After months of discussing, planning and waiting for Australia and our big adventure we finally arrived in Cairns, Queensland on October 4th 2011. It's hot and humid. After being picked up by our chirpy van driver and upgraded at the hostel (having a private bathroom is considered luxury in the backpacking community) we were ready to go… and run errands.

Once all our admin was complete (bank, phone, etc), we headed for the mountains to an isolated Aboriginal settlement further inland called Kuranda. Our ancient train, complete with wooden seats and Aboriginal art, picked us up from Cairns Central Station and hiked us along the coast and through the rainforest. The history of the train line is as impressive as it's surroundings. Built over 120 years ago, completely by hand, it consists of dozens bridges and 15 tunnels (all dug with picks and shovels).

After arriving in Kuranda, we wandered the quaint town filled with the usual Australian souvenirs such as whole crocodile carcasses, boomerangs and didgeridoos. Although wanting to purchase all of these items, our budget (and backpacks) didn't permit. Instead we undertook an epic jungle walk, passing local Aboriginals and crossing raging rivers, all in flip-flops!

After lunch on the riverbank, we took the Skyrail down to the Tjabukai. This consisted of a small pod elevated above the rainforest canopy on steel ropes giving amazing views of the surrounding area. Once at Tjabukai, Jackie felt her presence should be marked in spectacular fashion and took to the stage to get her groove on, and show the Aboriginals how they get down in 'merica! (Please see video it is hilarious). This was only the beginning, we later went on to learn about Bush Tukka (not so tasty unless you like bugs and insects), tribal warfare, and the art of spear and boomerang throwing. To conclude we had a quick lesson in Aboriginal theology and returned to Cairns to prepare for our roadtrip…

Day 1-2 of roadtrip - Mossman Gorge, Cape Tribulation

To get the roadtrip started we needed one essential ingredient, a vehicle! This was soon rectified with a visit to Wicked. They provided us with the most unique camper van on the road, which from here on we'll lovingly refer to as VANessa. The story of Nessa starts with a festival in the outback where Aboriginal kids painted her with flowers, animals and handprints amongst other tribal symbols. We were more than happy with our van, and agreed if we were going to do a roadtrip, we might as well do it in the most outlandish hippy van available.

After picking up some essential supplies, we headed north on Bruce Highway, destination Cape Tribulation. Having no real plans gave us the flexibility to explore any sights that intrigued us, so seeing a sign for Mossman Gorge we left the highway to investigate. This proved to be worth the detour as we had a swim in the beautiful fresh water river and lay in the sun on large boulders deposited in the river channel.

After the paddle, we continued our journey along spectacular winding coastal roads and over small rivers and creeks. We reached our destination, PK's Jungle Retreat, where we set up camp (parked) and cooked dinner (noodles). We wandered the area to discover we were actually situated in the middle of the rainforest and only a stones throw away from a pristine untouched beach. The scenery was breathtaking, imagine untouched lush rainforest meeting crystal clear ocean with a strip of white silica sand in between. It was refreshing to swim in the ocean and look back to land with absolutely no development as far as the eye could see.

Our campsite proved to be the main attraction of the area, particularly as the bar had a live Reggae band. A Reggae band in the middle of the rainforest proved to be the perfect combination for us as we drank and ate the night away. Day 1 of the roadtrip, awesome!

A couple of things we had overlooked in the buzz of camper vanning around Australia soon became apparent. 1, we were sleeping in a van! Climbing into Vanessa and closing the door after us before settling down for the night took a while to get used to. 2, opening the door of our room i.e Vanessa in the morning meant we were opening the door to the world…with morning breath and without even looking in the mirror to see how rough we looked. This became even more apparent when pulling up on the side of the road to camp. We soon got over these slight issues as all sense of personal presentation subsided as the miles racked up.

After our boogie nights jungle experience, we were back in Cairns to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. We boarded a large boat and were elated to find real coffee (not instant) being served complimentary. Coffee is a real luxury these days, so we knew it was going to be a good day. After downing as many cups as possible, we (Jackie) went to sunbathe and (Mark) to take some pictures of our ship and surroundings. We boarded a smaller vessel and were taken to a tiny sand island where we gathered our snorkeling equipment and took to the water. It was absolutely breathtaking and overwhelming. There are thousands of species including: fish, turtles, sharks, coral, etc., living and adapting to this area dating back ten thousand years. We have not seen so many neon colors since Ultra Music Festival in Miami. Along with snorkeling, we boarded a small submarine and got up close and personal with various coral and some stingrays. Arising from the depths of the ocean, we were greeted by a glorious site: lunch buffet. Not having had a "proper meal" since we left San Francisco, fresh fish and edible chicken were almost as monumental as the coral. We proceeded to sit in silence for 30 minutes - the people next to us must have thought we did not even know each other. After gorging, we laid out on the deck of the boat to catch some rays. We ended the day being serenaded by a member of the crew and sipping champagne. We sailed back to harbor and prepared for our 2,000 km drive south.

