We checked out of our room but stayed round the hostel for a while. We went to an incredibly slow internet cafe, then bought some eggs for lunch. We made some pretty impressive omlettes, considering the pans we had to use, and some sandwiches for later. Then I sat by the pool and read for a bit, but the wind was quite chilly. At 2.30 we went to wait for the bus, which was about half an hour late.

The first part of the journey took us to Hervey Bay and we changed buses. The trip was fine, up 'til Rockhampton at about midnight when the drivers changed. The two we'd had so far had been nice, cheerfully telling us where we'd be stopping and when. He even let us choose the film we watched (Something's Got to Give, a sweet film that I saw on the way to Easter Island). But the new driver, who obviously didn't want to be doing this trip, was not only grumpy but also sadistic - turning the lights on when everyone was asleep or waking us up with the radio on loud. Unkind.

I didn't sleep, but I tried to read. It was a bit bumpy though. The two Canadian girls behind us kept us entertained with their constant complaints about their lives, which was funny because every second word was 'like' and every sentence was a question.

We arrived in Airlie Beach at 6.30 and every hostel had a bus to pick them up except ours. It wasn't a long walk though, and we waited outside reception which had a sign that said it'd open at 7. We'd told them we'd be checking in at 6.30 when we booked, which they said was fine, so I was really, really looking forward to a sleep and a shower. The reception lady saw us waiting but took her time setting out signs and moving bins. In fact, she took half an hour to do that, and didn't let us in until exactly 7. Then she handed us the luggage stoarge key and told us to put our bags away because we wouldn't be checking in until 11.30. I told her that we'd been told that we could check in early, and two other girls agreed that they'd been told that too. The receptionist kept us waiting a bit longer and then said, very snootily that no hotel or resort in the world would allow someone to check in before 11.30 so there was no way we would have been told that, so we should face that and go away for four hours. Her rudeness really upset me, and it's been that way a lot in Australia - if we don't have the money to stay somewhere nice then they treat us like we're worthless. I don't think that's particularly fair, although some of the travellers do seem to deserve it. I have a plan for a petty act of revenge, though, which makes me feel better. The morning we leave I'm going the throw all their spoons into the swimming pool. Revenge is a fish best served surreal.

We went into town and we'd just missed the sunrise although it was still pretty gorgeous. There were loads of islands, the Whitsundays, just off the shore, and the water was sparkling. We booked a trip out to the islands tomorrow, took a few photos and films in to be developed and then sat on the beach for a bit. It was 8am! There is an amazing swimming pool in a park here, just a big curvy pool that's completely open the the public all day every day, it's lovely. We checked our email, went to the supermarket and read for a bit. It was finally time to check in, and after a quick breakfast we went to sleep until about 3.30. It was great.

I picked up my photos and sat on the beach. I was offered a couple of free enlargements so we selected some and took them back. Then we read in the sun, bought an underwater camera for tomorrow (it's even reusable, and waterproof to 90ft, so we can take it diving) and then we treated ourselves to a huge subway sandwich and watched the Simpsons for a while. We met a guy who recognised us from Milford Sound, which was nice, and one of the guys we're sharing a room with. We have to be up early in the morning, so I think I'm off to bed soon.