Author: Liliana

Thursday, 8th March 2018

It was a restless night for me! I was imagining that the police would come along and shine their torch into the camper to see if there were people sleeping – I am sure sleeping in a camper on a parking area in front of the harbour is not allowed…….. Anyway by 6 am we were up and had a shower at the public amenities  by the lagoon.  Then we went to check in at the harbour terminal – the weather was somewhat stable although there were some threatening clouds rolling in. 

After check in, we had some coffee and banana bread as our breakfast and walked towards our catamaran – The Magic Reef – for embarkment. We were one of the first passengers to board and then just took in the whole scene – quite a bit of activity going on in the harbour. Our boat can take 250 passengers but today we were 200 – I was quite astonished at the amount of people boarding!

We went up on the top deck to enjoy our trip but those threatening clouds seemed to be getting closer and we could see already the rain falling in the direction we were going! We had enrolled for various activities  – as Gerry is a certified diver, he joined a group of 4 divers with an instructor to do a number of dives. I was going to try the helmet dive ( wearing a helmet from which I could breathe and then get lowered in a cage to see the reef and fish). However by the time we went down for our instructions, it had started to rain so we moved everything down to the lower deck. The boat was rolling on the waves and quite a few people on board were feeling sea sick – the staff were kept busy getting rid of the sickness bags……….

Finally we made it to the pontoon moored on the outer barrier – and it was quite a madhouse – people getting their wet suits on, eager to get into the choppy waters. Gerry had his first dive immediately we moored onto the pontoon. I had to wait for my helmet dive which was planned for 12.50. In the meantime, the weather got worse and a real storm was blowing up – the underwater currents were getting stronger and the snorkel supervisors had to constantly get people back into the snorkel area as they drifted outwards. 

When Gerry got back from his first dive, we had some lunch – we had very good catering and enough food to go round. However, while we were having lunch, we were advised that the helmet diver was being postponed by half an hour due to the storm (and underwater currents) and Gerry did say that his visibility was also very minimal – all he saw was grey coral and grey fish as there was no sunlight seeping through! The below pictures should have been the real experience that Gerry should have had of his dive!

Then we were told that the helmet dive was cancelled! I had plucked up so much courage to do this and then it was cancelled………. Gerry too had his other dives cancelled!! He was glad he had his session but it was not worth going down again. He did take some pictures of pictures of the reef as it should have been but of course he never saw this – nor did I – it’s such a shame coming so far and then the weather gods not being kind to us to marvel at this creation!

We headed back to the harbour – a trip of one and a half hours and this time hardly anyone was sea sick – but that’s because the boat wasn’t rolling as it was in the morning. By the time we arrived in the harbour, we all were very tired and glad to be on land again. We walked to our camper which was still parked on the parking area and then drove back to the campsite we had stayed at the other night.

We arrived there just after 6 pm and the reception was closed – however, as we knew the campsite, we could easily enter and find a site to stay overnight. Luckily we had enough food in the camper both for our evening meal as well as for breakfast – we decided that this would be our last night sleeping in the camper van. We then made plans for flight back to Holland and 2 night stay at a hotel in Cairns. Tomorrow morning, I will be calling up Apollo to let them know we will be returning the camper a week early. We were just tired of the wet season!!

Wednesday, 7th March 2018

Yesterday evening we finally made it to the campsite outside Cairns – just in time before closing! The last part of the drive was really scary as we had sheets of rain coming down and visibility was next to nothing. 

As it was raining so much, we decided to get our meal ready at the camp kitchen where other campers were also preparing their dinner – well I prepared my famous vegetable pasta with feta cheese and it just tasted great. Sat around a while and watched the rain while enjoying our glass of wine – the mountain at the back of the campsite kept disappearing in the rain. And then finally after washing up , we sprinted towards the camper van – the lawns were just like swamps – we sank deep into the slosh!!

Well we woke up and the rain had ceased somewhat, so we left the campsite and made our way to downtown Cairns  – it would have been prettier in the sun – the long esplanade along the coastline; a manmade lagoon for swimming without any stingers around; loads of restaurants and shops along the esplanade and the harbour with all the boats that drove to the barrier reef .

By the time we had reached the harbour on foot, it started raining again and this time with strong winds blowing – a real mini cyclone Cairns!

