Our first stop after setting up our campervan was to head up as far North as we could go, to Cape Tribulation, for some fantastic scenery (if you haven't noticed there's a lot in Australia!!). We spent that night camping in Daintree National park where there were multiple box jellyfish and crocodile warnings!
Unfortunately when we were set to explore the southern end of Cape Tribulation we were informed that one of the bridges on the only road up to Cape Tribulation had collapsed, leaving us stranded north of Noah's Creek (about a 10km stretch of road!) for a second day!!
Thankfully the bridge was repaired by the following morning and we were able to visit the multiple boardwalks and lookouts in the tropical rainforest of Northern Queensland. From here we headed onwards across the Daintree ferry to Mossman Gorge another sublime piece of scenery, which for those of you who play close attention, looks like Litchfield national park.
We then continued on to Port Douglas, a rather quaint upmarket town on the east coast, with a fantastic lookout overseeing 'Four Mile beach' which unsurprisingly is....four miles long! We camped here for the night and set off the following day to explore the beaches north of Cairns and visit a Koala sanctuary.
In total we visited 6 different beaches over two days!! The majority of these were stunning beaches unlike anything either of have seen before, and although picking a favourite was difficult we thought that Palm Cove was the one that stood out the most!
In between all these beaches we journeyed up into the hilly rainforest area of Kuranda to visit a Koala sanctuary where we managed to actual hold/cuddle a koala!!!!!! We spent the following three nights camping in a rest area just south of Cairns.
After an awesome koala experience we headed out onto the Great Barrier Reef! A rough journey out (Ems Dad would definitely not have survived this journey!!) took us to Norman Reef. On our first dive we met the resident Moari Wrasse 'Wally' and had the opportunity to have some photos with him and the local nemo fish! We were also lucky enough to stroke a sea cucumber which is surprisingly soft on the bottom and spiky on the top. Our second dive took us to an encounter with a Hawksbill turtle feeding on the reef. After two intense dives we chilled out on the boat and grabbed some lunch. Shortly afterwards our final dive took place on Shark Mountain. Unfortunately we didn't come across any sharks but did get to see two stingrays. Following another rough journey back to shore we took some time to walk around Cairns city centre. This involved visiting a great Aboriginal art gallery and the local night market.
The following morning we got up early and headed to the Crystal Cascades. We decided to start with an easy 30 minute walk to the crystal cascades and back, before embarking on a more adventurous walk; the Copper Dam walk to Lake Morris. Not only was this up a mountain, and covered in stinging trees, but it also took us an hour and a half to get there only to discover we could have driven there in five minutes! The view more than made up for this though and after regaining our breath and taking some photos we headed back down the mountain.
The next day saw so much rain we thought we were back in England! We headed back up to Kuranda to see the Barron Falls and then proceeded onto Lake Tinaroo where we stopped for a picturesque lunch. After taking yet more photos we pushed on to Innisfail where the rain continued to worsen and halted our journey for the day.
Torrential rain greeted us again the following morning, but we did not let this stop us. We journeyed south taking in Mission Beach and the surrounding beaches. Heading south towards Townsville we detoured to visit Murray Falls and Big Crystal Creek. After a brief tour of Townsville we set up camp in a petrol station!
From Townsville we headed down to Airlie Beach where we were greeted with yet more rain and decided to spend the afternoon chilling in the van. Luckily the following day the sun decided to make an appearance,so after wandering around the Saturday morning market we lazed by the lagoon and treated ourselves to some "Cold Rock" ice cream! (This ice creamery is possibly the best invention ever! Not only do you get to pick your favourite ice creams but you then get to mix then with your favourite sweets/chocolates/biscuits/brownies pieces....the list is endless!)
An early start saw us boarding our boat, Summertime, on Sunday morning. This was to be our home for the next three days whilst we toured around the Whitsunday Islands. After a choppy journey out we moored at Tongue Bay. From here we walked via the hill inlet lookouts to Whitehaven beach; a gorgeous white sandy beach where we went for a quick dip and a sunbathe. That evening, after an amazing BBQ dinner we were lucky enough to see dolphins swimming around our boat!! We started the next morning with an early dive at Luncheon bay. Unfortunately the visibility was very poor so we decided to snorkel for the rest of the day instead. This included snorkeling at Manta Ray bay where we saw a few giant Trevelleys and a lot of jellyfish. We then moved on to the beautiful Long Island where we got for to see turtles and wander on the beach whilst catching the rays. After another amazing BBQ on board we played played some amusing games with our friends on board. Our final morning was spent sea kayaking, where we saw a number of stingrays, and chilled on a secluded beach. Before we made the choppy journey back to Abel Point Marina we relaxed in the onboard jacuzzi. Back on land we met up with our fellow boat friends for a meal and some drinks.
The next day was a long driving day (450km+) down to Rockhampton. We made a few quick stops, at Mackay and another whilst taking in a great view at lunch!
The following morning we visited the botanical gardens in Rockhampton, before heading south to Agnes Water and the town of 1770. Both are small seaside resorts with nice quiet beaches. The town of 1770 was the second landing place of Captain Cook in Australia. From here it was a short drive onto to Bundaberg, where we spent the night in a free rest area.
Our first (and only) port of call in Bundaberg was the Bundaberg distillery. Here we spent an hour being shown round the rum factory before sampling some of Bundabergs finest!!
From here we headed down to Hervey Bay, where we stopped for lunch and a walk along the beach and saw a pelican flying low across the waves breaking on the shore. We then drove the short journey to Rainbow beach where we set up camp after spending an hour or so on the beach.
We woke up early the next morning in order to set off on our Fraser Island tour. After driving for fifteen minutes on Tarmac roads, we hit the beach; these sand roads and highways were to be our 'roads' for the next few days!! After crossing over to Fraser Island on a ten minute barge journey, we headed up 75 mile beach (which is only 90km) to Lake McKenzie, where we spotted our first two dingos of the tour! Here we met up with the rest of our cool dingo tour. We spent a couple of hours here playing games in the lake and sunbathing on the beach. Next up was Basin Lake and a 2km walk to central station. Central station, as the name suggests, was the railway station on the island use by the logging industry when it was still present on the island. From here we made a quick stop at pile valley to see one of the largest trees on the island ( it takes six people to make a chain round it).
The next morning we started with a swim in Eli creek, a crystal clear freshwater creek with ocean views. We then drove up to the pinnacles coloured sands before boarding a small propeller plane for a 20 minute scenic flight across Fraser Island. This was an amazing experience worth every cent! From here we drove up to the northern part of the island and swam in the champagne pools and climbed to the top of Indian Head. On our way back to the resort we stopped for some quick photos at the Maheno wreck. That evening we were lucky enough to see the sunset (not an easy thing to do down the east coast).
Our final day on Fraser Island started with another early morning swim, this time in Lake Birrabeen. Then we headed on a 45 minute trek through the sand to an oasis; Lake Wobby. This was one of our favourite places of the whole trip and it was a fitting end to our tour. We ended our journey with a drive back to Rainbow beach on which wee saw a pack of four dingos.
From here we will continue our journey south to Sydney; stay tuned for the next post.
Take care!
X x x
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