Friday was great fun chilling in Townsville by the rock pool which was right by the beach. Lisa and I shared some delicious potato wedges, Stefan and I learnt some more Spanish and for sunset we went to the top of a mountain for an awesome photo shoot taken by Stefan of course! You can actually see some of his photos of our road trip on his website... www.stefan-meyer.blogspot.com His blog is in French, sorry, but at least you can see some of the photos - we have experienced these views together...just incredible. He is an extremely talented photographer so I suggest you take a look at his photos rather than my rubbish ones!

On Saturday we experienced the 'outback' in a place called Ravenswood. We drove 2 hours to the town and realised there really was nothing there, even though Lonely Planet said we should go. It was just an old town that people used to go to to find gold so there were several mines and old mining equipment but that was all. So after strolling down the road to see the village (which took about 2 minutes) we had some lunch and drove on.

Sunday 26 May, Townsville, I was woken up by Stefan at 6am to watch the sunrise down by the beach which was 2 minutes away! It was definitely worth waking up for, really beautiful, so peaceful and tranquil. It just gave me chance to sit there and remember how lucky I am to be travelling and how many amazing things I have been able to see. You would never see a sunset like this back home. The sunsets here seem to be amazing here. After taking some photos, I jumped in the camp swimming pool to do some aqua aerobics (my feet and now shins are still killing me so running for me is a no no at present L Sad times). A morning swim is rather refreshing though and wakes me up to start the day. Quick shower, breakfast and we were off by half 9 and made our way to Paluma Range National Park. There was an awesome waterfall/rock pool that we ended up chilling at for a couple of hours jumping in the fresh water and climbing rocks. We hadn't bought our swim wear with us so just ended up stripping off and jumping in our underwear like true travellers. I must admit it was rather chilly but so fresh and such clear water. We had a quick lunch (the standard tuna and crackers - doesn't go off and very cheap) and then we were ready for a walk through the rainforest. Australia really has incredible trees and plants, really funky shapes and sizes...just so cool! I always think I'm in a movie when I walk through the rainforest here it's so surreal. After the walk we decided to carry on driving North to... It was risotto for dinner and a sorting out evening; swapping music, photos, sorting money (it was Timo's last night with us).

Monday was a very energetic day with a morning swim and a 2 hour mountain climb to see the biggest sheer drop waterfall in Australia called Wallaman Falls in Giiringun National Park. It was 268 metres and 540 metres above sea level. It was an exciting walk through the rainforest to reach the bottom. And when you arrive there it's even better. It was such an impressive sight, you feel so small and insignificant standing there at the bottom looking up at the cliffs and completely mesmerised by the power of the waterfall. I just wanted to sit back and take it in...so we did, for 45 minutes. And I probably could have stayed there all day, but time was pushing on and we still had the big climb up again. I treat every climb as an exercise task and so did the lads - they decided to run up the mountain but as I was unprepared wearing my dolly shoes, I decided to just walk up fast instead. I'm not sure Lisa was too pleased as she doesn't work out like we do but she walked up at my pace despite her legs aching. I was impressed. I was in charge of TufTuf that day as Lisa wanted to spend time with Timo in his car on his last day with us. Every time I get behind the wheel here I start to miss Yasmin the Yaris back home L. I hope you are taking care of her daddy puff - is she still alive?! We didn't arrive in Mission Beach until 7pm so it was our usual routine of setting up tents and making dinner before jumping into bed.

Tuesday 28th was another active day in Mission Beach, but rather unlucky for Brodie and I. Brodie ended up leaving his camera on the bonnet of the car after we did a walk up Clump Mountain to Bicton Hill Lookout and forgot to get it before we drove off - Opsy. I'd say he is a complete wally, but I don't think I can as 10 minutes later I realise that I too left my flip flaps on the roof of the car after the walk. Yes so I seem to be going back to the old Kelly ways, forgetting things, dropping things and spilling things. I was doing so well for so long but maybe I'm getting too comfortable with the people I'm travelling with that I let my guard down too much maybe! I must change quickly before I lose something more important. At least the shoes were only $3 from Big W and easy enough to replace (unlike a camera!) The walks in Mission Beach were fun and the sun was shining, so it was a good day. In the afternoon it was time to move inland to the town of Atherton. We stopped at a couple of lookouts/waterfalls on the way before stopping at a bush camp just outside of the town. No wonder it was only $10 - the kitchen should not have been called a kitchen...it had a table, a bench and a sink (only cold water) and that was literally it! In England I'm sure a kitchen would have to contain some sort of cooking appliance to be classed as a kitchen, such as an oven or hob or even a kettle would be useful to us campers. So this was the moment we all really appreciated Lisas decision in purchasing a kettle in Coles the other day - first things first...we warmed up with a cuppa tea. We were the only campers there so had the 'kitchen' to ourselves which is always nice. Our entertainment that night involved watching a spider weaving its web which was actually quite fascinating and then trying to find little insects to throw in it to see how the spider reacted. After accidently breaking the web with a moth that was too big, we headed to bed feeling a little guilty - the spider must have been exhausted building such a big web that we then just go and destroy!

Wednesday was a little unpredictable with the weather but we managed to fit in a walk around one of the lakes in Atherton after driving around Lake Tinaroo. The water was so clear it was beautiful and we were surrounded by stunning forest too. I love this country it really does have wonderful areas and it's more rewarding when you find them off the beaten track. Not many travellers go inland of the East Coast so it's nice to go to these places that seem more 'untouched'. We ended up visiting a Diary Farm in the afternoon to avoid the rain so the lads tucked into a cheese platter whilst us ladies enjoyed a milk shake. We then headed up to Granite Gauge which only took an hour and camped in a Granite Gauge National Park campsite. It was an awesome place to stay - we were literally in the middle of nowhere surrounded by incredible views and wild wallabies that would come right up to you (to see if you have any food). I took a quick walk through the rocks to find a natural lake that is a good place to go swimming (yes, no croc's or any dangerous wild life!) The evening was good fun - we cooked some delicious lentil stew and then made a campfire. Well, I say "we", but it was in fact Lisa and I who spent quite some time gathering the kindling and logs for the fire and then building it so it would start properly. Then Stefan came over with some more kindling and asked if we wanted help. Of course we said yes, better late than never...however we weren't quite expecting him to pick up our masterpiece of kindling and throw it aside to start again!!!! You should have seen the look on our faces - we were not happy girls. It did make us chuckle though and in all fairness he started the fire in no time and it was a perfect size. Brodie made us marshmallow twigs so we sat around the fire eating marshmallows with chocolate hobnobs! I couldn't think of anything better to do that night and Brodie provided the entertainment as he was a little tipsy from the goon - it was the first time I saw him drunk (when I wasn't) so it was quite a funny night!

Thursday 30 May, Stefan and I started the day with a morning run in Granite Gauge, just West of Mareeba. We were literally in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest, mountains, red dirt tracks and WALLABIES, it was if I was in a dream. After breakfast we went exploring in the National Park. Such a fun morning climbing along the rocks and discovering streams and waterfalls I felt like a little kid again with no worries, just completely free and away from civilisation. I could have stayed there all week it was beautiful and spending it with some very special friends I couldn't have been happier. It was so hot that day, you can really feel the sun beating down on you here, it's scary. Every Australian you meet here mentions how dangerous the sun is and they always warn you to cover up and put lots of sun cream on. I think the skin cancer rate here is very high - something like 1 every 4th person so we all take it seriously and layer ourselves with suncream as soon as we start the day.

After exploring the Gauge we headed to Cairns, with a stop off at Kuranda to see the sky train and for a bit of lunch. We arrived in Cairns at 4pm and found a place to camp in Cians Holiday Park which was just 3k outside the city but actually quite a nice walk along the beach. The four of us decided to celebrate the end of our road trip with a nice meal out in the city. So we got dressed up (yes even the lads dressed up in shirts and jeans!) and walked along the beach to the city. We all enjoyed a nice cooked meal without having to cook or wash up, despite the fact that Lisa's calzone was half an hour later than our meals, but she did get a free $15 drink out of it so we didn't complain too much after that. Then we went for a few drinks in an Irish pub down the road. It seemed to be the place to go as it was really busy and Lisa and I we were in luck with free glasses of Champagne for ladies and the lads could enjoy $7 jugs of beer/cider! I also remember having a few tequila shots that night...Stefan and Brodie would suddenly disappear and return with 4 tequila shots - not a good idea! I can remember the night, dancing away for the most part of it and Stefan was making funny drunk videos all night (which I have just reviewed and we were all rather happy that night!) - It was a great night having a laugh but the morning is never much fun thanks to the tequilas. Let's just say I'm glad we didn't have to get up for anything the next day.

Friday 31st June was our first lye-in...we didn't get up until gone 10! I was feeling the effects of last night (a few too many tequilas!) so it was a very lazy day, sleeping, washing and shopping. I had a quick nap (first proper nap in a long time) and then we all made Green Thai Curry for dinner. Before we fell asleep from eating way too much food, Stefan and I went through our Spanish revision (we are learning Spanish together using an app on his iphone...and I hope that he will come and travel South America with me too).

Saturday, it's Granddads Birthday! Happy Birthday Grandad. Sorry I can't be there but I hope you have a lovely day. It's 2pm and all I have done today is catch up on my blog. I plan to book a flight back to Sydney and purchase some more underwear - I have holes in all my pants so it is a priority today. And it's definitely time to sort my hair out...I'm going to take the risk and dye it today if I can find stuff that's cheap enough (but not so cheap that my hair will fall out or go red)! The past few weeks have flown by but I really am loving every minute of every day and try to just stop to appreciate these moments. It almost seems too good to be true right now - I am just waiting for the moment I wake up and realise it's not for real. Sadly I only have 17 days left in Australia and in this time I have several important decision to make...scary but exciting. We shall see....