 It lasted for about 30 minutes and then it was back to a drizzle. We made our way back to McDonalds so that I could send off some emails and touch base with my social media and blog. At the same time, Gerry went looking for a trip to the barrier reef so he could go diving and after some time came back with some really good suggestions. 

We both went to get more information from the tour agency – next door to Mcdonalds and decided on a trip the following morning. W had to be a the harbour very early – 7 am – and as our campsite was a good hour away from town, we thought we would stay in town. Then the tour agent suggested that we could leave our camper van on the parking area in front of the lagoon ( where we had actually parked) and as all the amenities are available we cold spend the night there as well  and won’t have to get up eve so early to get to the harbour. Gerry was in for this – but I was somewhat hesitant – luckily there were other camper vans parked for the night too so we wouldn’t be exactly on our own. 

Anyway we walked around and took in  the – grey – sights – the lagoon now was full with people doing aqua gym to music and instructors dancing away the paces on a stage. We also aw a long line of Asian kids walking along the esplanade – all perfectly in rows – we wondered where they were off too and so disciplined!!

There are also BBQ areas where others were preparing their BBQ’d fish – the tide was out and various birds were digging into the sand for worms and other grub; a big pelican was just hanging around, just watching! By the time we had walked quite a bit, we were quite hungry and chose an Italian restaurant for dinner – Villa Romana – where Gerry had his Surf and Turf and i enjoyed a pasta frutti di mare – deliciozo!!!

After dinner, we walked a bit and found an indoor night market – lots of Aussie stuff here and it was fun looking around – Gerry got himself a real Aussie hat made of kangaroo leather and I got some small trinkets for back home!

And then back to the camper for a good night’s sleep and prepare ourselves for an early start tomorrow – it’s going to be a big day on the Great Barrier Reef!

Monday, 5^th March 2018

Weather still good when we woke up and actually I felt quite sad to leave this park – so peaceful and close to the natural surroundings – the ocean on one side and the rain forest with the Cassowaries, parrots, cockatoos and green frogs just behind our camper van. Anyway, Cairns is only some 150 km away and we found a similar campsite to stay but on the way we wanted to stop at MaMu Forest to walk the Tropical Skywalk.

We weren’t even half an hour on the road when we came across another sight worth visiting – The Paronella Park – when I had read about it briefly, I thought it was a fake castle just built to make it look old and next to a waterfall. Well we were in for a surprise! It was a dream come true of a Spaniard, Jose Paronella, who emigrated to Australia and landed in Innisfail in 1913 to work in the sugar cane plantations. Jose dreamt of bringing his fiancée out to Australia once he had enough money to go and collect her from Spain. That took 11 years and as he was not a writer (he never wrote one single letter), and by that time his fiancée had got married to someone else. Anyway, his family arranged that he met up with his ex-fiancee’s younger sister, Margarita and it was love at first sight and they got married and travelled back to Australia. They continued building their castle of dreams as by this time, Jose was a wealthy man buying and selling sugar cane plantations and inviting loads of people to come and stay at his park next to the Mena Creek water falls and rainforest!

 Anyway, we crossed the wooden swing bridge where we also saw a sign that rather alarmed us – beware of crocodiles!!! But the waterfall was magnificent and we wanted to see further so we bought tickets to the park and we had really made a good choice!

So we decided to spend the day here and join the tour – Cathy, our tour guide gae us such a great description of Jose and Margarita’s love story and also their love for their Paronella Park that often (and seeing the ruins) I had to think back to my home, Villa Frere. Nowadays this park is owned by Mark and Judy Evans and they are spending a lot of time restoring the park and buildings – the museum contains quite a number of photos of the Paronella family and I did actually get quite emotional about it all. This was a person who believed in his dream and made it come true! And now Mark and Judy are continuing that dream!

When we bought our tickets for the tour, we were also told that we could spend the night free of charge on the park’s campsite. We also got ourselves a combined ticket to visit the MaMu Tropical Skywalk just half an hour further up the highway. So we would be doing this tomorrow.

After our tour, which also included that we could feed the turtles and fish, we parked our camper van on the campsite and had a bit of lunch and siesta. Later in the afternoon, we went on a tour of the hydraulic driven generator, which Jose had bought as scrap from the Australian government and installed it to generate all the electricity need to run the house and park. The new owners had this generator revised at a grand price of 340k Aussie dollars – just about the same price they paid for the estate!! All very interesting and our guide Yeng, was knowledgeable enough to give us a good explanation. We also visited the museum which is full of film equipment and film reels which Jose used to show in his little cinema and invite friends over to join him to watch movies.

