At the risk of this becoming a long list of ‘and then’ (which in all likelihood it could), we will let the pictures do most of the talking – a thousand words and all that. The months after our return from ‘Our Big Trip’ have been filled with many events.

Back to work for Wanda and travel book work for Alistair were the two most common day-fillers. But in between these daily routines were lots of great diversions.

A few special celebrations have occurred in these last few months of the year. We marked Brigi’s champagne birthday with two great events: one on the day down in Sydney at a few bars and a restaurant and the other a month later at Ross' place with lots of friends.

There were also other dates to celebrate - Peter’s birthday, Wanda’s birthday and Christmas. We had two Christmas feasts: celebrating with Peter, Barbara, Dave, Will and Grace with a lunch on Christmas Day and then we had dinner feast in early January, when the girls returned from their travels (Immi from the US and Brigi from Queensland).

In between the Christmases was a fantastic night at Ross’ place to watch the Sydney Harbour fireworks and welcome in the new year.

We have had two lovely trips up to Tamworth in the second half of the year, after our quick stop on our way home from Queensland in July.

In October, the majority of the McDermott family descended on Traci and Marty's place for a few days of relaxation and conversation (and some farm work too). Immi and Tobias came down from Brisbane, staying with Jaimie at her new place in town, while we bedded down at the farm.

We ran fencing along the driveway up the hill, were fed fantastically by Traci (such amazing baked goods and desserts!), sat around the firepit as the evenings fell, met more of Jaimie’s friends at her housewarming party, enjoyed the trip out to Dungowan Station for a delicious lunch (with cocktails and beer tasting too), played with the dogs a lot (and we mean a lot!) and droned over the farm to take in its wonderful greenery and scenery.

Our next visit was in December, between Christmas and New Year. Storms had hit the farm in late November and early December, bringing down powerlines, a huge number of branches and a few trees. We spent the time helping clear trees off fence lines and retensioning some fence wires (our fencing work from October had been damaged ☹). We still had time to relax by the pool, drone over the now very dry landscape, drink cocktails and eat delicious food. A visit to the Glasshouse Restaurant at Goonoo Goonoo Station [pronounced: gunna gunoo] was a treat – cocktails, delicious food and great conversation - a terrific way to celebrate a wonderful friendship and the closing of an amazing year.

October and November were busy months for the two of us, with Wanda snowed under with student examations and Alistair performing in several events. We were incredibly fortunate to be able to use a friend’s waterfront apartment in Walsh Bay’s Wharf 6/7 as a base in early October and late November, which was terrific as Alistair had five performances at the nearby Opera House (Beethoven 9^th Symphony with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) at the end of November.

We used the time wisely, exploring the Barangaroo area, swimming at Marrinawi Cove, a delightful harbour enclosure, and exploring The Rocks markets over the two separate weekends.

Wanda was able to attend the dress rehearsal of the Beethoven concert (tickets had sold out for all performances ages ago) and jumped on the Metro to get to the city for a flashmob event in Martin Place, where Alistair led the singers in a performance of John Farnham’s You’re the Voice for a domestic violence vigil.

During our staycations, we loved having margarita cocktails on the balcony, looking the Harbour Bridge in a variety of lights, and watching the gulls swirl around the pylons, feasting on the moths drawn to the floodlights.

In late September, making use of flexible working hours and proximity to home, we spent 4 days camping at the Old Ford Reserve in the Megalong Valley. You steadily gain altitude as you drive up the Great Western Highway in the Blue Mountains. Arriving in Blackheath, you then descend into the Megalong Valley down a twisting and narrow road fringed by tree ferns and towering gum trees.

We managed to bag the best spot in the campground and parked our car in an adjacent spot for Brigi and Ross to put their camper, when they arrived the next day.

We had a few lovely days walking around the area, playing in the creek, chatting, eating, drinking and spotting wombats, roos and a multitude of bird species. The weather played its part, giving us sunny days and crisp Spring nights.

We rolled into Moree, visited the Visitor Information Centre for the obligatory local information, then checked into the caravan park to drop off the camper. After a very perfunctory check-in (bordering on rude), we found our site and were surprised at how tight it was. The park was certainly cramming us in. We had chosen this place because it had on-site artesian pools. Upon reflection (and reading reviews), we should have been more discerning! We explored Moree, which is a pretty town with quite a few Art Deco buildings. Several fires in the 1920s resulted in some lovely examples, along side some earlier turn-of-the-century buildings that survived the 1910s floods. Several soaks in the hot pool were welcome muscle relaxants but the crowdedness did not equate to calming vibes.

