Australia

We said goodbye to Cairns and drove down to Innisfail then inland towards Ravenshoe. We drove passed Australia's largest windfarm. We were so close to it as we took the back road to Ravenshoe. The turbines were huge. Went for tea in the hotel in Ravenshoe which is the highest pub in the highest town in Queensland. Stayed just outside town for the night and went to see the Millstream Falls the next day which were pretty. They are the widest falls in Australia. From there we went along to Innot Hot Springs. They are naturally heated springs, heated by the earths core then the water comes to the surface. You can see the steam rising from the creek, at one bit the temp reaches 72degrees. It's roasting. Even the sand you walk on is warm. The caravan park beside it channels the water in to pools so you can go and bath in it which is meant to be good for you. So in we went. We both managed in pool that was about 35-38degrees, you should only stay in for about ten minutes before going into the cold pool which feels great after being in the hot one. Willie managed to go in the hottest pool, 40-47degrees but it was far to hot for me and he only managed a couple of minutes. Good though. That night we stayed at Undara Campsite which was very nice. Got an excellent buffet meal. I had kangaroo which was verrrreeee tasty.

Undara is famous for the Undara Lava tubes. The longest lava tubes, caused by volcanic lava flow, in the world. We were going to do the tour but it was really expensive so decided against it. Maybe next time. Instead we headed further along to Georgetown. The roads are so long and so straight and dusty and there is about 150kms between towns. Even when we were in the towns they were no bigger then Alyth but mostly smaller. Also a lot of the roads are single track bituman with dust track at either side to move onto when there is a car coming in the other direction. Not so good when face with a road train with 3-4 arctic sized trailers. They are so big and they ain't moving for anything or anyone.

Anyway we got to Georgetown and went south about 90kms to Cobbald Gorge to stay the night anddo the tour of the gorge the next day. The campground was really nice and we went for a dip in the pool as it was roasting before building our campfire and having tea. The tour of the gorge was brilliant. We got there in a huge 4wd bus. Me and William got to sit up front with the driver..woohoo. To get to the gorge you have to cross a really wide sandy riverbed which is dry in the winter but a raging river in the wet season. (we still can't believe the rivers & creeks can be so dry just now but so wet in a few months time) We did a walk to the top of the gorge which was great. Got to see some aborginal art along the way and then look down into the gorge from the top. We saw 14 freshwater crocs. The colours of the rock were beautiful reds and backs and crean sandstone. After the walk we went dowm to the bottom of the gorge and did a boat trip down it. It was so peaceful and we sailed passed the crocs, a baby turtles, a brown snake and numerous st andrews cross spiders. Our guide was excellent. At some points the gorge is only 2metres wide with 30 metre cliffs. It is very narrow most of the way along. It was only discovered in 1990. Mantal!Very memorable day out. That night we drove to Croydon and stayed in the caravan park there. On the way we saw a big sand guana on the road.

Next morning we drove to Normanton where we saw the 'big barramundi' and a model replica of the worlds biggest croc, Krys, shot by a lady in the local area. It was proper massive. Headed North to Karumba for a couple of days relaxing and fishing in one of the best fishing towns in Queensland. Karumba was a nice town although not much to do apart from fish which is what we did. William caught an estuarine cod which was pretty big. Quite exciting. Saw lots of kangaroos by the ponds. After a couple of days though we got a bit bored and decided to go South towards Cloncurry. A town 400kms South of Normanton with only a roadhouse in the middle. Mental distances in the outback. It's so remote and dry. Loving the experience. Made it to the roadhouse and then stayed at a rest stop for the night instead of driving all the way to Cloncurry. Along the way we saw a snake on the road (not sure what it was), lots of kangaroos (dead and alive), emus, and hundreds of cattle from the nearby stations. We are seeing lots of wildlife along our journey which is very exciting.

Got back down to Cairns and it bloody rained for almost a week. Just our luck. Although it was much warmer than the tablelands. On the good days we headed to the beach, when the weather wasn't so good we lazed about in the van or went to the shops. A couple of the afternoons we headed to Palm Cove to sunbathe and fish off the pier and Willie caught 2 reef sharks, a hammerhead shark and a sea snake. Very exciting. We also bought didgeridoos to amuse ourselves. Great fun although they are quite difficult to play. Willie has been practising though and is getting some good sounds out of it.

