I have had two nights on Magnetic Island and tomorrow I leave for Arlie Beach for a night before I go sailing around the Whitsundays for 3 days/2 nights on a racing boat called Matador which apparently cost $20 million when it was built!

After leaving Cairns on the Oz bus we stopped at a crocodile farm and watched them feeding the crocs. They had some which were absolutely huge! It was a bit scary-you were very close. With one of them they brought him out of the cage slightly then, trying to get him back in, the female croc was in its way and it just bit it! Everyone ran!

After this excitement we fed some wallabies and they had a casowary - the world's most dangerous bird apparently. It kicks like Jackie Chan! It's death trick is to disembowel. We left the farm to drop some people off at Mission Beach and actually saw a real wild casowary - apparently there are only about 70 of them left in this area now. The bus driver got pretty excited! And we saw a kangaroo.

Eventually got to Townsville which apparently is very rich because they have gold/uranium etc etc. The driver said it is full of 19 year old lads driving porsches etc. Got the ferry across to Magnetic Island - so called because when Cpt Cook approached it his compass went weird leading him to believe it had magnetic properties. It doesn't! It has been quite strange to accept that all you do here is lie around in the sun. The first night there was a quiz at the hostel and I bumped into people I had met in Cairns. Then yesterday we hired scooters to have a look around the island. This was more scary than anything else I have done! the island is beautiful with deserted beaches which could be in the Carribbean. The only problem is you can't swim at any of them because it is jellyfish season and they only have "stinger nets" at two beaches! Last night involved the bar (what else) and it has been quite nice to have a lie in but I still feel I should be "doing something"!

Tonight is the Full Moon Party - 5pm till 5am. Apparently 3000 people will be here for it. Not quite sure what to expect but everyone seems very excited! only problem is check out is at ten! But at least I just have a bus journey tomorrow. This may be my last update for a while as I doubt there will be internet on a boat in the middle of the ocean!