Stretching from the far north of Queens through New South Wales and then Victoria the east coast is the section of Australia most populated, most regularly visited by back packers and with the most to do. From 4X4 driving on Fraser Island to sailing the Whit Sundays, getting up close and personal with a Koala in Brisbane, getting not so close to the crocs at Steve Irwin's zoo, surfing on the Gold coast and chilling out in Byron. You could say there was plenty to do! So it was with eager anticipation I set off down the coast on a grey hound bus, this anticipation soon turned to boredom after six hours of a 12 hour journey (damn these Australians for having everything so far apart!) and then the boredom turned to a taint of worry as I realised I was about to sail the Whit sundays. Now whilst I was sure this experience was going to be very pretty and offer a number of photo opportunities I hoped it wasn't going to be reminiscent of the boat trip I had over the Channel in 1995 when due to some unforeseen choppy weather I quickly became acquainted with where the ferry toilets where. So with my bag packed with travel motion tablets (apparently they're not travel sickness tablets down here) and a confidence that surely the serene seas surrounding the Whit Sunday Islands couldn't be as choppy as the Channel, I set of to view some white sand beaches and fill up my memory on my camera with more pictures than I could bore the people at home with!
And Thank fully arrived back on solid ground with both a full memory card and a full packet of travel motion tablets, happy to say that I have seen the nicest white beaches Oz has to offer and didn't have to view then while getting friendly with a bucket of any description!
From the Whit Sundays it's on to Fraser Island the largest sand island Australia has, and one that has been taken over by back packers in 4X4 jeeps. They're mostly attempting to navigate their way around an island that has no concrete roads, just a few sandy tracks. Add in a few dingos and surely its a recipe for another one of those experiences only Australia can offer. Ah well it's something else to tell the people at home about!
Claire
Could you be a student diarist?
If you hail from North Yorkshire or are studying in the county and think you could squeeze out a few hundred words about once a month (more if you want to!) get in touch with us by emailing northyorkshire@bbc.co.uk | 
