Back on Dry Land!

Since my last entry we got on the greyhound bus to take us overnight to airlie beach. At about 7am there was a bang and sparks rushed past our feet. The drivers microphone had shorted the electrics on the bus (leaving a nice burn shirt sleeve for him!) and cutting out the air-con. They had to stop as the heat was unbearable but they couldnt work out how to sort the problem so we strolled around the small town of Ayre, fortunately there was a Subway open so we had a nice breakfast! After a couple of hours the driver informed us that the roads had continued to get worse from the flooding and it would be unlikely we would get further south that day, still another 4hrs away from Airlie. But as always, it sorted itself out and we were back on the road within half an hour. Airlie beach is full of backpackers, all booked in to go out sailing so we fit in quite well. We boarded the boat the next morning and headed out into the ocean. It was an ex-racing maxi yacht called Broomstick for those interested in sailing boats! We helped lift the sails and had amazing weather with a strong breeze so were travelling at quite some speed. There were 26 of us staying on the boat, got on well with them all. Our first stop was in open water where we had a snorkle, was nothing compared to what we saw in Cairns but still good fun. Had great food on the boat, the crew cooked and washed up for us, was treated really well. On the first day, just as we were heading back in from our snorkel, a big fish jumped straight onto the boat and down below deck. It injured its fin so they decided to cook it! Was the freshest fish i have ever had, they were not entirely sure what it was though. Bed time was not quite as enjoyable, it was unbearably hot below deck on our little bunks and those that did sleep on deck soon came running inside when a storm hit us so we stayed inside both nights. The next day we jumped into the speed boat and landed at Whitehaven Beach on Hook Island, really stunning. The sand is extremely soft (something like 97% silicon) and was used by NASA to build the hubble space telescope. Had a great morning there swimming in the ocean, again in our lycra suits, and walking around on the sand. Later that afternoon we went for another snorkel, didnt see much at all and everybody else had got out the water but Ashling and I stayed a bit longer and found really nice coral, bright green and purple/yellow. In the evening we used a torch to look out into the water and saw a shark which everyone was very excited about, was probably about 3 or 4 feet long. The stars were amazing too, very relaxing lazing about on the deck at night looking up into the sky. We headed back to the mainland the next morning, not before spotting a couple of dolphins jumping out of the water, and stayed by the lagoon all day. We really love the lagoons, you are still right by the beach but can enjoy swimming without getting sand everywhere or worrying about jellyfish and crocodiles! A canadian girl travelling alone spent the day with us and we went out for dinner at a greek place before jumping on another night bus to take us to Hervey Bay. It started to rain heavily again and the bus was late but it did turn up and we watched Night in the Museum before sleeping. Arrived in Hervey Bay this morning and have just done some laundry, everything got pretty smelly on the boat from getting wet so often, my waterproof bag has got a lot of use though! Going to cook at our hostel tonight and we have an early start as we get taken over to Fraser Island with our 4x4. Will be camping on the beach with 8 others and have plenty of time to explore the island, people we have spoken to say it was better than the time they spent out at sea. It is great meeting so many people who are doing the same as us or or the opposite, its been great sharing stories and getting/giving advice. I think I have covered everything, finally able to upload some photos so here are a few. Ashling says hi to everyone.