Hello Everyone, here we are at our last Australia entry.
After a scenic drive back through Pioneer Valley and onto the Bruce Highway, we headed north to Airlie Beach. We'd already made the decision not to sail around the Whitsunday Islands, which is what most people come here for, due to Z's seasickness and a potential hurricane brewing (and the cost). So we thought we'd stop at Airlie Beach and admire the islands from there. We weren't planning to stay longer than a day, but ended up spending a few as it was nicer than expected. Found a top site which, although it was a proper family tourist park, had a good atmosphere and excellent facilities such as mini golf (T bt Z, 1up over 18 holes), tennis and 32m pool with jacuzzi. So we chilled there for a couple of days. We went on some long (hot) bushwalks through forests and up into the hills to get fantastic views of the islands and the Whitsunday Passage. Z twitched, flapped and swore like someone with Tourettes at (imaginary) insects and spiders, all the way to the top. We got some really fresh, cheap prawns and squid and cooked some wicked seafood dishes in the van. We got a bit of a shock one day, in the car park of the local supermarket. Within the space of a couple of minutes we saw a black snake slithering across the tarmac, and then Z, stifling a scream, noticed a huge, bright green tree frog, which had made its way into a cubby hole in the passenger side door. T managed to prise it out with a spoon; it was a strong little bastard too - didn't want to let go. Later when we were in the National park, T looked really perturbed and said the gravel on the ground was moving all around him, every time he took a step. He thought it was hallucinogenic residue left on his frog removal equipment / spoon from earlier. It actually turned out to be millions of tiny, tiny frogs, about 1 cm long and perfectly camouflaged, all over the path.
After Airlie Beach, we made a brief overnight stop in Townsville, another typical Aussie town, with perhaps a few more interesting buildings than usual. All Aussie towns are the same. The small backwater ones are very much like smalltown America, all one storey, square, characterless buildings either side of the road, a petrol station, oh and a McDonalds. Then the intermediate towns like Townsville, Bundy and Rocky, are generally based on a grid system, with a main central road with a few interesting and attractive old colonial buildings, which for some reason they turn into pubs and paint in gaudy pastels. I think they think it makes them look deco, but it just ruins their charm.
We visited the Reef HQ aquarium in Townsville, which we thought was excellent. It was really informative and interesting and we learnt a lot about coral and reefs. It was entirely manned by elderly volunteers (with a disproportionate number of Germans, bizarrely). One of them was a salty old sea dog who used to spear sharks for a living. He was great and passionate and really knew his stuff, and gave us some talks on things that can kill you in the sea off the Queensland Coast (everything) and life on the barrier reef.
After the obligatory cheese sarnie and crisp lunch, we headed back to the Bruce Highway and onwards towards our penultimate stop, Mission beach. It was a lovely, hippy village famous for its cassowaries (didn't see any), with a village green, a few nice restaurants and a tropical beach (no swimming). Its a shame that the most swimmmable beaches (due to lack of dangerous currents, as protected by the Barrier Reef) are in north Queensland which unfortunately have lethal jellyfish for 7 months of the year, so you can't swim in them. T did have a go at swimming in the stinger net section, but was still a bit paranoid of the 5m tentacles and got out after 5mins. Went for another walk in the morning and then set off for Cairns.
The drive was impressive and it was a pleasant surprise arriving back in Cairns, 5364 km later. It was a lot nicer than we remember (perhaps because it was sunny or perhaps because we've seen a lot of crap towns on the way). Got settled and swapped the Australia book for a New Zealand book. Went for a swim in the pool later. T was trying to impress Z and did a back flip. Unfortunately, it was a bit shallower than he anticipated and he grazed the beak on the bottom. He surfaced with blood all over his face and shit Zoe up, but luckily it was just superficial damage. We cheered ourselves up later with our last meal in the van - perfectly cooked (T) kangaroo steak, and a nice bottle of red...mmmm, it was beautiful.
Saying goodbye to the Campervan the next day was really sad - it's funny how attached you can get to a hunk of metal. We had lots of fun times, and only rarely did it get on top (then T had to sleep on the roof - not really!). We would highly recommend it - it was more expensive than we anticipated, but we had so much freedom and got to see loads more than we would have otherwise. They love their road signs - they even have one to tell you when you've reached the crest of the hill. They have every conceivable animal, from Bandicoot and Cassowary to Wombat, sillhouetted on a yellow background. It was really cool to drive between the states and see the change in climate and scenery. Victoria was full of forests and mountains, with rugged coastline and temperate climate. New South Wales was a bit warmer, with rolling green hills, valleys and pastures, as well as perfect beaches for swimming and surfing. Queensland goes on forever and was really tropical - hot and humid, with sudden torrential downpours, which stopped as soon as they'd started. With its history of gold prospectors turned cowboys, it had a distinct feel of the wild west about it. But then there would be huge expanses of sugar cane plantations, banana and mango trees, with lush tropical rainforest behind, and a backdrop of majestic, misty mountains - beautiful.
Anyway, Goodbye Australia and you guys - see you in New Zealand, Don't be strangers....