That evening we joined another tour of the grounds and this time we all had torches and the grounds were lit in very special areas including the grand house! That was a really magical moment and I’m sure wherever Jose and Margarita are in the starry skies, they must be enjoying that their beloved park is still being visited by so many people and that Mark and Judy are carrying out their dream! We met Mark later on in the evening (and his daughter is married to a Maltese Australian with the name of Aquilina!) and he even gave us a lift to the pub (which also belongs to him) so that we could have our evening dinner.

We had such a lovely and unexpected day and by the time we walked back to the park I could imagine the ghosts of the past were lingering around enjoying the beauty of the park!

Tomorrow, we’ll be visiting the Mamu National Park, before we get to Cairns!

Sunday, 4^th March 2018

Woke up to a bright sunny day – great for a leisure day to potter around the campsite – some swimming in the ocean and in the swimming pool, prepare some breakfast, reading, writing up my blog but not being able to post anything due to the slow WIFI, then lunch and some dinner and then bed.

Well that’s the summary of the whole day but there was more that happened on this leisurely Sunday!

I woke up early enough to watch the beautiful skies as the sun rose. Such a wonderful experience!

Swimming in the partitioned ocean was much better than yesterday as the tide was high, however the sea is still a murky colour due to the previous heavy rains and rain water running down into the sea carrying earth, twigs and leaves. But for sure, we were protected from the stingers.

Back at the park, there was some commotion – a Cassowary was strolling around the park, picking at berries and just doing its own thing. The park keeper told us not to get in front of the bird’s as she could easily attack – and she does have massive feet with 3 claws! Anyway as long as we kept on to the side, we were able to take pictures of her – the park keeper told us that she was some 35 years old and there is also a male with two chicks roaming around as well but we didn’t get to see him. These prehistoric birds, which cannot fly, have survived millions of years, however recently due to heavy cyclones, quite a bit of the rain forest was ripped up leaving the Cassowaries and their eggs vulnerable – the wild pigs ate the eggs and the Cassowaries did not have any food as there were no berries from the trees. We were told that the younger generation of the Cassowaries is friendlier towards humans as they were hand fed but the older ones like this lady strutting around our camp could be quite aggressive.

After all that commotion, I went back to reading my book just before lunch. As we had done our grocery shopping the day before, we had fresh salad and I had in mind to prepare a Salade Niciose for the evening so had to boil potatoes, eggs and green beans to let them cold. So we moved all of our stuff to the camp kitchen and Gerry was a great help in cutting up the vegetables! In the meantime, I prepared some healthy toasted sandwiches and coffee for our lunch. We left our vegetables ready for the evening meal in the fridge and as there were hardly any guests, we knew that it would be safe and no one else would be eating it up……….

As I was walking back to the camper van, I cam across the park keeper who was cutting down excessive leaves around one of the cabins and he asked me whether I would like to see a native green frog – I was a bit hesitant as the other night we had seen a massive toad near our camper and it frightened the life out of me when it jumped close to me……….. So the park keeper rummaged between the leaves and yes – there was the most beautiful green frog that I had ever seen – a beautiful luminous green colour, not at all slimy and with little suction pads under its toes. He picked it up and asked me whether I would like to hold it – by that time Gerry was also around with his camera – anyway the frog jumped out of my hand onto my arm and made its way to my back – it was a strange sensation feeling those little suction pads on my body!! I didn’t know whether I liked it or not………But he was the most beautiful frog I’ve ever seen and if, as the fairytale goes, the princess had to kiss the frog to turn into a prince, I would have done it straight away!!!!

Well it was time for siesta – and to continue reading my book – I’m so into this book which is about the early settlers – The Dream Seekers – and the how this group of German Lutheran settlers try to get through all the hardships they had when arriving in their “promised land”.

