The land of Oz....a gigantic country, the equivalent of 60 England's, and we have 6 weeks to squeeze in as much as possible. To save time we flew north to Cairns on the north east coast, and collected our transport for the long journey south to Melbourne, a (hopefully) reliable bright red Toyota!

First stop, Cape Tribulation & The Daintree, set in the northern rainforest of coastal Queensland. Wow, this place is hot - sticky, humid, can't-breathe hot. However, it is breathtakingly beautiful, with lush green rainforest spilling out on to pearly beaches and crystal clear seas. We spent a few days croc spotting, rainforest trekking, canopy surfing, and exploring the deserted beaches, before heading south again to take a trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. We splashed out and went on three dives, each time seeing something completely different...swimming with shy and prehistoric turtles, spotting reef sharks and oggling at the shoals of brightly coloured fish darting around us, simply stunning. A surreal experience was being followed for the duration of our dive by an inquisitive 6 foot long Grouper fish!

The journey south continued via yet more pristine beaches, for a change of scenery we decided to head inland to the Atherton Tablelands. A region rich with agriculture, incredibly flat and green, this was a welcome change from the coastal route and provided us with the opportunity to eat some juicy, fresh organic food and wander round various crater lakes and view spectacular waterfalls.

It's quite amazing just how varied Australia is, the landscape and climate changes within the short distance of a few kilometers. It was most apparent during our ferry trip to Magnetic Island, leaving the built up and quite frankly hideous town of Townsville we arrived on the beautiful island. Stunning beaches, a multitude of wildlife, including koalas perched in swaying eucalypt trees and bright green parrots circling above. All of this was topped off by one of the most amazing sunsets we've witnessed.

After a few days soaking up the sun and landscape we headed back to the mainland for our visit to the Whitsundays. This had always been a highlight of our Australia trip and we were eagerly awaiting it. From the mainland we set sail on a 3 day adventure on board a tall sailing ship with 12 others. It became quite clear after the first day that the weather was going to be volatile - a cyclone was brewing and sadly we were experiencing the early rains. Nevertheless, we managed to squeeze in 3 snorkels and a slither of sunbathing on deck. The islands are marvelous and Whitehaven beach, voted 2nd best beach in the world by National Geographic, is simply stunning...thankfully the sun was shining for our one hour visit!

Our 3 days flew by and once back in the car we headed south for a visit to Fraser Island, yet another trip highlight. Instead of putting our lives in the hands of 18 year olds by going on a self-drive 4x4 tour, we decided to go on a bus tour, not as adventurous but safer, quicker and more reliable. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, and famous for its pure breed of wild Dingoes. We chose our trip well and were guided by a Climatologist who fed us with text books of information and stories...I think he was relieved when the trip was over due to our incessant questioning!

Time is short and so after 2 days we were back on the mainland again, making short stops at coastal towns for some relaxation on the beach. We then hit our second city, Brisbane. Relatively small in comparison with Sydney, a huge cloud sat over it for the duration of our stay. With not much else on offer, we dined and shopped with a bit of walking in between.

This stage of our Australia trip has been filled with a variety of jaw-dropping scenery. Oz isn't a country to visit for history or culture, but for breathtaking countryside, stunning beaches and unusual wildlife, and we certainly haven't been disappointed so far. Next challenge is to get from Brisbane to Melbourne via Sydney and the Great Ocean Road in 3 weeks - approx. 2500 kms - that's a lot of driving!