive but not as colorful as i was expecting, not at this spot anyway, and the lower we dived the less colour and life there was. 26.6m was our maximum depth reached and apart from a Moray Eel and a few of the usual fish there really didn't seem to be that much life down there. Some brekki and then our next dive was at 8pm, same dive site only this time instead of going deep we explored the top of the wall and the coral in the shallower waters within it. So much better, much better visibility, so many more colours, and so much more life. Another turtle and stingray spotted, and the giant clams are awesome. With everyone back on the boat it was then off to what is my last dive site of this trip and the 11am dive.

More murky water and a joe average dive site. All in all though a very good trip. A live aboard dive boat is definitely the way to go to dive the Great Barrier Reef, and the fact that you are there 24/7 means that you get to dive early morning, during the day, and after dark, meaning you get to see so many more different types of fish that you wouldn't otherwise get to see during the day. Out of the 10 dives iv done over the last 3 days i would say that they were all good, but there was 3 that really really stood out above the rest. With that said though, what i have seen of the Great Barrier Reef is virtually nothing compared to the grand scale of it, it would take over a life time to explore. Onto the transfer boat and its time for the trip back to Cairns, all i want is a nice shower and a siesta, im knackered. No time for a siesta, Niamha and her friend Eda from Ireland have just got to Cairns and are in a hostel just around the corner. Met up with them for a drink at there hostel and then we got a ride into town where we ended up in good old P.J. O'Brian's till the early hours of the morning.

A wet day today. Picked up by the tour bus and it was off up into the wet tropics of Queensland which although in Australia, the driest inhabited continent in the world, the wet tropics of Queensland is actually one of the wettest areas in the world, with a guaranteed record of 300 wet days per year. Our first stop was at the Daintree River where we done a wildlife cruise on which we see a couple of wild croc's, and a green tree snake. After the cruise we then continued further north towards the Cape Tribulation Rainforest area.

The Actual point known as Cape Tribulation is one of only 3 places in the world where 2 protected World Heritage Areas meet, in this case the rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. The Cape Tribulation Rainforest is the oldest rainforest in the world and is an ongoing botanical evolution. Its a closed canopy rainforest which means that only 5% of sunlight and 1% of rain water reaches the ground, the rest is caught and blocked by the canopy. The rainforest is home to 230 bird species and 1000 tree species which thrive in the rainforest from Thornton Peak (1375m) down to the edge of the coral sea. The biggest animal and king of the Cape Tribulation rainforest is a prehistoric bird called the Cassowary. A huge bird which reaches 2m in height and can run 50km per hour through the rainforest, and is responsible for 20% of seed dispersing within the rainforest. If the Cassowary becomes extinct then 20% of the oldest rainforest in the world goes with it. Its estimated that there is only 1200 Cassowary birds left. So the question is what's killing more these birds which have been here for thousands of years than anything else? We are, driving along in our cars on roads that shouldn't even be here. It is a beautiful area but the amount of rainforest that has been cleared and logged here to make way for roads, sugar cane farming, houses, and resorts is disgusting.

With the area now being World Heritage it now means that no more development is allowed, unfortunately though its a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, because the damage has already been done. Apparently before all the logging and clearing the sea here was crystal clear, now with the vegetation that was once holding the soil here together gone, every time it rains soil and whatever is now in the soil, ie chemicals and pesticides used in farming, are now being washed straight into the sea. Sand is heavy so it sinks, the soil though has made the water murky and the pesticides are now killing the reef. I guess its a case of why care about looking after the worlds natural beauty if there's a quick buck to be made from tourism, its the same everywhere world over.

Anyway, at the rainforest we were then guided around the Jindalba Botanical Boardwalk, the tour guide was really informative about the rainforest, the wildlife, and the history behind it. Very interesting stuff. After the walk we were then driven to the Fern Tree Rainforest Lodge which is where we are staying for the next 2 nights. We've got our own hut and it seems like we're the only ones here. Its very nice and tranquil but once again its a shame to look around and think that this resort, the other resorts around it, the shops and the land around it all, was once thick rainforest rich in wildlife and diversity. A walk around trying to avoid the rain showers and we ended up on the beach which today is looking quite foggy. Back to the hostel for dinner, a few games of pool, and then back to the room to chill out.

Hooray, the suns out. We've got the whole day to ourselves today, what shall we do? Well there's a few tours and activities which can be done from here but all in all there quite expensive for what they are. Horse riding, sea kayaking, guided rainforest walks etc, none of which im overly fussed about doing. Got to do something though so we've booked a guided night walk for tonight and Jungle Surfing for tomorrow morning. Not too sure what the Jungle Surfing will be like but lots of people including Rachel have said that its good, just have to wait and see. As for today though, we just wandered. Walked along the beach and climbed up the Cape Tribulation Point, not the best thing to do in flip flops but it was funny watching the girls perform, especially Niamha on the way back down ha ha. All in all just a relaxed chilled out day, some dinner, and then were picked up and driven into the rainforest for our night walk.

