So the next big stop was Airlie Beach which is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, one of our must visits while in Australia. We arrived into the town centre around lunchtime and after grabbing a quick sandwich we set of to explore what the town had to offer. It came as no surprise to find that it was your typical seaside town littered with the usual tourist pleasing shops selling jewellery, swimwear, beach clothes and the usual Whitsunday embossed everything ...

On leaving Townsville our next major destination was the seaside town of Airlie Beach however it was too far to drive in one day so we decided to have an overnight stay in the small town of Bown. Ordinarily I wouldn't mention such a small stopover in our blog however this place is of particular interest as it is where they filmed Nicole Kidmans latest film aptly named Australia! Even if we hadn't known that the town had recently been a Hollywood set we would soon...

It was a bit of a trek to our next destination so we hit the road early in order to get to Townsville in time to do a bit of exploring. Townsville is one of the larger towns in Queensland and until Cairns became the favourite holiday destination Townsville was the place to be seen! We arrived around lunch time and after a quick sandwich in the van we took to the esplanade to explore. The whole beach front area has undergone massive regeneration over the last few ...

Having had quite a few days of driving we both felt it was time to have a few days off and just find a nice campsite somewhere to relax. We chose The Beachcomber Coconut Bay Resort in Mission Beach and it was absolutely amazing. Beautiful quiet location at the beachfront and as well as offering powered sites they also had a number of cabins and villas. All the facilities were well maintained and to top it all of they had a great swimming pool with plenty of sun l...

The next few days were to be spent exploring some of inland Queensland at the Atherton Tablelands which are known as Australia's "highlands"! An area once completely covered with forest the majority has been felled to make way for the growing of tea, coffee, bananas and sugar cane. There are however pockets of forest left which can be explored in more detail in a couple of days. On route to the campsite we stopped at a coffee plantation to take in a tou...