Where the ocean meets the sky i'll be sailing....

Now then all.. Hope things are good at home - cos things are just mint over here!!! (not to rub it it or anything). The weather is hot, meeting great people and when you think the trip can't get any better it just does.

We have just come back from a sailing trip which sailed around the Whitsunday islands for 3 days. Eventually we got down to Airlie beach ( seriously you can't imagine the distance we only went about an inch on the map!) after a 6 hour coach journey. Airlie beach is a lively little backpacker town where all you do really is drink and sail. After a nice couple of nights there we headed to our boat where we were greeted by the fattest skipper we have ever seen!!

It was an old racing boat that had just been given a face lift. There were 15 of us in total. A few Germans, Canadians, a South Korean that didn't speak English but just smiled, Irish and Team RA. We were really lucky we had a good group all of whom we have kept in touch with.

Day1

We set sail with a nor easterly wind (Soz skipper Byrne) and arrived at Hook Island Bay where we stayed the night. We snorkeled and watched the sunset go down over OZ having a few wines... another pinch yourself moment. The snorkeling was OK but a little cloudy however we did have to wear stinger suits which was interesting. We looked like ninjas! The night was amazing, we just sat on deck with everyone looking at shooting stars fly above us. The skipper had to sleep on deck as he was to big for his bed!! lol.

Day2

We set sail early - around 5:30 am to turtle bay where we saw massive turtles. We got dropped off by our motor dingy to Whitehaven Beach - We have never seen a beach like it..It was sooooo white and the sea was a clear turquoise! We stayed here for 3 hours then headed back when our dingy broke down!! - we had to get rescued by 2 other boats near by.. very funny at the time.

That night we arrived at another bay where Amy did a scuba dive.. She swam with a turtle for about 10 mins.. pretty good for a first dive! That evening it was the same again - had tea on deck and watched the sun set go down.

Day3

We woke up around 5 and jumped in for a morning snorkel then had breakfast when we got back on board, then we headed back to Airlie beach.

The weather was as hot as you can imagine so to cool ourselves down we let our legs dangle off the side of the boat... class!!! That night we met up with everyone from the boat and had a good night.

Rockhampton

We weren't sure whether to stop here or not but we're glad we did. Its a remote little town on the edge of the outback - the most really OZ town we have been to so far. Part of the hostel was a stone grill pub where you cook your own steak on hot stone! very nice indeed!

The next day we met up with Capricorn Dave who's a bit like Steve Irwin but a little crazier!! We didn't know but the Canadians on our boat where there as well. We spent the day with him walking around the outback looking for snakes and spiders! We couldn't find any poisonous snakes so we could hold the ones we caught. Apparently the Jack Ass guys filmed with him so he took us to an ants nest where he made us jump on it and let the ants bite our feet - We had a game to see who could stay on it the longest! (don't know whats going on with my body in the picture!!) To cool off we swam in the river and had a good laugh on a Tarzan swing.

That night after trying some Kangaroo and Crocodile we went out again to try and find snakes and toasted marshmallows around a camp fire. The night was cut short by a huge storm though we didn't mind as it was spectacular to look at!

Town of 1770/Agnes Water

This was a pretty little boating town where we just chilled out on the beach. It was the first time we could swim in the sea since we got to OZ. We were told that sharks were about but we would be fine so we jumped in with everyone. That night we bumped into the Germans from Whitsundays - took a ride in their camper van and watched the sunset go down with them.

Can you Guess what it is yet?

There were a few interesting suggestions but Lauren was correct in saying it was Amy eating a Kiwi - Brother Byrne got a little excited about the thought I tan my testicles!! - I don't know how they train the teachers nowadays!!!

Here's the next one.

All our love

Team RA

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