November 17th-21st

So as we'll be in the van for the next few weeks and visiting numerous places we've decided to split the blog into days more than before. Most of the days will invariably have some sort of long distance driving involved but we're keeping a weather eye out for amusing things along the way. We're also stopping off a lot as we journey down. As the traffic sign we keep seeing says 'break the drive....and stay alive.' saying this in an Aussie accent makes it almost sound like a command. We have been doing as are told, and pulling into numerous 'driver reviver' stations.

So off we go, brum brum, haha.

Day 1: Cairns to Cape Tribulation. (110km)

We headed off from the hostel waving a fond goodbye to Jeneen; Declan hoped she would be crossing the road when we returned to pick up the bags, to run her over. We merrily walked into the van depot and went through the business end of things with another crazy German who ran the shop. After doing all our pre checks and seeing where all the trinkets were we signed on the dotted line and went shopping. Our van is called 'Laika Virgin' apart from how it sounds we haven't found much about its meaning. Laika was the first dog to go to space so were thinking it's named after him!! Back to the vans details. It transforms at night into a bed and kitchen complete with fridge.The fridge in the van isn't very big, about the size of a crate of Carling, this didn't stop us buying things that wouldn't fit. We whizzed around Woolworths picking up all our stuff. Yes Woolworths. They're dominating things over here, sadly no pick and mix, but they're the equivalent of Tesco's!! We bought the largest milk they had, a massive packet of sausages, and a big pack of ham, tomatoes and more. After a Tetris like game of fridge filling we finally managed to shut the door without it popping open. We plugged in the iPad and set off north out of Cairns, singing along to the hillbilly/folk sounds of Mumford and Sons.

We initially were going to head straight down the coast to Mission beach; however after a conversation with the van guy we changed our minds. He had told us that the journey north was littered with beaches and the drive was worth it, we were easily persuaded. We had also wanted to see the Cape as people we had chatted to spoke highly of it. The road up North was 1 long road that curved up around the coastline. After every turn we would have a long untouched beach stretched out in front of us. It was exactly as the van man had said; the views of the coast were amazing. As expected there were places to pull over and take it all in. After one particularly long drive up a hill we stopped of a viewpoint that let us see the 5 or so beaches we had passed. It was a sight; we tried to capture it on the new camera but were still finding all the buttons a bit of a mind boggle. (See photos) We continued on and eventually decided to stop for lunch. Now lunch isn't anything to write about but this one was. It was the first proper meal we had made ourselves in over 2 months. We were elated that we didn't have to wait an age for a waiter or chef. It was bliss, the scenery was alright as well. We continued onward towards the Cape.

When we arrived at the base of the Cape we had to get a ferry across the crocodile infested river. We continued on, this time driving through the dense rainforests of northern Australia. The road was long, hilly and windy and involved a lot of gear changes. Fortunately, were in an automatic so we weren't that fussed. We eventually arrived at our campsite for the night. It was called PK's jungle village. Not thinking a campsite would be busy, we hadn't rang or booked ahead. It was full! There had been a hippie festival further up north for the eclipse and many had taken residence at this campsite. Luckily the owner was kind enough to accommodate us anyway. It did mean though that we parked out the front of the building between some trees. We headed down to the cape before the sunset. The cape was huge and the tide was out, the beach was full of crab holes of different sizes and patterns. To the one side there was the Pacific Ocean and the other was the tropical forests of Oz. As we left the cape we walked past many hippies bumming around the beach, one was even walking along with a guitar strumming his own songs. This reaffirmed to Deccy that not bringing his guitar was a good idea, the hippie looked like a right sausage!!

The van transformed into a kitchen pretty easily and then into a bedroom again with ease. We cooked a cracking dinner just as it had got dark. With the lights going out we sat around the van having a beer. We were offered a cuppa by a couple who were also on their first night in a camper. We quickly made friends and swapped stories. The couple, Matt and Katie, were on a 3 month world honeymoon trip. After a few drinks we realised that everyone else had went to bed, it was barely half 9 and we thought that quite odd. We chatted into the night and then finally settled into our camper bed for the night.

