hour deals, various entertainment theme nights, and music which could be heard from the campsite into the small hours!

The town itself was pretty cool - on the seafront there was a huge outdoor swimming pool called the lagoon, a pretty great idea since the sea was unsafe for swimming due to the stingers. There was also a walking track which ran for a few kilometres each way from the town, so we had a stroll along to the headland nearby. Airlie beach is the main starting point for sailing trips around the Whitsunday Islands, one of the most picturesque parts of the Great Barrier Reef. We’d decided that this was out of our price range though, so were content to just look out at the islands instead! It was a beautiful sunny day, so we decided on a swim in the lagoon, which was great fun, and whiled away a couple of hours. We bumped into a couple of ladies from Liverpool who we’d met first in

Magnetic Island, and again on the bus from the station the night before. They amused us no end with their stories of how their chosen accommodation was not up to scratch, and how they gave the guy on the reception a proper Scouse “Gobful” until he gave them their money back!! Later on we decided to pursue Airlie Beach’s most popular pastime, happy hour. Beer was very cheap here, and we took full advantage, carrying on into the wee small hours and drinking far far too much, and waking up with the most stinking hangover for a long time!!

We didn’t get the bus back to catch our train until 7pm, so the day was spent walking around the town and along the coast the other way, drinking lots of water and having a fish and chips / veggie burger dinner - with the first mushy peas in Australia. Hurray (Rob), YUK (Hel)!!! We were hoping for a nice quiet overnight train ride to Bundaberg, but no such