And so it seems with a lack of lonely time and too many travel companions comes a lack of opportunity or motivation to open up my laptop and fill in the rest of the world with tales of my travels!
So right now I am signing on again this time from Mission Beach. I think it may just be pot luck that each time I write for my blog I seem to be in an picturesque location and tonight is no exception, but then again maybe these beautiful beaches that I camp by provide inspiration for me to write. [side note: I most certainly wont still be in Mission Beach when I upload this too my blog] but enough of the philosophical thoughts... So I am camped tonight in the cheap campground with George parked literally 15m from the sand under palm trees. Despite the ocean still looking like a muddy washing machine it is beautiful and just to add to this me and Tom (my travel buddy to Darwin) used my hammer to hack at a coconut and finally opened it so we had free coconut milk and pulp for dessert!
So whilst it all sounds amazing I am about to embark on the next stage of my adventure – into the desert! Stepping back a few weeks though and I will continue my travel tales from Airlie Beach, the location of my last blog entry. Although it is a beautiful, vibrantly bustling backpacker town the relentless rain put a literally dampener on my stay. Nevertheless I checked into the cheapest caravan park in town and found myself a muddy site and opted to cook dinner in the dry camp kitchen where I re-met Justin (the only other single Australia I have seen traveling/camping/backpacking around Australia) a guy who I met in Bundaberg on the rum tour. It’s crazy how often you cross paths with different people all heading up the east coast! Anyway I also met Merik and Leonie here (I will refer to them as the Dutchies from now on) who are a 19 year old Dutch couple hitchhiking around Australia! After some good conversation over dinner and a morning together at the foreshore markets we went our separate ways as they headed off on a sailing trip around the Whitsunday’s. Opting to save my money for a trip to the reef in Cairns instead I swam in the lagoon and watched with fascination as all the backpackers attempted a hangover-curing sunbake under the cloudy sky and shrieked as they dashed for cover everytime the rain started again, a very regular occurrence! As the skies seemed to clear I picked the best part of the day and went for a bush walk up to a lookout in the National Park, which gave me magnificent views of the Whitsunday Island on dusk.
Leaving Airlie Beach the next morning I followed another brown ‘tourist route’ sign to the apparently untouched pristine Dingo Beach. Although he beach was pleasant I was more fascinated by the pub which was the only place in the whole town with any sign of movement, despite it being mid morning! Moving on I drove the short distance to the neighboring Hideaway Beach which although was prettier I wanted more so attempted dirt (off-road) track to what I thought would be a lookout. Needless to say George struggled a bit, and when I turned my head to find all the cupboard doors open and a sea of clothes, doona, crockery, and food all flying around the back as I bounced through continuous pot holes, I decided to turn around and continue my driving for the day back on the Bruce Highway. (Good old Bruce has served me well… Sorry that’s just a side note as I reflect on how many kilometers I have now done along the Bruce) Stopping for the night I Bowen I drove down to the foreshore and couldn’t help but notice the shrine-like-information centre dedicated to the film Australia. I joined the other tourists in reading about how they covered the roads in tonnes of red dirt and how Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman lived as locals. Finding a caravan park to check into wasn’t hard as there were about 7 of them, all with only 2 or 3 vans for the night! When I pulled up the old man next to me asked me to come in for a cup of tea or to watch the news on his TV. I kindly declined. In the morning I jumped on my bike to explore the many many beaches that Bowen is proud to offer, unfortunately not looking very inviting under the dark and stormy morning sky. On my way out of town, only shortly after breakfast I drove past the bakery with a sign claiming to bake the Hugh Jackman pie. Feeling like a post breakfast snack I enjoyed one of these meat pies and later read in my 150 things to do in QLD guide that the pies are a must so I am now very happy with my decision to try one!
Anyway continuing on up the highway to Townsville I reached the Bowling Green National Park and drove inland to the Alligator Creek Campsite suggested to me by Justin the guy from Sydney I met in Bundaberg and Airlie. I had a very enjoyable afternoon with a dip in the very refreshing (freezing) waterhole and a good chat to a retired Canadian couple on their way right around the country (they reminded me a lot of mum and dad!). I woke early the next morning and embarked on the 17km waterfall hike which unexpectedly included 6 creek crossing (one so deep my shorts and undies got wet), a lot of hills and rock hopping. Returning to the campsite five hours later absolutely starving and dying for another dip in the waterhole I was exhausted but glad that I did make it to the top as the falls were magnificent (but only the first of many many waterfalls I would discover in the following weeks).
Arriving in Townsville I decided to stop at the tourist info centre to get my next set of free maps and brochures about the road to Cairns and activities in the area. Who was I to park next to but a car with the Dutchies in it! Hearing about their last few days they told me they were keen to go to Magnetic Island and so I decided to join them. We made a quick trip to the supermarket and before I had any second thoughts we were all on the ferry across to the island! We then caught the public bus to the island’s north coast to Horseshoe Bay and checked into the backpackers there for two nights, me in a dorm and the Dutchies in their tent. After two nights on the island it was funny how I actually missed George and having my own space and ‘me’ time (sometimes also referred to as lonely time!) And although it was great doing all of the walks to all of the secluded, remote and sometimes nudist beaches and bays, many dotted with palm trees, two days on the island was enough. It was then decided that the Dutchies would stay with me to Cairns as I had to be there in 3 days for Harriet and they had a lift to Darwin leaving that same day. And so all three of us in George had a brief look around Townsville and found and caravan park just out of town for the night. The following day we went to visit Shalom, (the aboriginal school associated with my school back home) which was a great experience and a bit of an eye-opener for the Dutchies, but they loved it and I enjoyed having them with me so could all join in some activities with the kids and explore the school together. From Townsville we continued along The Bruce in George and stopped for lunch and a swim at Crystal Creek Falls in the mountains (National Parks) that run right up the coastline parallel to the ocean. Here we had a picnic and then spent ages climbing up the creek and diving off rocks and showering under the freezing cascades.
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