After siesta, we had a dip in the campsite pool and here we met the same people as the day before but this time they had a couple with them (both senior citizens) and when the guy heard us talking in Dutch, he asked us which part of Holland we came from in very good but old fashioned Dutch!! He was an 80 year old man coming from Schiedam and came to Australia with his family when he was 12 years old and only 2 years ago, he had gone back to the Netherlands for the first time!! Well with Gerry being born in Rotterdam, these two men were like two old ladies in the pool chatting away and giving each other loads of information about the area where they had spent their childhood. Then this guy tells Gerry that he had lost a very good friend of his 2 years ago and he came from Malta and guess what his name was? – Joe Spiteri! Of course there are loads of Maltese here in Australia and everyone speaks highly of them – hardworking!!! 

It was now late afternoon so after having a shower and getting dressed, we prepared our Salade Niciose, which we enjoyed with a good glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Back to my book – haven’t finished yet – and trying to keep up with my blog and then program Miss Serena to take us to Cairns tomorrow!

Saturday, 3^rd March 2018

We woke up to a bright sunny day – so this meant that the rains only came for 24 hours prior to our visit and stayed away for the 24 hours we were there.

We had everything packed and ready to start our drive by 9.30 – at first Gerry wanted to do some mileage and head straight to Cairns but that would mean that we would spend all day driving as it was some 350 km further north. Although we don’t drive on the fast motorway but rather have been taking the Bruce Highway A1, I think I have had enough of driving or actually sitting as a co-navigator. So we decided our next stop to be Mission Beach and we would spend 2 nights there to recuperate from all the driving! 

We are now in the Wet Tropics, meaning there are quite a lot of mosquitos – mossies – and even though I have been using insect repellant spray, my feet and legs are covered with bites! And it makes sleeping very uncomfortable as I wake up scratching my legs……… And Gerry has none of these annoying mossie attacks!!! The worst part is when the tiny mosquitoes attack you – midges – as you can’t see them!

Again our drive took us through sugar cane plantations and now there were also banana plantations. Interesting to note, is that the bunches are already enclosed in plastic bags – I guess that’s to keep the birds off the fruit – will need to look this up. Behind the plantations, there is the rain forest – so verdant and fresh. We could see that there was quite some rain that had fallen as some of the younger sugar cane plants looked as though they were planted in a rice paddy!! Still lots of water around and we followed the signs saying that the A1, Bruce Highway was open up to Cairns.

On the way, I had read that there was a waterfall close by if we turned off to the left – the Jourama Falls National Park – and took a look at this waterfall. However as soon as we turned off there was a sign board that the road was closed due to floods. Well we thought we would drive as far as we could get, especially as there hadn’t been any rain now for more than 24 hours. The road was not more than a sealed track and as we got closer there was a gate placed to say that the flooding was dangerous to cross. We got out of the van to get a better look at the overflow and indeed the power and strength of the rushing waters would have been too much even for our van. So we took a couple of pictures and turned back to get back on the Bruce Highway.

Back in the van, I was feeling really sleepy, especially as the sun was shining through the windscreen. However further on the road, Gerry noticed that there were signs to a lookout point and we both agreed that it would be good to get out of the van for a while. This was the Hinchinbrook and Panjoo Lookouts. From here, we had an awesome view of the Hichinbrook Island that is the biggest island National Park. On one of the boards, we learnt that hundreds of millions of years ago, Australia was cloaked in a temperate rainforest as part of the super-continent, Gondwana (made up of South America, Africa, India, Antartica and Australia. Australia broke free and drifted northwards carrying with it ancient ferns and cycads and some of the first primitive flowering plants. The mountains provided moist refuge for the rain forest species to survive and so from such ancient origins, the Wet Tropics is a living museum containing plants, which have hardly evolved since the break-up of Gondwana. And there we were, admiring this beautiful and awesome scenery!

When we were done with taking in this magnificent landscape, we continued our drive, which was only like some 30km to Mission Beach and our campsite, The Beachcomber and Coconut Beachfront. However these last 30 km, we noticed another road sign to beware and mind a great big bird – the cassowary – we hand’t seen that one yet so we were wondering whether we would encounter such an Australian native!!

At the camping grounds, there were enough sites to choose from, as there were hardly any guests. This was a fantastic park with beautifully landscaped gardens full of palm trees and tropical flowers. We got ourselves settled in and Gerry really wanted to have a swim in the ocean. I was not too keen as this is also where the stingers are present and as I have already been a victim to all the little midges and mossies, I didn’t want to be come a stinger victim too!! However the camping grounds had an area in the ocean which was protected by a net so that the stingers could not get in, so with some trepidation, I did join Gerry in the sea – but the tide was out so we really had to go far out in the sea before we could swim a few strokes. I felt happier when we got back to our park and I could swim our swimming pool.