Since Mark thought it was a good idea to save $20 and not pay for a camp site because "everyone else is doing it", we slept in a small side street in Cairns and awoke to a citation on our windshield for illegal camping. Luckily for us, the authorities in Cairns are pretty laid back and there was no monetary fee. Unluckily for Mark, he still had to listen to Jackie complain the entire night about not being in a campsite.

After a quick supply trip, we finally headed south driving down A1 along the Pacific Coast. We quickly learned Australia's Pacific Coast Highway is not actually along the coast, but rather inland. We passed mile after mile of nothing but empty land and kangaroo road kill. We soon saw why we were warned against nighttime driving. With no lights and no attractions, the highway (one-lane highway that is) can be a dangerous place with kangaroos appearing from thin air and people falling asleep at the wheel. Unfortunately for us, Nessa is ollllldddd and overheats very easily in the Australia sun.

There are some great distractions along the way and after speaking to some other backpackers we ventured to a place called Josephine Falls to take a dip and cool down. After a refreshing swim in some natural waterfalls, we were ready to continue on to Mission Beach. After hearing a lot about Mission Beach ,we were a little confused as to the hubbub as there was a nice beach, but not much else. (We later learned that Mission Beach had been hit by a hurricane badly in the beginning of the year and apparently has not yet recovered.) We walked along the beach for a little and decided to haul on towards Townville.

After a long and hot day in the car, we finally pulled in to a caravan park at 6PM. We made dinner, showered up, and charged all of our electronics in the camp kitchen chatting with other travelers. The couple we spoke to allocated 6 weeks to travel from Cairns to Sydney, while we had only planned on 2. We were learning that to keep our current pace would be exhausting and not very enjoyable. Instead we decided to drop Nessa off in Brisbane making the trip a lot more relaxed and less grueling.

Day five of our campervan hire and we were back on the road headed towards Airlie Beach. With another blisteringly hot day we stopped off along the road to a small, empty and beautiful beach called Queens Beach. After some r&r, we were back on the road with Nessa. Hours later we arrived in Airlie Beach and crawled into a caravan park. After a long and hot drive all day, we were ready for the beach. We walked down a boardwalk along a picturesque beach dotted with sailboats and yachts. As gorgeous as the scenery was, Airlie Beach itself was one of the worst beaches we encountered on our journey. The locals and backpackers all flock to a manmade lagoon, so we followed suit and escaped the intense heat.

Australia is designed for road trips, as there are information centers and caravan parks in every town. The local tourist centers are filled with maps, local attractions, and helpful people. These facilities proved very helpful as internet is often difficult to get and can be very slow when found.

Day 6. Once joyfully woken by a harmony of birds located in the tree directly above us at 5am, we made our way to the harbo(u)r to pick up our boat and cruise out to the Whitsunday Islands. These are a group of 74 islands located off the east coast of Australia and are for the majority completely untouched or developed. They were discovered by Captain Cook on his exploration of Australia. Our first port of call was Daydream Island. Here we wandered the entire island stopping briefly to lay on hammocks perfectly situated on the beach for spectacular views of the surrounding islands and ocean. The island is also famed for harbo(u)ring buried treasure of a ship that ran aground hundreds of years ago…we looked but unfortunately no luck in recovering it!

After another delightful lunch, we continued our cruise to Whitehaven Beach. This was recommended to as a 'must see' by fellow travelers and did not disappoint. Crystal clear aqua waters surround pristine white silica sand and proved to be the perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy the scenery. We were warned that stingrays and jellyfish may be present in the waters at this time of year so were given (not so) flattering stinger protection suits. After a lot of time and even more effort Mark managed to slither into his suit, which we soon realized did not leave much to the imagination. Jackie saw how ridiculous Mark looked in his suit and decided there was no reason for us both to look like idiots, so her suit stayed unoccupied.

After a thoroughly enjoyable day, we returned to Airlie Beach and wandered the town before heading back to our campsite. Another exhausting day required yet more noodles as we sat in the camp kitchen area chatting to other travelers and locals. One in particular proved to be very upset at Jackie's mere observation that the highway in Queensland is only two-lane and there is not much in between. We soon made our excuses and left the crazy man and his dog to their own devices.

Once morning arrived and Jackie shook and kicked the offending tree so hard every bird and nest fell out, we continued south towards Rockhampton and in particular to the Capricorn Coast. This beautiful area is located on the tropic of Capricorn (hence the name) and is home to a fabulous scenic coastline. Being slightly disgruntled about paying what we thought was way over the odds for below par campsites we decided that we camp on the beach. We found an isolated location pulled out the stove and deckchairs and set about preparing dinner. This time we really spoilt ourselves and added corn kernels, mushrooms and spinach to our noodles, all washed down with half a bag of Goon (boxed wine)… Mmmmm. We drank several glasses of goon and put the world to rights discussing how we would do a better job at running each respective country. The discussion was so heated (and the wine so strong) we didn't realize we were sitting on top of some sort of insect nest. After nearly being eaten alive, we went to bed as a thunder-storm erupted above us.

To be continued…