Torch in hand we were then led into the rainforest to see what we could find. It was actually a really good tour, we didn't come across any snakes but we did find some little tree frogs, a few different types of spiders, caterpillars, stick insects, a lizard, a sleeping bird, and a Cane Toad which jumped on Niamha's foot. For those of you who don't know about Cane Toads in Australia, here goes. Hans and me watched a really good and funny video about them in the Darwin Museum, they are now Australia's biggest pest. One of the many creatures introduced into Australia the Cane toad, originally from South America was introduced in order to combat another pest, the sugar cane beatle. It was later proved to be a pointless introduction because unlike the South American sugar cane beatle, the Australian sugar cane beatle flies, and believe it or not, the Cane toad doesn't. Only 103 Cane toads were introduced here but now there is millions of them.

The toad itself contains 2 deadly sacks of poison which means that anything that eats it, dies, including crocodiles. Not only will a Cane toad eat anything smaller than itself but with its deadly poison it is now responsible for making all sorts of various types of, insects, small reptiles, frogs, snakes, and birds extinct. It is now law in Australia that if you catch a Cane toad you must kill it, however ur guide didn't and we let it go. Another animal in the rainforest which is causing trouble is the wild pig. Originally introduced to Australia as something to hunt, and with there being an estimated 23 million of them they now outnumber people. 40% of the birds in the rainforest live and nest on the ground, the pigs trample the ground destroying the nests and eating the eggs which is now causing bird numbers to drastically decline. It doesn't look like the futures looking too good for the old rainforest does it.

Spent most of the day either on the internet or wandering around Cairns with Niamha. Its a lovely day today and the Cairns man made lagoon looks really nice, unfortunately though we didn't have our swimming gear with us so we just soaked up some sun instead. After dinner we then checked out the Cairns indoor night markets which turned out to be a lot smaller than i was expecting.

In the markets though there is a few massage stalls, mainly Chinese massage, but the one we got a massage from was Korean. 15 dollars for a hot foot spa, a foot massage, and a 40 minute body massage. Definitely a must if in Cairns, my feet felt wicked afterwards, it was a shame to have to walk on them. Another must is the fresh cream and fruit Crepe stall, absolutely delicious.

Another boat trip today, a days snorkeling trip out on the Great Barrier Reef. Good weather for it but it was a bit choppy. So i guess now with my last trip to the Great Barrier Reef over, the big question is, what's better, what do i prefer, Thailand or Australia. Its a hard question and its hard to say, if i had to though i still think that i would say Thailand is number 1, its the whole package, the real deal, Paradise. With that said though there just both so different. Thailand has got absolutely crystal clear water, beautiful coloured clusters of coral, and more fish and variety than i have seen anywhere in Australia. If its coral you want though then Australia wins hands down, the Ningaloo Reef in W/A and the Great Barrier Reef are truly amazing but from what i have seen of them the fish life and water quality just isn't the same. With all that said though there both truly xxxxxxx Awesome. Also i kind of think that within Australia the Great Barrier Reef is overrated, Yes its the biggest coral reef in the world but that doesn't necceseraly mean its the best.

The Ningaloo Reef in W/A is awesome and i saw just as much there as i did on the Great Barrier Reef, and its a lot more accessible too, its fringing which means you can swim out to it from the beach as opposed to spending 2+ hours on a boat before getting to see anything. With that said though they are a six hour flight away from each other so i guess it depends where you are ha ha. Back in Cairns we then grabbed some food from the night market food court and then went and watched the Siberian Circus which is in town. Some of the acrobatic stuff that was performed was brilliant. With it being a Monday night and not overly busy, during the half time interval the 3 of us moved down and sat in the spare ring side seats. O'Dear, straight into the second half and guess who the first person to get dragged up on stage is?, Niamha and Eda were wetting themselves. Thankfully i wasn't up there alone, 3 other fella's were dragged up as well. I wont bother explaining what we had to do, it was good though, a good party trick to try at home. Back to the girls room to chill for a bit and then finally for the last time on this trip its time to say goodbye to Niamha. What can i say, she's been a big part of my travels. If i take nothing home from my travel's other than memories and a bit of wisdom, then at least i know iv made a good friend for the future. Your a Tip Top Quality bird Niamha, thanks for the many laughs, cuddles, and memories. Enjoy the rest of your trip and il see ya at home when its all over.

Putting our heads together today, what can we do whilst im here? we're thinking we could have a couple of days skiing. Had a drive around with Helen and Alex showing me the area. This is proper in the country, not as green as im used too though, more of a yellow colour ha ha. Its a well nice area. Drove up to the top of Mount Alexander to the Lang's lookout, and then onto Dogs Rocks for a climb and some awesome views. We then drove to the Castlemaine Diggings National Park where the Garfield's Wheel used to be, and the water race which is still there, built by the Chinese during the 1850s gold rush. Being an old gold mining area the area is scattered with old mine shafts, interesting and pretty cool, as most of them are still open and ready for someone to fall down.

After a walk around we then drove to what is the only Dingo farm in Australia. Unfortunately it was closed so we couldn't go in, however we still got to see some Dingo's. They are so nice, that is what a Dingo should look like, not at all like the ones on Fraser Island which are being starved to extinction from the island by the Australia National Parks Organization, but that's another story. Back at the house and unfortunately it turns out that a skiing trip is going to work out too expensive, by time we've paid for equipment hire, lift fees, accommodation, petrol etc, its going to work out at about 200 pound each just for a days skiing.