Because we had had a late lunch, we were not really in the mood of getting any dinner so we had a few snacks with a glass of wine and before we knew it, it was time for bed. Tomorrow we will be staying at this wonderful camping ground and enjoy a relaxed Sunday……

Friday, 2^nd March 2018

We woke up to a bright sunny day and already at 7 a.m. it was 28 degrees. Today was a travel day, leaving Airlie Beach to travel further north to Townsville. So after our breakfast outside our camper van we were ready to start driving!

We passed beautiful green scenery along the way – cane sugar plantations are in abundance here! We were advised through Facebook that it had rained terribly in the last 24 hours in Townsville area and most roads were closed due to flooding. Well, we had to take a chance and see what we would find when we got to Townsville. It’s amazing, we left Airlie Beach with bright sunshine and we kept that for a good 100 km……….

On the way up we did a detour to Bowen – a small seaside town with wide streets and detached houses – we saw loads of orchards along the way and while at first we thought these orchards were filled with peach trees, it turned out to be mangos! This town is well known for its vegetable garden, however what we found most interesting is when we went up to Flagstaff Hill and admired the spectacular panoramic views that astounded and delighted us. With sweeping views from Rose Bay, along the expanse of Kings Beach, across to the lighthouse on North Head Island, Stony Island, Gloucester Island back to the Marina, and across town, we felt like we’re on top of the world. This was similar to the Panorama Mesdag in the Hague (a 360 degree painting of Scheveningen in the late 1800’s) but then in real life with bright blue skies and seas!

Then back on the road again, not too far to Townsville, which is a sprawling seaside town We had programmed Serena to take us straight to a camping site situated not too far the town centre. After driving through vast sugar cane plantations and mango orchards, we finally arrived in Townsville – it was larger than we had expected, so we wondered if our campsite was actually close to the town centre.

We now have learnt that we don’t need to worry that we wont find a campsite when we want to camp down for the night – it is a quiet season after the Aussie school holidays and then domestic tourism gets a boost over the Easter holidays – the only thing we had to make sure is that we arrived before reception closing time which is normally between 5-6 p.m. 

The park – Rowes Bay Caravan Park – was situated on the beach front and opposite Magnetic Island (according to Captain Cook, when he approached this island with his ship the Endeavor, his compass wasn’t working well and he attributed this to the island being magnetic!). Once we were settled in, we hiked the 4 km along a beach front boardwalk to the Strand – that’s where the town activities started and went on for another 2.2 km. Along the boardwalk we came across works of art which gave some background history to the original people who had been living here for thousands of years – the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people When Europeans first arrived in Townsville, they presumed that no one occupied or owned the land because there were no boundaries, marked by farms or fences. However the Bindal and Wulgurukaba Peoples had been living here for many, many generations. Archaeological sites near Townsville have been dated over 10.000 years.

We also walked up to the Kissing Point Fortress – a fortification built in 1888 as protection against any invasion from……..Russia. Later on it was upgraded over the years and finally used actively during WWII against the Japanese fighter plains.

The complete boardwalk and redevelopment of the Kissing Point Fortification cost some 40mln AUD but then Townsville has a really fantastic walkway with historical points ending in the artificial rock pool, which is stinger free! Further than the rock pool, the esplanade is tree lined and shady – huge eucalyptus trees with arial roots hanging like a beard!  And then besides lovely houses and apartments situated on the beach front, there were also restaurants and other eateries.

By that time I was quite worn out – I was walking on my flip-flops – not exactly the right footwear for such a hike! We finally decided that it was also dinner time and we found a really great restaurant along the esplanade – The Watermark – We had a lovely dinner and were waited on by a lovely waitress who was very informative about the area! This time Gerry did not have a steak but rather we went quite healthy! Medium rare tuna with vegetables and French fries and of course then we had a desert – apple pie with vanilla ice cream for Gerry and crème brulee for me. 

And then, while waiting for the taxi to take us back to the campsite, we watched the full moon rising over the bay!! 

It was a short overnight stop at Townsville as tomorrow we are back on the road, heading to Mission Beach.

Thursday, 1^st March 2018

Today is the 1^st of March – this means we have another 15 days before we deliver the camper in Cairns. There is still so much to see and do – starting off with today – our trip to the Whitsunday Islands.

