Here is a picture of a small island called Hayman Island. It was completely destroyed by a hurricane not to long ago when a wealthy investor decided to rebuild it into an exclusive six star resort. Our guide informed us many celebrities go there to vacation and pay an arm and a leg to stay on the island. He could only think of two celebrities ever getting kicked off the island. One was Madonna who was asked to leave after she requested one of the restaurants to be shut down so she could eat in private and also asking the lifeguards to kick everyone out of the pool so she could swim in private when they essentially told her they did not need her attitude or her business and the other was Rod Stewart who was asked to leave after refusing to put on clothes. The island was also the inspiration for the song Octopus's Garden written by the Beatles after they went snorkeling there!

About half way through the trip was another major stop at the beautiful Whitsunday Islands. It is a collection of 74 islands located in the great barrier reef and we were lucky enough to be able to take a speed boat out to snorkel in the reef and hang out at Whitehaven beach which is arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in Australia. Whitehaven is known for its sand which is made out of 98% pure silica which gives it the white color. It is so fine that when you walk it makes a squeaking noise. Our guide told us that if we had any silver jewelry to wash it with the sand because it will get it cleaner than any jeweler ever could. I washed my clauda ring and although it is not made of real silver, it still looked pretty shiny afterwards! Snorkeling was amazing and the reef was even more colorful at this location. It was just a month away from jelly fish season so we were strongly urged to wear lycra wet suits which although not very stylish, could potentially save a diver's life. We all made it out alive :) and we even saw a Gila Monster on the beach! We were given lunch and simply laid on the beach for a few hours. Hopefully the pictures do it justice! Please forgive my bloodshot eyes..the salt water was apparently extra salty that day. Also the ship is a navy ship which we honked at and waved to on the boat!

Next on our to-do list...the Aquarium! Located behind a really neat marina, we decided to spend the majority of the day at what Michael referred to as "the biggest aquarium in Australia". false. this aquarium is tiny and for those of you who have been to say the Shedd aquarium in Chicago it is hardly comparable however we forked over $30 to enter which included a ticket to the IMAX show. The aquarium, while small, was still very interesting. There was a glass hallway so we were surrounded by sharks, sting rays, and other kinds of huge fish. We also saw some divers cleaning the tank and got some pictures with one. Around lunch time we took a break from the tour to go see the IMAX film which turned out to be one long nap. It was narrated by Jim Carey but not funny exciting Jim Carey, soft soothing voice Jim Carey. That on top of underwater footage of coral and fish put us all to sleep within minutes but we hardly complained since we were all exhausted anyway. We woke up and went back into the aquarium where a worker informed us that the first 20 people to get to a showing on turtles would be given passes to walk over to the million dollar turtle hospital. After swimming with a sea turtle in the ocean I have fallen in love and was super excited to go see them! We made it to the theatre in time and were escorted by a marine biologist over to the turtle hospital. It was so interesting hearing how they rehabilitate them back into the wild. I would love to have that job and the turtles were simply amazing!

Our next stop was Airlie Beach. We meant to stop by my roommate Michael's house but his flight was changed so we missed him. It was a lot of fun though, especially since there was a public water playground right next to the beach! After sitting in a hot car and not always having access to a shower, running around in a water park was a lot more enjoyable than it probably would have been for most adults :) Here are some some pictures of the beach, marina, David and Sebastian, a fake waterfall we saw, and some other things along the way.

Traveling further down the coast, we were starting to see more trees and hills. We all wanted to see a waterfall so we headed towards a town on the map that said "waterfall" more like water-fail. After stopping into the restaurant near the sign we found out that there was currently construction happening and we would not be able to see it. While I am still unsure of what kind of major construction can be done to a waterfall we kept driving to another town and another site. By the time we got there it was getting dark but we were able to make it to the base of the waterfall and after sitting in a hot car all day it felt nice to wade into the swimming hole. David, being the adventurous pirate that he is, climbed up the huge rock that is in the picture and slid down on the water. It looked like a lot of fun so we all followed sliding down what David refers to as "the world's oldest water slide" I'm not sure about that but it was still exciting. It started to get dark and the noises coming from the woods was enough to make us hurry back to the vans.

After driving for a few hours we decided to take a break and pulled over to play on the beach! Right before the camera went off we were soaked by a huge wave hence the look of shock on our faces :) The neatest part of driving on the trip was all the different scenery we got to see. Just driving down the east coast we saw beaches, mountains, farms, dry lands, woods, and big cities! There was hardly a dull moment, especially since the van came with a chord to plug in an Ipod so Danielle and I kept ourselves thoroughly entertained.