The weather finally brightened up a bit towards the end of the week so we went up to Kuranda on the Kuranda scenic rail. A beautiful train journey up through the rainforest and mountains passed waterfalls and through tunnels. Kuranda is quite a snall town but has loads to do. We went to the heritage markets and then to the Venom Zoo which was awesome, We got a guided tour of some of Australia's most venemous creatures - spiders, scorpions and snakes. It was fascinating. We now know that in one drop of venom from the Tai Pan can kill 250 000mice. Mental!!! We also had a look round the shops and while in the jewellers William bought me the most beautiful pink diamond ring. It's gorgeous. We got the skyrail back down to Cairns which is a cablecar ride over the tropical rainforest mountains with views out to the ocean. It was great to do but about halfway through the journey it got drizzly rain so couldn't see a great deal until we got further down nearer the coast. Well worth doin though.

Eventuall got out on the a reef trip and it was definately worth waiting for. We went with a smallish company and the crew were great. We went out to hastings reef to two different reef sites. It was a beautiful calm day and on the way out we seen whales near the boat. Wow. Amazing sight. They were blowing water from their blowholes and there was also a baby whale. We snorkelled aat both the sites which is a truly amazing experience. The colours and the fish were like nothing we have ever seen before.. We were swimming through shoals of all different sizes and colours of fish. We didn't find Nemo though but we did have a fantastic day out.

After doing the reef trip we decided to head inland, not wanting to go south as it was still quite cold. So we decided to do a trip along the Savannah Way towards Normanton and take it from there.

The tablelands were beautiful, they reminded us of Scotland but with palm trees. It's so different from the coast. It was also much colder than down at the coast, one morning we woke up and they ground was covered in frost!!! Coldest winter in 50 years. Great. Everyone kept saying to us you guys will be used to this though, coming from Scotland but we were frozen. Forgot to pack the woolly jumpers and socks! Silly us...haha. Anyway, had a great time up in the tablelands, celebrated my birthday which was good. We lazed about at Lake Tinaroo fishing for barramundi with no luck because of the cold. We visited they huge curtain fig tree which was quite an amazing site, it's one of the most visited trees in the world. It is in excess of 500 years old and has 15 metre roots coming down to the ground from the branches. In Atherton we went to visit Atherton Chinatown where all the Chinese used to live at the start of the 20th Century in the goldrush. The only thing that still remains is the temple which we got a guided tour of. It was excellent. From there we went to the Crystal Caves. Haha, what a laugh we had. A guy has built an artificial cave to house his massive collection of precious gems and crystals and opened it to the public. We even got our own miners hard hats and a guide to all the crystals. Loving it! The tablelands also has loads of waterfalls, so we did the circuit of them which was good. Some of them were really impressive. At one of the waterfalls there is also a gigantic volcanic crater which was pretty cool to see.
After having a really good time in and seeing most of the sights we decided to head back down to Cairns "again" to try to get out on the reef..........

Since last writing we seem to have done loads of things. When I last updated we were still in Port Douglas. It was beautiful. We hired a small pontoon boat for the afternoon and went up the Dickson Inlet which was great fun. Needless to say Willie took the fishing rod but no luck. Fun all the same. After a couple of days sunbathing and fishing in Port Douglas area we decided to head up to Cooktown about 260kms North. It was a great drive through the rainforest on a steep winding road which Willie loved driving. Once over and through the mountains we came out onto dry, arid land to take us North. It was so different from the lush greenery near the coast. Long straight roads. As we approached Cooktown we went throughthe Black Mountains which were huge mountains of black granite rocks. Very strange to see.

Arrived in Cooktown, which is a very historical small town. Went up to the top of grassy hill which gives you 360degree views of the town, sea and rivers surrounding. It was very windy but very beautiful. We stayed in Cooktown for a few days and did a bit of sightseeing and fishing. It is one of Australia's most historically significant towns where Captain Cook beached his ship in 1770 and the town is therefore named after him. Very interesting place. We also visited the Endevour Falls which were quite dryish due to it being winter and the dry season but we did see a family of turtles. Also had our first encounter of a HUGE SPIDER!!! It was on its massive web and was about 10cm. Got a couple of photos but they are so far away as we were both to scared to get close!! hehe. No idea what kind of spider it was. Exciting stuff.