Having experienced the artesian pools and driven and walked a lot of the town’s streets, we decided not to stay a second night in the very unsatisfactory and unpleasant caravan park (think ridiculously bright lights [putting 7.7 volts into the batteries over night!], cheek-by-jowl sites and frequent road noise), we headed east to Warialda (pretty country town) and its Cranky Rock Recreation Reserve. The nearby ‘cranky’ rocks were fun to explore and the chickens wandering around the campground added a humorous touch. A lovely quiet night, sitting by a warming fire and looking up at the stars, was the panacea we needed. A stop at the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial Site, drives through the attractive towns of Bingara, Barraba and Manilla took us to Tamworth. A very welcome overnight stop at Traci and Marty’s place in Tamworth was the finishing touch to our Queensland adventures of 11 weeks on the road and over 12,000km driven. To round off the trip, on our way home we received stone to the windscreen from a passing cattle truck, scoring a decent chip this time. Will it grow to another crack we wonder? At least we won’t have to drive several hundred kilometres for a fix.

Wanda has always wanted to visit Bourke, thinking it was so far away and quintessentially ‘outback’. We crossed the Qld NSW border at Barringun, and it was a real awakening that we are on our homeward stretch. When reaching signal, our phones pinged several times (not an uncommon occurrence). NSW Parks was one of the messages, saying they had cancelled our Gundabooka booking because of adverse weather and road conditions. A stop at the Bourke Visitor Centre – for coffee, internet access, outdoor sculptures, history boards and local information – gave us time to take stock and replan. Many roads in north-western NSW were closed, making getting to our planned stays at Gundabooka and on the Macquarie Marshes inaccessible. The frain forecasts for the area were not in our favour, either. Also our Macquarie Marshes hosts, when contacted, asked us to defer our visit to protect their access road. Hard top road surfaces were going to be the order of the days. Mother Nature wanted us home!

We found accommodation in Bourke (which filled up to full as other travellers were caught out with the closures), explored the town on foot (our step count has been terrible the past few days as we lounged in hot baths and drove long distances), appreciating its turn-of-the-century grandeur and took a paddleboat trip on the Darling River, spotting birds and marvelling at the age of some of the waterside gum trees. A dinner mishap (Alistair left the burner on under the butter chicken saucepan), a game of Rummekin and a Netflix binge rounded off our time in Bourke. We fell asleep to the sound of many camp dogs barking in the distance, a few trucks rumbling past on the Kamilaroi Highway and the standard sounds of a caravan park at night.

The next day we headed eastwards, continuing our artesian spa theme and to experience a few places we have not already visited. We stopped at Brewarrina, a small town with an amazing Aboriginal fish trap construction in the Barwon River, billed as the oldest known construction in the world. We had a hearty bacon and syrup pancake breakfast, explored the town (didn’t take long), smiled at the John Murray murals that decorated the town and continued our journey east.

We rolled the dice, took the chance and drove into Charlotte Plains Artesian Bore Campground. Overnight rain was predicted and we had been warned that if there was over 10mm, the road would be closed until it dried out. We set up camp, took a hot bore-water bath in one of the several sets of tubs set up near the bore outlet. It was lovely. Sunset in another bath was very enjoyable too. We got hit by a spectacular storm – high winds, non-stop lightning and torrential rain from 11pm until 1am. Nuff said, come the morning, we were trapped! We had gambled with Mother Nature and lost … but also won. It just meant we had time for more soaking in the main hot pool and then the bathtubs. Mildly inconvenient but there could have been worse places to spend some down time.

Our time in Cunnamulla was very relaxing too. We viewed the main attractions and walked the town’s streets. But the main attraction is the Artesian Spa, overlooking the Warrego River. The place is fabulous, with a range of outdoor bathing pools of different temperatures (about 33 – 41ºC, a very bracing plunge pool (8-9ºC), steam and sauna rooms and, a relaxation room with lounges, massage chairs, herbal tea and calming mood music. We spent several sessions there across two days, chatting to other travellers and locals while warming our cores. An added bonus is that after 4pm you can BYO, which made watching the sun set so much more convivial. We dined with one couple (Cheryl and Andy from Tasmania) at a local pub, sharing family stories, eating way too much (the portions are huge) and sipping red wine.