We were ready and waiting for our pickup by 7.45 a.m. and this was way on time. We were the first ones and after several pickups around town we arrived at the harbour to check in. In total we were 18 of us – 4 Asians, 2 Germans, 4 Chileans, 2 Canadians, 2 American, 2 British and us 2 Dutch. Our hosts were Johno and Beth together with the skipper (didn’t get his name).

The morning was still cloudy, however we didn’t have any rain and temperatures were good for sailing with the catamaran – we all received a hamper bag with our lunch , cookies, muffins, yoghurt, apple and water – that was all the food to keep us going for the day. By the time we had set off, Gerry had already eaten his blueberry muffin and chocolate chip cookies which were meant for the morning and afternoon break. As we had not eaten a proper breakfast, I had brought a couple of sandwiches with me and Gerry had one of these too. Oh my, the sea air really did open up his appetite!!

We were speeding along a number of islands for about 45 minutes when we came to Whitehaven Beach. The skipper had changed the program as the tide was out so we landed on the most northern part of Whitsunday Island where we could go swimming, paddling and walking on the beach with its silica white sands. However, we had to wear wet suits as a protection against stingers – those awful jellyfish that could send you right to hospital if stung!! That’s the lesser attractive thing here along the reef – as the waters are warm, jellyfish come to the coastline and are a really big hazard. Hence, I too had to put on a wet suit – and I am so claustrophobic……… Well my wetsuit was quite large so it did not encapsulate me completely – that happened when I went into the sea and gradually got used to it! The sea was beautiful to swim in and the sands on the beach were really fine! All these islands are National Parks and both marine life and fauna are heavily protected.

And then it was time for Gerry to try his skills at paddling…………. And of course I was there to photograph these special fun moments. Actually he didn’t too bad – well he’s done windsurfing in his young days but now he felt good just paddling away straddled on the surf board!

After an hour’s stop at Whitehaven Beach, we boarded the catamaran to drive to Tongue Bay where we could swim, watch out for baby sharks and stingrays in the shallow waters inside the reef and then a walk up to the Hill Inlet Lookout.When we left Whitehaven beach, we ran into heavy rain with stormy wind! Straightaway we were given rain jackets as well as rainproof bags to put in our camera equipment – but this rainfall did not last long so by the time we reached Tongue Bay, we could enjoy the beautiful beach.

I decided to spend time on the beach – without the wet suit – to have some lunch while Gerry went back for a swim. After about an hour, Beth and Johno rounded us up to go for our walk up to the Lookout Point. It was an uphill boardwalk and when we came to the lookout point ……….. the view was just magnificent! The Aborigines inhabited these islands for thousands of years before the Europeans came to settle here – and they had full respect for their natural surroundings. Just look at the pictures of pristine beaches, silica white sand and the rainforest that heads down to the beach. Am so glad that all these islands are under the World Heritage program and national parks.

Once back at the Bullet – our catamaran – we then headed to the northern part of Hayman Island for some snorkeling. As it had rained a lot and the sea was not so clear, this snorkeling session was only to see the fish.

Now here’s my story: I’m claustrophobic about anything clasping me so even putting on snorkels – anyway got myself into the wet suit and went out in the little dinghy – Gerry was very helpful and positive – so got into the water and literally had my snorkel mask on for less than a minute and could see the wonderfully yellow coloured fish, striped fish and a really huge one – Trevally – but than I just couldn’t take it any longer. After some time just swimming and looking through the water, I got back into the dinghy – It was enough what I had done – but one day I will need to overcome this claustrophobic phobia (don’t know whether that sounds right!!) 

As there was still time, we went to another cove to snorkel where coral would be visible. However those who did go down said that the water was still very unclear that they couldn’t really see any coral – but there were still many colourful fish swimming around!

Finally we were on our way back to the harbour and the sun broke through – and it was really scorching – glad we did not have that all day!! Beth handled the ropes well when we got into the harbour where the waters were mirrors still – that was a beautiful day out on the sea!

Our transport was waiting for us to take us back to our camping grounds and all of us were dead tired after a day on the water. Once back it was shower time and as we had not eaten all our lunch, we had taken our doggy bags back home and this was our supper – tasty pasta salad and fresh green salad and a bread role. Good that we had this, as I wasn’t in the mood for cooking anything and neither were we in the mood to walk back to town!!!

