We did a little more waltzing along the Matilda Way, stopping at Longreach for the Stockman’s Hall of Fame experience. There was a bit of a mad dash to get to the show, as our visit to the Tourist Information Centre was pretty much as they opened and the show started less than half-an-hour later. We still had to get to the building, find a spot for car and camper and get inside. We made it on time and particularly loved the Stockman’s Show, which was well scripted, full of humour and pathos, very clever horses and lots of whip cracking. The exhibition hall is amazing too and the whole operation is very slick. Our short stroll around Longreach was pleasant, but Queensland country towns are quiet after midday on a Saturday and almost silent on a Sunday.

This area of Queensland relies on the Great Artesian Basin for its prosperity. The land is remarkably flat in many places and the grasslands stretch for kilometres. We assume the land was clear-felled as there are only a few trees dotting the paddocks.  Our next stop was Julia Creek, but before we got there we unhitched the camper to visit a few abandoned mining areas – Mary Kathleen’s open cut uranium quarry with its bright blue lake, and the Ballara Mining Heritage Trail with its three abandoned townships (Bulonga, Ballara and Hightville plus a unique, now-disused rail tunnel) and a dry (but stunning) Fountain Springs waterfall at the end of the track.

Next on our adventure was Mt Isa, the largest town in the northwest of Queensland. Imogen had worked and done fieldwork in and around the town, so we thought we should visit the area. The town is dominated by the chimneys, mine heads, processing plants and spoil heaps of its main industries – mining and processing lead, tin and copper.

It was sunny as we returned to the Savannah Way for our westerly progress across Queensland. A farewell to the sea was a must (it looked so different in sunlight) and we hit the road, stopping to spot the wonderful birdlife of the area on our way. We also visited the last campsite (Number 119) of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition to the Gulf of Carpentaria. It was interesting to see how close but also note how far they were from their goal. Another stop was at the gorgeous Leichhardt Falls and we got extra thrills of looking down on a medium-sized estuarine crocodile, an unidentified swimming snake, black kites and whistling kites. Certainly stopped us wanting to go for a swim.

Terrible Dad pun title. It was the start of our time on the Savannah Way – a tourist route across northern Queensland. After Cairns came the Atherton Tablelands, Undara Volcanic National Park and, with a few stops in between, Karumba on the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Next stop was Cairns. It may appear to be a bit of a double back of our route, but it made sense to us in the planning stages. A few days before, we had changed our accommodation from Palm Cove to a place in the city. We were very happy with that decision, as it meant we got to see and do more in Cairns itself. There were the usual household duties to perform, catching up on washing and restocking the larder, as well as getting windows tinted to avoid the heat and glare of the Outback (what we thought was tinting was actually privacy glass). We sampled the night market stall food, enjoyed Mexikorean fusion food, absorbed the holiday vibes of the town at night and during the day, loved tasting Wolf Lane gin, watched the sunset from Rocco Rooftop Cocktail Bar with cocktails in hand, visited the Botanic Gardens and Tanks Art Precinct and strolled the Esplanade many times.

Next stop was Cooktown, a small town further up the reef coast. It has the distinction of being one of 13 places Lieutenant Cook made landfall on his exploration of the Australian east coast (and the longest time he spent on shore). He had run aground on a reef just of Cape Tribulation (so named for all the troubles he was having) and limped his ship into the bay where Cooktown now sits. The ship was hauled onto the beach and the hole repaired within two weeks. The unhelpful blustery winds (which we are also experiencing, big time!) kept the crew in the bay for another 34 days. Serendipitously we happen to be here on the anniversary of the Endeavour landfall, 17 June 1770, and for the Cooktown Discovery Festival that celebrates the event when two cultures met, clumsily communicated and interacted peacefully. Weird coincidence: we were in The Township of 1770 on the anniversary of Cook’s landing there (May) and are now in Cooktown on the next landfall anniversary (June).

Our trip northwards on the Bruce Highway continued past ripening sugarcane fields, over multiple cane-train rail crossings and through verdant forests. A quick stop on the outskirts of Cairns for a replacement camper part (snapped door handle) was a driver-reviver stop on our trip to Port Douglas.

We left Townsville early, to avoid the hassle of getting trapped in the caravan park because of roadworks. The first stop on our route north was by the roadside to marvel at the field upon field of sugarcane. The massive plants create a living green hedge along the side of the road and can stretch as far as the eye can see. We sent up the drone and found the geometric designs intriguing. We had breakfast at Big Crystal Creek, part of the Paluma Range National Park. We put out feet in the water but decided against a swim as it was quite early, a little chilly and just a bit concerning that we may step on a bullrout. The creek contains this freshwater stonefish which has venomous spines just waiting to skewer the unsuspecting foot, yet another Australian beasty out to get you.

Townsville is a city that is hard to pigeon-hole. It is dominated by Castle Hill, a towering rock that the suburbs have developed around, creating very separate parts. The waterfront Strand is a delight … a beachside promenade dotted with quirky public art, a variety of beautiful buildings and the view across to Magnetic and other islands. Other areas are flat and dominated by suburban sprawl. And other areas are warehouse industrial that stretch for kilometres. And there is a working harbour with a rail head too!

Our northern migration saw us arrive at Airlie Beach, which bills itself as the Heart of the Reef. The town is very much geared towards getting people out onto the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), boating around the Whitsunday Islands or parting travellers from their money at the many restaurants, takeaways, beachwear/souvenir shops and pubs. The main street is roughly 50% tour providers then 25% each food or tatt places. We were very much part of the tourist crowd, using Airlie as our launchpad onto the reef.

London was a way stop after Paris, where we collected the luggage we stored, near our Belgravia accommodation. A catch up with Alison was fantastic, as was the proliferation of outdoor drinking at London pubs … the City pavements were full of ‘suits’ enjoying the early-season sunshine. We then strolled through those pavement-blockers to our European finale, the Pierre Marco White London Steakhouse Co. restaurant experience. A delicious 5-course meal with introductory cocktail and a celebratory bottle of champagne was our treat … and that bottle must have taken our quota beyond 20 champagne houses!