We made sure we were in Roma on a Tuesday, as so much seems to happen then. We arrived middayish Monday, after a short stop in Injune to break the trip. We walked around their Waterhole, spotting a few birds and being amazed at the thickness of the duck weed on the water’s surface.

Roma is a town that is trying to reinvent itself as a destination. It has pulled out a lot of stops to give visitors events to see, places to go and activities to do. We had been recommended to stay at the Gun Club – we ended up all alone on the ‘pistol’ range, which was fabulous as the main campground was chockers and packed in like sardines. We managed to do most of the suggested ‘must-do’ items. We visited the outdoor Sculptures Out Back with its clever recycled materials artworks, enjoyed the evening Big Rig Show that explained the history of (unsuccessful) oil and gas exploration (sampling a pleasant glass of port while watching and liking the stray cat photobombing the show), bottle tree spotting (a very big one, many street examples and a memorial avenue to WWI servicemen), sampling and buying  gins at the western-most distillery in Queensland (yummy, thanks Western Queensland Distillery), strolling thorugh various parklands but the biggest drawcard was the Roma Saleyard – the largest cattle saleyard in the southern hemisphere.

We were up early on the Tuesday morning to make sure we were at the yards by 8am. We had visited the interpretive centre the day before to understand the processes and watched cattle trucks arrive to deliver their loads (the cattle need to be at the yards by 8pm the night before so they are on a feed curfew, to not add to their weight). Over 10,000 cattle were sold on the Tuesday, and we were spellbound as we watched the operation – moving the cattle, listening to the auctioneers (not understanding a word they said), seeing the lots being weighed and the sale price calculated, and marvelling at how smooth and slick it all was.

We headed west towards Charleville. We stopped at Mitchell and enjoyed their wonderfully warm artesian-bore baths. Very randomly, we were there on a day that free aqua movement classes are held, so we had the double benefit of exercise and relaxation. This was another artesian experience (Burketown, Julia Creek, Winton, Lara Wetlands to list) and one of the few were we actually got wet.

Charleville (Charl-a-ville) is a delightful town that has worked out how to get the most out of its seasonal visitors. The Visitor Information Centre at the lovely Art Deco railway station (terminus of the Westlander service) is phenomenally adapt at pressure selling and booking you on tours and activities. All the operators are on the one system and before we knew it, we had booked an evening cemetery tour, a WWII tag-along tour, a WWII Secret Bunker tour, a Sungazing experience and a date farm visit! And that was before we had got to our campground.

The town has lovely wide streets, a decorated water tower, an array of interesting shops on a functioning high street (as opposed to the empty windows in many country-town business centres), the very grand Corones Hotel taking up almost an entire town block and a lovely riverbank walk (Warrego River). And our campground, just to the south of town, had terrific dark skies, perfect for star gazing and enough space for cooking over our firepit. There is a real sense of community in Charleville as each tourist operator name checked other attraction in the town. We had a fabulous time in a town we knew nothing about until we visited.

Our few days in Emerald were slow and relaxed. There is not a lot to do in Emerald itself – the Big Easel, historical precinct, botanic gardens, town streets, railway station, art walk and a visit to Lake Maraboon to its southwest. The rest of the brochure suggestions are in the towns around, mainly fossicking. Our planned daytrip to Blackdown Tableland NP was thwarted, it being closed. Fortunately, Wanda saw the sign in the information centre, otherwise we would made a fruitless 250km round trip for nothing!

Our main reasons for visiting were to meet up with some friends again and to get our windscreen replaced. It was great to spend more time with Shane, Clare, AJ and Billie (the puppies), rekindling a friendship and sharing more stories and wine. We had enjoyable dinners together (Shane cooked a delicious chillied salt and pepper calamari) and the local tapas bar served up some tasty plates. We explored what Emerald had to offer together, which was nice.

Windscreen fixed, car fridge refused, laundry bag emptied, freezer restocked, water tank replenished and friendship consolidated, it was time to continue travelling, southwards to our next adventure.

Carnarvon Gorge blew our minds. Our first walks on our arrival day were incredible and set the scene for other jaw-dropping experiences. We set up camp, had lunch then visited Mickey Creek, Warrumbah Bluff Gorge and Rock Pool. These two mini-gorge walks were a great way to acclimatise to the terrain and be impressed by the area’s stunning geology.