It was an early night – especially as tomorrow will be a travelling day – heading to Townsville some 250 km further up north!

Wednesday, 28^th February 2018

Today is the last day of the month meaning that we have the camper van for another 16 days – I guess from now on time will be going ever so fast…….

This morning when we woke up, we had dark clouds and as we were getting breakfast ready, our camping neighbours warned us that a storm was coming up. We moved our stuff under the canopy next to the swimming pool so that I could also continue blogging while having my breakfast. And yes! All of a sudden the skies really turned dark and the storm rolled in from the ocean. The wind made the trees swing in all directions followed by sheets of heavy rain. We thought we were safe and dry under the canopy which was well the case as there was no thunder and lightening but we couldn’t get back to our camper as I had my laptop and camera with me and they would be completely ruined with the rain. There was nothing else to do than to take pictures of the rain till it subsided and we made it back to our camper.

Luckily we had no chairs outside and as today was our day of departure, we quickly made the camper drive safe and Gerry took off the electricity cables and we were off in no time. Our drive was not too far – Airle Beach – known as the Heart of the Reef. Our luck was with us as the storm subsided and we could drive safely back on the Bruce Highway – A1. Although we had nor rain any more, the sun did not make any appearance this morning.

The drive was great going through sugar cane land – vast areas covered with sugar cane fields; luscious green just swaying in the wind. We stopped only one time and guess where it was? Yes – McDonalds – just to check emails and get on their WIFI and have their delicious cappuccino and a slice of toasted banana bread. Once again I set up my office at McDonalds and once we were ready with our social media, we were off to cover the last few kilometers to Airlie Beach. 

Airlie Beach is a stepping-stone to the Whitsunday Islands – 74 of them in total! Initially this was a backpackers’ haven with café’s bars and backpackers’ hostels along the main street. However since 2014, the Port of Airlie was developed with upscale marina, hotel and restaurants. One thing for sure is that there are no high rises planned for this laid back town and its apartments and villas tucked against the seafront hills look very attractive. Even cruise liners drop anchor just outside Airlie Beach!

We had programmed Serena, our GPS guide, to take us straight to a campsite which I had found in the Lonely Planet book, however this was way out of town that we decided first to see what the town looked like before we made any decision to stay – after all we could still drive further – to Bowen – as it was still early afternoon.

Airlie Beach took us by surprise – a main street with shops, café’s and restaurants and a parallel street running along the beach fringed with shady pine trees. We stopped at the Sailing Club to admire the view – out in the bay, there was a cruise ship anchored and those tourists had come ashore and a group of them were now also at the sailing club admiring the view too!

Gerry acquired some useful information from one of the hosting ladies with regard to camping sites and we drove further around the cove till we came to a Big4 Camping ground – Airlie Cove. Before we made any arrangements to stay overnight, we also inquired about boat trips to the Whitsunday Island. The receptionist was very helpful and booked us a day trip for the following day – we were to be picked up by courtesy transfer and brought to the Abel Point Marina for a 9 am departure by the Catamaran Bullet. So we booked a pitch for 2 nights and once we were settled in the nearly empty campsite, we had some lunch and later on when the heat of the day was somewhat less, we decided to walk to town – straight away outside our camping grounds, there was a board walk which took us through shady grounds and 4 km further we were in town.

By that time we were really thirsty, so we ended up in the main street and while Gerry enjoyed his beer, I had my now traditional ginger beer. No alcohol and yet very refreshing! It was great just sitting on the verandah, watching people – mostly backpackers – go past. Just across in one of the hotel buildings, there was a restaurant, which was mentioned on Trip Advisor –The Deck –, and we thought we would have dinner there and not spend time trying to find something better. I looked over their menu and it looked really good – very Mediterranean!

Well our choice was a good one – first we had oysters to share ( and for me a glass of Italian Prosecco) and then Gerry had his grilled sirloin steak and I had grilled tuna.

Well after dinner, we felt fit enough to walk back to the camping grounds – mind you I was somewhat hesitant as part of the walk was through a wooded area without any lights. We heard all sorts of bird noises as we walked and some were quite scary……… However the fragrances from the trees and flowers compensated for the scary rainforest noises. 

