It's been an interesting week.
Monday came round too quickly, as we knew it would. Alex and his lovely girlfriend took us to Cairns where we picked up our home for the next 9 days, our campervan, which Jim has started to refer to as 'shelle, because he can't go anywhere without her!!
We said good-bye to Alex again but it didn't feel too enormous this time, hopefully he'll be home in a matter of weeks.
We've had a fabulous time in this tropical paradise but itchy feet were starting.
This campervan is 4- berth and feels enormous. When you're sitting at the front and look back it seems to go on and on. We had to sign loads of forms and got a quick lesson, from a German girl, on how to work all the various bits and pieces. We nodded and kept saying yes, but I knew that it wouldn't be until we needed the various things that we would bother to figure out how they worked!
The most important thing seemed to be to decide toilet etiquette, it being a chemical contraption which needs to be emptied, a job neither us fancied.
FYI the consensus was, only to be used when in dire straits in the middle of the night and you can't, 'ignore it and go back to sleep,' as advised by your other half and said other half can't be arsed to get up and accompany you in the pitch black to the 'amenities block.' This other half will find he has talked himself into being toilet emptying monitor when the time comes around.
Anyway on Monday we hit the Bruce Highway, the only major road in Queensland, and left Cairns behind, following the coast road, surrounded by fields and fields of sugar cane. As the sugar cane petered out a little the banana plantations began.
Some 346 km later we arrived at Townsville and found our first campsite.
Oh, I had forgotten what a little community campers are. The couple next to us, cooking their pork chops in the dark, struck up a conversation and a bloke clutching a tinnie wandered over to pass comment over the campervan vs his caravan. Jim's face was a picture, his interest in campervans is negligible and his interest in caravans is a big fat NIL!
We managed to cook without incident and wash up ok, but the mysteries of clean water and grey water remained just that! I took my towel and stuff and schlepped to the unisex shower block. Oh joys! In bed by 10.15 and -unbelievably - up at 7 and off by 7.45. And we weren't the first ones up and off by any means.
We motored along the Whitsunday coast, a pristine coastline where some of the best sailing takes place, all around the Whitsunday islands. Stopping at a little town called Bowen we made our way up Flagstaff Hill - ignored the sign saying 'no caravans' on the grounds that we're not and savoured the gorgeous 360degree views from the top.
Back in the van and another pretty boring 372km later we reached Blacks Beach in Mackay. We both feel slightly light-headed and as if we've been on a boat but guess its the rolling and lolling motion the van makes. Our campsite was right on the beach, we got there at 4pm, parked in our slot and got straight on to the beach for a massive walk before the sun went down as it does at about 6pm.
We walked for about an hour then realised it was getting dark, we had to walk back, along a deserted Queensland beach with mangroves on its edges. Great crocodile territory! After scaring ourselves stupid and practising running as fast, or faster, than a crocodile, we calmed down and returned nonchalantly to our van. We learned how to use the gas BBQ on the side and cooked a proper Aussie steak. Another early night and an even earlier morning - how come when I'm at work an hour whizzes past between me getting up and getting out of the house and here I have a leisurely breakfast, trudge up to the shower, tidy up, and tie everything down so it doesn't fall to the floor and still get on the road within the hour?
Yesterday we drove more inland for 330 km and arrived at Rockhampton. Not much to report though, other than it is the beef capital of Australia and there are statues of bulls all round town. We drove through very samey countryside, pretty much all a dirty brown. After the intense colours of the tropics this is very dirgey. It is still incredibly hot though, apparently we are now in the dry tropics as opposed to the wet tropics of Far North Queensland.
Rockhampton sits right on the Tropic of Capricorn, we had a small and pleasant detour visiting the Capricorn caves.
Another barbecue, the pipe connected for grey water and the tank topped up with clean water and we're beginning to feel like proper campers. The only bit which seems surreal is going to bed on a platform which lowers from the ceiling. We lay there like sardines and it makes me giggle.
Today we drove 396 km to Hervey Bay which is beautiful, the whale-watching centre of Australia. We've discovered how to put the awning up! Whoopee!
We're giving ourselves a break and spending two nights here. Hooray, we can leave the van parked up tomorrow and be normal tourists for the day.
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Location:Torquay Terrace,Torquay,Australia
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