We left Cairns at about 9.20 am, in the rain as ever. Heavy rain, sugar cane, clouds and mountains were our companions for the first part of our journey south. Plenty of sugar cane trains and many, many creeks. We turned off the road to visit The Babinda Boulders. So glad we did! We had a super walk along the side of the river, really fast flowing water and several viewpoints over the rapids. Stern warnings as too many people have died here through being too adventurous. The rain was still coming down more often than not. On the way back we stopped at Babinda Bakery for a Broccoli and Cheese Slice, delicious!

On the road we saw banana plantations and forests to either side, more hilly now. We stopped and bought bananas from a roadside stall. Four for AUD1, delicious! We took the scenic route down through Mission Beach. Despite many warnings to take care there were no cassowaries for us, but there had been many recent sightings of these magnificent birds. We stopped for a walk along a deserted beach and of course there were the usual warnings about marine stingers and the obligatory bottle of vinegar. Back towards the main road through Wongaling Beach and South Mission Beach, all beautiful and all deserted. On our way towards Tully we kept a constant lookout for cassowaries but no look for us.

Back on the main Bruce Highway our next stop was Cardwell. This little town is right by the see and we took a walk along their modern, waterfront park with war memorial and pictures and memories of cyclone damage over the years. They have a lovely jetty and warnings to tell you that there is still danger from saltwater crocodiles, even here!

On to Ingham and we stopped in search of coffee but no luck, unless we wanted KFC or McDonald's. At Brumbie's Bakery we bought a Supreme loaf which was basically a Supreme pizza but in a bun. It was absolutely delicious and probably very fattening too!

We travelled on and saw sugar cane and cane trains everywhere, and then pineapples for sale at the side of the road. As we came nearer to Townsville we encountered sunshine and blue skies for the first time on this trip! We reached Townswille at around 4.10pm and headed straight for The Strand. We nearly ended up in Jezzine Barracks at Kissing Point by mistake! There is a lovely, modern waterfront park with trees, statues etc. We had a bit of a walk and then sat in the Fish Inn for a coffee, looking out over the water. On our way back to the car we saw a cheeky Lorikeet in a tree. Lovely to see these birds in the wild. We drove through the city and saw many old style buildings. As we were driving out of Townsville we saw a pelican in flight, it was a magnificent sight to see such a large bird in the air.

As we travelled on towards Bowen there were fewer towns than before, just a long road ahead. It was getting dark now and we saw lots of fields of cane being burned off. It was quite frightening because of the flames and smoke but dramatic and amazing too. We reached Ayr and crossed the long, metal Burdekin bridge. It got really dark and the roads were very empty. After what seemed an age we eventually turned off before Proserpine in the direction of Airlie Beach. We managed to get some petrol just before the petrol station closed at 8pm then drove around Airlie Beach for some time looking for our hotel, not easy in the dark. We eventually found Coral Beach Resort, checked in and found our room. Very nice and overlooking the Bay. We walked back into Airlie Beach and managed to grab some food just before everywhere closed. We ended up at the Villafe Restaurant, having fajitas with beef cooked on a hot stone. Great fun so long as you don't cook your fingers by mistake!