By the time we had arrived back at our campervan, we had walked some 8.5km. I was hot and sticky so I took a cool shower before going to bed. Tomorrow is going to be an early start, as we will be picked up at 8 a.m. for our Whitsunday Islands catamaran tour. Keeping my fingers crossed and whispering a silent prayer so that we would have good weather tomorrow for our trip!

Tuesday, 27^th February 2018

We woke up in Paradise this morning – rather early – sun was already up over the ocean and although I wanted to take some pictures some clouds hid it! Mind you although it looks like paradise, it has also its hidden dangers – a notice board to the beach says that there may be stingers (jellyfish), strong currents and………. Crocodiles!! You may understand that we only tiptoed into the ocean and were back in no time!!

Today was going to be an easy day – doing household chores – if you can call, doing the washing up, sweeping the camper floor, sorting out the laundry and just tidying up, household chores.

So before breakfast I already had a load of whites tumbling away in the campsite washing machine and after breakfast, hanging on the wash line while the second coloured laundry pile was being washed. The sun was out but we hardly had any wind, however by the time we had finished our breakfast the wash lines were full with our clean fresh laundry waiting to dry!!

I picked up a book at the laundry room and while waiting for the laundry was drying, we sat in the morning sun, me reading and Gerry doing his word puzzles………. Very domesticated!

We had a short rain shower so we grabbed all the washing off the lines as they were mostly dry and lay them in the camper – and then it was time for lunch! Healthy cheese sandwiches also filled with tomatoes, rucola and cucumber.  

When we were ready, we showered and took the camper van off our pitch to drive to Mackay. That is the downside o a camper van – if you want to visit a town or historic place, you need to drive the big van and then it’s ever so difficult to find a decent parking place for the van – well it’s 7.5 meters long! This time we parked at Metro – a big DIY store with a huge parking area for its customers……. Luckily Gerry takes all this in his stride and doesn’t worry like I do!

On the way, we saw a few signs which show that there is a Maltese community living in Mackay – Vella’s Fish Bar, Mifsud Gardening Centre and Galea’s Fishing Equipment. Also, I remember as a kid, one of my father’s workmen – Salvu – emigrated to Australia to work in the Sugar Cane Fields – so he must have come to Queensland…………

So as I had mentioned the other day, Mackay was swept away by a cyclone and actually this was in 1918 ( and not as previously stated 1915) Because so much of the town was destroyed, new buildings were constructed round about the same time so the main street – Sydney street and the block around Sydney Street being Wood Street and Victoria Street have many Art Deco buildings It was great walking around and seeing that most of the colours were kept in their original state. 

By the time we had our walk about – in the hottest part of the day – we were ready to have something refreshing – and this seems strange in such a country as Australia that you cannot get any fresh juices….. We went in to a couple of places and they only had bottled juices and finally when we found one that did fresh juices, their machine was shut down for the day!!!!! Well at the shopping mall, we ended up having a vanilla milkshake for Gerry and crushed pomegranate juice for me!

We got back to the camper van, which was still neatly parked, and we drove then to the Mackay Marina. This is an impressive sight to see and actually it’s like a little modern village with apartments, restaurants and a garden boulevard facing the Marina. There was also an old little lighthouse which was built in 1885 after a ship was shipwrecked off the coast on unchartered rocks. 

A very high breakwater protects the Marina and as the tide is very high here – some 3 meters -, the jetties are floating jetties. 

We took a walk all along the marina and then partially on the breakwater. Outside the breakwater at quite some distance, we could see tankers all waiting to get into the port and when we asked the breakwater guard what products where being imported or exported, he informed us that coal was being exported from that terminal. Apparently a huge industry in Queensland! There is also another terminal on behind the yacht marina and this was purely for sugar. Mackay is a sugar-producing town and we had seen all the sugar cane as we were driving through the countryside! 

Well after that long walk, Gerry had to be rewarded with a real ice cream and this was at one of the Italian cafes on the boulevard. I had a chocolate milkshake!

By the time we returned to our campsite, we weren’t really hungry – yes ice cream and milkshakes are very filling. So we enjoyed a glass of wine with some cheese till later in the evening when I prepared an omelet on toast. It was a pleasant evening to stay outdoors, however I was being bitten by either sandflies or invisible mosquitos that I had to get inside the van. As usual we never have any late nights as we get up quite early the following morning.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Airle Beach – just across from the Whitsunday islands – not too long a stretch for Gerry to drive!