Hey All,

Well, you'll be pleased to know that we are still playing hard and spending lots of dollars! Luckily we're managing to stay out of the red with the help of the tax man would you believe..... but that's another story .....

So we had a three day two night sailing trip on the Whitsunday Islands which are off of Airlie Beach on the East Coast. There were around 20 of us on Hammer (a 65ft ex-racing maxi yacht) with 3 crew to sail us, feed us and generally look after us. After having to do everything ourselves (would you believe?) in Fraser Island it was lovely to be looked after for a few days and we were generally quite lazy!! All went really well and we had an amazing time. The first day the weather was terrible and we wondered what we had let ourselves in for. We were sailing with big yellow coats on in the rain, with the boat at a 40 degree angle from the sea, hanging on for dear life, apparently amazing sailing!! The coats did not keep us dry at all, especially Rich who wondered why he was getting wet hair and realised his hood had a massive tear down the back!! Didn't sleep much that night as we were rocking around as the boat swayed from side to side. Not a particularly nice feeling after a few cans of beer! Still the seasickness tablets worked a treat and not a bout of nausea in sight. Next morning we went to Whitehaven Beach which is absolutely gorgeous (see the photos if you don't believe me), white sands and crystal clear water. The sun blessed us with it's presence and we donned the old factor 30. We could see loads of little fish as we walked along the beach and we even spotted a sand shark. We went snorkelling a couple of times and spotted more fish in the coral and a turtle too! The coral was amazing in places. We had to wear stinger suits in case of jelly fish. Think giant baby grows and you're about there with the look!! Add a snorkel and mask and you have a look to die for!! Our second night was much calmer and we managed to get a lot more sleep, luckily we managed not to dream of the hammerhead sharks as we slept in their breeding ground! (Yes these ones would likely eat your leg!) On the last day we had a two hour sail home. The weather was ok again, a little overcast, but no rain thankfully. Rich had a go at steering the boat and we did notice when he took over!! The guy said that he was concerned he might get breathalised after the zig zagging back to the marina!! You can't win 'em all i guess!

On the way to our next stop, Townsville, we stopped at a wildlife sanctuary where we were able to get our hands on a few of the yocals. Have a look at the pictures and see what you think. There's a koala, a snake and a wombat for those without animal instincts (Dad!). We had a trip over to Magnetic Island. It was gorgeous there too. We did lots of bush walking and sat on a beach for a while. It was really hot; 27 degrees, so we were sticky sticky by the end of the day. Can't wait to think of the heat the summer will bring, we're only in the 2nd week of spring!

Next interesting stop was Undara National Park which is inland a bit and the site of lava tubes from the volcanic years. We went on a little tour of the tubes and it was really interesting. They are amazing great big caves right in the middle of nowhere. On the way back from there we found heaven in a pool at Innot Hot Springs where we lazed for hours in the thermal pools from the nearby springs. Lush! The hottest was 44 degrees, so you can imagine we slept well that night.

We are now in tropical north Queensland where the weather is getting hotter. We took a day trip up to Cooktown which is as far north as you can go in a non-4WD car. Tiny little place and although we're glad we went, the 500km round trip was long and boring!! Thank Paul for the MP3 players!

So that's us. We have a few days left of the road trip and still lots to do. So better head off and keep travelling. Hope all is well at home as always and keep in touch people.

Kate and Rich xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx