The last day in Cairns was sad especially as Lindsay spent all of it in bed sick after one last sample of the free backpackers meal in Rhino bar. It tasted ok at the time but made her very ill, so Ian packed up the campervan - our mode of transport down the East coast, and shoved Lindsay and her sick bowl into the van for an 11 hour road trip to the Whitsunday Isles. Lindsay perked up a bit after reading in the Lonely Planet that the islands are the Australian version of Tahiti!

As soon as the boat left the harbour the views were spectacular; islands, turquoise seas, lamingtons as snacks; living the Aussie dream. As gorgeous as the water looked we could not swim in it - still stinger season, so we had to dress in the usual sexy stinger suits, a good job too because on the beach we found a jelly fish, irikandji, one of the deadliest, it can kill you in minutes if stung. They are small and transparent so it was a good spot. Most beaches have vinegar in case of stings- not for chipies as we had both previously joked about!

Whilst on Whitehaven beach there was the usual money making opportunity of a professional photographer. We took full advantage and posed in as many uncomfortable positions as possible- only $100 per photo "I don't think so" that is the latest phrase in our travels (I don't think so) as it is the Aussie Big Brother phrase.

Feeling less like dying from food poisoning we drove on down the coast to Hervey Bay. After camping overnight by the side of roads we checked into a proper RV campsite. Hervey Bay is the place to be to catch the ferry over to Fraser Island, a big playground full of 4WD and sand dunes. Built entirely on a sand dune it is eighty miles long with forests growing from just sand. The beaches are official Queensland roads. It's so cool driving along the highway with the waves crashing on one side of you, a bit scary when the tide is coming in though. We saw an old shipwreck, multicoloured sands and walked through a crystal clear creek. The freshwater lake McKenzie was turquoise and was so much better than swimming in the sea, you could drink the water.

On the final day of the road trip we took a detour to Palm beach in Sydney, better known as Summer Bay, the setting for the popular soap Home and Away. The beach and the grassy hills where the characters always seem to go in a moment of sadness look exactly as they do on the telly. There is even a surf life saving club with Alf Stewarts name above the door (see pic) which sells Summer Bay t-shirts, lanyards, mugs, crap etc.

Lots of declutering to do to get ready for backpacking through NZ after experiencing and living life as a local.

XXX