From Cooktown we headed back down the road and turned off to visits "Laura" a town on the way up to Cape York (the highest point in Australia) It was 60kms of unsealed road, very dusty and bumpy almost all of the way. What an experience. Eventually got there and it was the smallest town ever and there wasn't really anything there apart from a hotel and campsite, so booked in to the campsite and had tea in the hotel. Had a good night though as we met four aussie guys on a trip and they were a good laugh, also the three girls working in the hotel were from England so got talking to them too. The next day once I had my photo taken by the "Laura" sign, we headed back down the road aftering deciding it probably wasn't wise to keep going North without a 4WD. We stopped off at Split Rock Art Site and walked up a hill to see original aboriginal paintings on the rocks. They were absolutely brilliant. They were still really clear even though they were thousands of years old. Each picture has a different symbolic meaning. Very interesting place and well worth a visit.

Arrived back in Port Douglas all geared up to do a reef trip but it had gotten really windy and the tour operators advised not to go as the sea was so choppy. So instead of hanging about waiting on the weather to calm down we went up to the Atherton tablelands. First stop - Mareeba, which was a nice place.The area has many mango, tea and coffee plantations so we thought we had better visit. So we visited a Mango Winery and got to taste all the wines, ports and liqueers they produce. Very yummy. William bought me a bottle of bubbly for my birthday and some wine. We also visited the Coffee Works. A coffee plantation which did a fantastic guided tour and you got to taste all they coffees, teas, chocolates and liqueurs they produce. Delicious.

Well guys we arrived in Oz on sat 16th June. Flew into Cairns. Weather was rainy and overcast for the first few days but the hostel we were staying in was really nice and comfortable. First night there went out to the woolshed and got soooo drunk on aussie beer and cocktails. Met some really cool aussies who ended up getting hammered with us. Also, got our photos taken and were in the local newspaper for being out in Cairns. Woohoo. Great!! Major Hangover next day though so very lazy. Next few days we explored Cairns, got ourselves familiarised with all the goings on with what to see and do and started looking for a campervan to buy. Went to a Cairns wildlife dome with is very odd. A rainforest in a dome on top of the casino, strange but very cool. Seen snakes, crocs, reptiles, kangaroos, koalas and loads of birds. After that we went and played some slot machines and broke even so all good.

William has been doing lots of fishing off the pier in Cairns. Only one big catch and lots of smaller ones. No barramundi yet but will keep you posted. Did catch a puffa fish with puffed out until it looked like it was going to explode. Verreee funny. Launched it back in the water. While he has been on the pier I have been wandering round the shops & galleries & sunbathing by the lagoon ( a beautiful big swimming pool at the beachfront with a fake beach). They made it as the beach in Cairns is mainly mudflats and inhabited by crocs although haven't seen any yet!

After phoning a few campers for sale we eventually got a Mazda Van. Very spacious, with a big double bed, loadsa storage space and an esky (fridge). Everything we need to start a road trip. Ye!! Therefore we started our road trip, only didn't get to far! Went up to Port Douglas which is about 60km North of Cairns. Its beautiful there so decided to stay a while. Lovin the van, so much cheaper than hostels and public transport. Port Douglas is quite small but if you have transport there is quite a few places to visit. Went to the rainforest habitat which was good. Got to walk through an enclosure with loads n loads of kangaroos and we got to feed them. They are lovely animals. Although I think they are quite scary & dangerous to meet in the wild. Did a bit of sunbathing on four mile beach. Chilled out a lot. Willie fished a lot. This is the life! The weather has been about 25-31degrees glorious sunshine everyday and the locals are telling us that this is the coldest winter they have had in ages!! What!!

After staying in Port Douglas for about a week we went up to Cape Tribulation where the rainforest meets the great barrier reef. Its amazing. Very scenic and picturesque. Stayed in a campsite in the rainforest, did quite a bit of walking through on the boardwalks they have made throught the forests and mangroves. went to the rainforest discovery centre and went up the 23metre canopy tower which took us above the top of the rainforest...vereee cool. Also, we seen a wild cassowary walk out in front of us on the road. Amazing. Sightings are very rare as they are endangered and you usually only see them in the zoo. While up this way we also done a river tour up the Daintree River and seen two wild crocs. Quite exciting.

Thats about it for just now. Will try to keep this updated. Going out on the reef this week so wil let you all know how that goes. Really enjoying just relaxing and exploring in our campervan. hehe. What a life!!!