After our silent nights in Carnarvon Gorge, the noise of Emerald felt a little bit too much like home (Mayfield). The screech of train wheels, industrial hum from the factories, the roar of trucks, clatter and bang of trains, v8 cars doing laps, cattle mooing, reversing beep beep beep, screams of drunk rugby fans, jet roar of arriving planes, sirens of police cars, the hum of nomad air conditioners... Platypus Bush Camp was just what the doctor ordered, a campsite metres from the babbling, cascading, and splashing Finch Hatton Creek, with a smattering of cheeping crickets thrown in for good measure. No 'White Noise' App required here!

The drive from Emerald gave us a glimpse of the flat country that is to come on our trip, before we again veered east towards the coast through coal mining country and scrubby bush, before descending dramatically into Cane Country. The Pioneer Valley impressively surrounded by dominant mountains was full to the brim with cane fields and a maze of cane train tracks ready for harvest. We followed the Pioneer River up the valley as far as we could before finding Finch Hatten and the Platypus Bush Camp tucked away in a dense jungle of thick rain forest and winding creeks. Platypus Bush Camp, and its owner Wazza, was a unique 'hippie style' accomodation with open huts, a serene 'plunge pool' under a cascade of the adjacent creek, open wood fire heated showers looking out to the forest, a cockatoo named Rocky, and a hairy eccentric owner happy for us to stay and share a bit of his lifestyle.

Our few days in this slice of heaven allowed us to watch platypus play in the creeks at Broken River, take in the view from the spectacular Eungella Pub, hike to the Wheel of Fire along the impressing cascades of the Finch Hatten Creek, multiple swims in our private pool, and wet our joggers running through the various causeways that surrounded the Camp. It was a shame to leave, and we would go back in a heart beat!

Airlie Beach by contrast was not a little slice of heaven. Full to the brim with back packers, motorway style diners, unsuitable tours for toddlers, and over developed surrounds. The damage from recent Cyclone Debbie also took the shine off it, with closed shops and significant environmental damage that will take some time to recover from. The Big4 was hence how we spent our few days, enjoying the free pool and waterslide, but were happy to leave.

The Burdekin Cane Farm was our next destination up the coast. A stop in to Bowen en-route allowed us to sample a sensational fish and chips lunch from the local Marina, and another visit to a skate park with a view. Our camper found a cosy home on an idyllic grass lined creek under the shade of some large mango trees. Our hosts were more than accomodating with a free tour around the cane farm, including a sample of cane, and even gave us some frozen mango and fresh greens from their veggie patch. Theo thought the magic sweet stick was pretty special, and I had to pull out the Leatherman to keep up a constant supply for the next week.

We squeezed in one more long run around the little town of Ayr before heading towards Townsville, utilising their shared path network, a skate park play and a cafe visit. Our Sundays are starting to get pretty predictable! They even had limited Sunday trading so no Coles or Woolies, a nice flash back to the 80's.