Day 2- Cape Tribulation to Mission Beach (250km)

We were woken early in the morning by the unbearable heat inside the van. Even though half our bed sticks out the back of the van on a special shelf (see photos) it is still a sweat box. Thinking that the sun must be at its highest, we searched around for the time. It was barely after 7!! We opened the door and took in the breeze. To our surprise everyone else was up milling around. We had then twigged why their all in bed so early!! We sorted the van out and had some breakfast. Even after we had both pissed about getting ready it still wasn't 9. We set off anyway and stopped at the forest centre along the way. The centre was ran by Alan. Alan was the most helpful person in the world but wanted $35 each to walk around the jungle. Behave yourself Alan! Melanie came up with an expert lie to get us out of the situation and we 'vanned it up' down to the river. At the river we wondered why they didn't just build a bridge, upon posing this question to the boatman he replied that they make shed loads of money ferrying people 100meters across the river. We were later told by the honeymooners that the 15ft croc known as Scarface was inches away from the riverside when we crossed! We headed back the way we came and passed through Cairns and out along the Captain Cook Highway. We drove a few miles out the way and ended up in a town called Port Douglas. It being a Sunday we drove passed many active churches belting out Jesus hymns. We pulled up and perused the local markets selling all manner of fruits and handmade tat. We drove on, the Toyota eating up the miles as we cruised along the gorgeous coastline down towards Mission Beach.

Mission beach is famous in Queensland for being the home of the 14,000ft skydives. We decided to do these another time and more likely in another place. You don't jump out of a plane often so were going to wait to do it, maybe in New Zealand. We found a campsite and set up for the night. We again sat up chatting to the honeymooner's way past the rest of the campsites bed time.

Day 3- Mission Beach.

Were not moving around every day, today was one of those days. We sat on the beach. At times we paddled in the special 'Stinger free' zone in the ocean. We bought some more supplies and planned our driving for the next day.

Day 4- Mission beach to Saunders Beach (212km)

Up early again, it's becoming a habit. We set off along the Cassowary road. A cassowary is a massive turkey like bird that we think is just as daft. There are hundreds of signs that say to watch out for them as they often wander into the road. We think they're endangered but they would seriously look good after being roasted and stuffed. Any way we didn't hit any of them and eventually rejoined the Bruce Highway. We drove through a few towns along the way and happened upon a place called Tully. Tully has Queensland's tackiest tourist attraction so we stopped off for a look. Tully had 7.9meters of rain one year so decided to built itself a welly of the same size. The welly has a giant green tree frog stuck on the side and Declan climbed it to give us a photo op. After Tully we headed through a few more towns and stopped off at a Maccys to use the free wifi and get a milkshake! We continued on and saw numerous signs for waterfalls. We eventually took one of the dirt roads and after a few miles of off-roading we happened upon Jourama National park. We drove as far as the road would take us but had to hike the rest. The walk was tough and crossed the stony river, and the high hillsides. We eventually got to the Jourama falls and took a minute to catch our breath and take in the views. The falls fell three times each time creating rock pools. During the wet season the falls would spill over the whole Cliffside and the walk wouldn't be accessible. We headed down to one of the rock pools and were eaten alive by giant flys! We headed back to the van and drove to the picnic area where we had our lunch and chatted to a fellow traveller. Back in the van we headed to a free campsite just outside the large town of Townsville. The free campsite was full of oddballs but we revelled in the beachfront parking and the high winds. It was a royal pain cooking dinner but the breeze was welcomed come bed time.

Day 5-Saunders beach to Airlie Beach (280km)

The breeze allowed us a lie in till about half 7. We milled about for a time and ate breaky on the beach. Just after 11 we headed into Townsville to use their rock pool. Sadly it was closed for cleaning so we settled for lying on the beach for a few hours. We left Townsville and drove down. The views changed this time as the highway snaked inland. We were in the sugar cane fields with farms as far as the eye could see. After the sugar fields came the dry lands. These vast stretches of land went on for miles and mirages could be seen on the distant road. The dry lands are really windy and it was swaying the van about, it did help keep us cool though. We eventually turned off the highway and back out towards the coast. We arrived at Airlie beach quite late and immediately notice the abundance of youths. Its Schoolies week here, which we think is the same as fresher's week. The whole town is full of pissed up uni types sauntering around with booze and s*** music blearing from their phones. Thankfully it's over tomorrow so we timed it nearly right. We set up camp for the night and booked a tour for the weekend. The hot evening was spent listening to the inane beats of the club nearby. We planned the rest of our journey. We've gone 852 km so far with many more miles and sites to see.