Coastal Northern Queensland

Well we are entering the real tropics now, a return to the Fiji weather without all the rain.

Each day the weather is forecast for some showers but to date they have always been somewhere else.




One cannot visit a real Australian outback town without recording an Icon- in this case it was a giant mango.




There is very little to commend either it's beauty or style.

This was our first accident experienced on the trip so far.

A car/trailer combo passed us 10 minutes previous at a high speed for us, well our maximum is around 80-85KPH and then we caught up and witnessed the trailer and all it's contents smashed has the driver lost control whilst overtaking a truck.

No injuries to life and limb, just a 45 minutes hold up with about 5 kms of vehicles behind us as you can see.

This is Bruce Highway near Bowen.

Enough of humanity, what about real beauty, these next 3 photographs were taken near St Lawrence. The town had no redeeming features except these colourful bushes by the score and water lilies next to a free park with all RV facilities.

A very progressive shire authority.

There were at least 30 vehicles there plus




This travelling swag man, well not really a swag man but a man travelling around Australia on horseback.


To complete the picture he was Austrian, so much for the mythology.


At last we have reached decent waters, this is the sailing yacht "Camira" which took us to the Great Barrier Reef and one of the Whitsunday Islands









These sands were not on the mainland.

This part of the voyage- Snorkel, Flippers and Stinger suit.

The beauty of the reef is tempered by the dangers and the most common are "Stingers" or jelly fish. Solution is wear a suit or treat the infected area with vinegar. Vinegar is found on most popular beaches and provided by the local shire.

Disappointed with the swim - better at Rottnest but the weather and turbulence were the cause of poor visibility and disappointment.

The sail back to Airlie Beach was delightful especially after excellent food and free beverages that ensured we stayed at the Boat car park that night. Otherwise the drink driving rules would have been severely tested.





Airlie Beach early next morning - really cannot compete with Perth Beaches except for the Palm Trees

At one of overnight stops we experienced a horse taxi transfer.

The horse was being sent to Gympie from just outside Mackay

To be trained to respond to commands effectively.

Many $50 notes were traded.

One cannot visit Northern Queensland without encountering Sugar cane and we have seen a lot.

This was June just before harvest was due.

The Mackay cane fields are shown here and are typical of the fields we been passing sugar cane for over 500 kms.

This is the Coral Sea at Bowen, the town brochure made the place sound wonderful.The brochure editor needs to check the rose coloured glasses.

This in our view was the best spot.

A great place for lunch afternoon power nap and then onwards and northwards.

At the end of most days we are presented with some of the best moments on the trip.

Sunsets that are unique. beautiful and memorable.

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Distance travelled from Perth = 14,273 Kms

Distance from Perth = 4,864 Kms

Days on the road = 229