Finally in Cairns

So, after one month of travelling, we finally arrived in our destination, the tropical tourist town of Cairns. So far this had been the best trip of my life. The East Coast really exceeded all my expectations.  Gorgeous long, deserted beaches one after another, a real tropical paradise. Not to mention waterfalls, mountains, rainforests. I was having the time of my life, meeting new people, seeing new places every day, having fun, taking it all in. I was loving my travelling companion, the Jucy girls and Rohan. I loved travelling in a campervan, too. It's such a laid-back way of travelling. Especially when you don't have to drive! 

One month back I was miserable. Now I was in the middle of the tropics without a care in the world, happier than ever. For the past weeks I had been enjoying the feeling of not knowing what would happen when we got to Cairns. All the other girls had a plan. Sabrina would keep travelling, Alix would soon return to France, Stine would look for a job. But the closer we got to Cairns the more I started to worry about my plan. So, when Rohan asked me to keep travelling with him, and return to Melbourne via Alice Springs, I hesitated for one nanosecond before saying OK.

Cairns is a vibrant backpacker town. Lots of hostels, bars, tourists. Me, Rohan, Stine and Mark, who we met on Fraser, spent an evening drinking goon and ended up checking out the local nightlife. We camped right on the side of the street. 

The beaches in Cairns are a fair drive away, but there is a nice big lagoon for swimming. 

We had a little bit of drama in Cairns when I was on my way to a gym and realised I had lost my precious gym shoes. Anyone who knows me, should know that that was a personal disaster. 

It was time to say goodbye to the girls. On our last night we had dinner together and went for a walk at the night market. 

The same evening Rohan and me jumped in the van and drove out of Cairns. Just outside Cairns we stopped the car to see the lights of Cairns at night. Heading to the Outback, it was the last time in a while we would see a bigger town. A new chapter of the trip was beginning. (of my life, too, just didn't realise it yet...)...

Let's Go Get Lost

By the time we got to Cairns, the Jucy girls were way ahead of us and already on their way to Cape Tribulation, because they had to return the car soon. So we only stopped for some shopping and drove out from the city to find a campsite for the night. We didn't find the campsite we were looking for, but instead we found a nice spot at Lake Placid, World Heritage area of the Barron Gorge National Park. 

That's one of the best thing about road trips. Changes of plans, no real time constraints, finding beautiful places by accident that you would otherwise miss. We stayed at a nice campsite with a pool. The next day before heading to Cape Tribulation, we stopped at one of the beaches close to Cairns, Trinity Beach. 

The East Coast is full of gorgeous beaches one after another. But at this time of year, early May, there were few where you could go swimming without having to worry about marine stingers. Most of the beaches had first aid bottles in case of stings. 

Coming soon: Cape Tribulation

Stay tuned!

Tropical Queensland

After we got to Queensland, the more north we drove, the more tropical the scenery got with banana trees and other fruit, rainforests and palm trees everywhere, and a really humid climate.

We made lots of stops in interesting places along the coast and sometimes drove a bit inland, too.

All the small towns in Australia have a big something, whether it is a big banana, a big pineapple, a big cow, a big shark, a big spider, a big crocodile or a big mango, like in the picture. Usually they choose it according to what they produce in the area, but sometimes it seems they have just made something up to attract the tourists.


In Eungella National Park we saw beautiful landscapes, lots of turtles, as well as wild platypuses! I never imagined I would get the chance to see them in the wild.

We saw some nice waterfalls on the way. Wallaman Falls, Australia's highest, 305 m, were pretty impressive. A steep climb down and back up was good exercise!

We also stopped at Josephine Falls, where we went for a little dip, too.

Next Destination: Mission Beach and finally CAIRNS!!!