The next day was our biggie. We climbed Boolimba Bluff, using steel ladders and many rock steps, getting stunning morning views of the surrounding landscape from on high. On our descent we set out for Big Bend, at the end of the gorge network, which turned out to be, in total, a 35km, 34-river-crossing return hike on reasonably flat and well-formed paths. A highlight of that walk was the Boowinda Gorge, and its narrow chasms, lit gently by sunlight. Another amazing discovery was all the rock art in Art Gallery and Cathedral Cave.

Our last day was another one of wonderful experiences. We planned a shorter hike, as we wanted to conserve some energy for a later event. We struck out for the Amphitheatre and Moss Garden areas of the gorge. Amphitheatre blew us away; the majesty and sheer height of the walls meant you were unintentionally respectful of the space. The acoustics were beautiful, with a 2-3 second echo, tested by Alistair singing. The few people in the space loved the impromptu show! The Moss Garden was pretty, with water pouring out of the sandstone feeding a proliferation of ferns and moss. The day ended with a brilliant night tour of the forest, with an expert guide. Simon from Eco Tours gave us insight into the gorge’s ecosystem, find Yellow Belly Gliders (we saw them glide between trees!) and Great Gliders (munching happily), as well as spotlighting (in red beam) a male platypus in the creek on our way back. We stayed in the park to take in the night sky … so magical.

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.

Next was the Ifracombe Picnic Races, and that was an experience. We were very underdressed – the locals dug out their glad rags and frocked up big time; the Fashions on the Field events were hotly contested. We placed our bets, cheered on our horses and lost our stakes. In fact, one of them might still be running to the finishing post. We couldn’t stay for the whole race card but enjoyed the time we had at the event.

Lara Wetlands was our overnight destination. We scored a waterside spot and had an artesian bore swim, at a toasty 40ºC temperature, which was a welcome relax at the end of the day. Getting the camp hosts to cook for us was another plus, as we sat around a table, met new people, shared traveller’s tips and ate a camp-oven stew with damper and potatoes. There was even a pudding-and-custard dessert. A sunrise dip in the swimming hole was an unusual way to start the day.

Barcaldine was our next stop. We have been practising our pronunciation (“It’s BarCALLdin, not BARcalDEEN”), and as we were visiting on a Sunday there were two café/bakeries and not much more open. Barcaldine has five pubs (all closed, some long-term) on its main street, is home to the Tree of Knowledge outside the railway station, with a great structure over the dead tree (poisoned in 2006) that was the birthplace of the Australian Labor Party and Australian Workers Union in the 1890s during the Shearers’ Strike. We had a bit of a hiccough here, as on our drive into town we copped a stone to the windscreen from a passing road train, resulting in an ever-growing crack across the shield.

We left Barcaldine, were amused by the punning bull statues of Aramac and took our time getting to Lake Dunn, stopping at the wire sculptures along the route. Delighted to find we had signal by the lake, we suffered a ridiculously long call to NRMA Insurance (though it was great they were available on a Sunday).  A replacement screen is available in Emerald, phew, and we have an appointment in a few days’ time. That has given us a day to relax, birdwatch, wash clothes, chill in the sun. It was a slow drive on corrugated dirt roads, stopping at more sculptures, to Emerald.

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.

The road to Julia Creek is flat and rather uninteresting. Julia Creek on the other hand was interesting and still flat. We borrowed bikes from the campground and pedalled around the town, taking in the heritage sites and enjoying the cycle-friendly topography. That night we enjoyed a catered dinner, courtesy of the RSL, around a roaring campfire in the campground. The council organises the local charities to put on a dinner for the visitors, and 100 guests tuck into a terrific meal while sharing travel tips and stories. We got some great information from fellow travellers and passed on our suggestions and tips.

We doubled back to Cloncurry – which was fun, as we stayed in the Equestrian Centre grounds, sharing the space with campdraft competitors, their horses and the cattle they would cut. We watched the competition, slowing getting the gist of the routines and scoring. We also visited the suggested sites in town and enjoyed sunrise from the lookout, taking our chances to drone before the black kites and goshawks were in the skies. Our plan did not quite pan out, as suddenly there were two very interested kites circling the drone!

On our way to Winton we stopped at Combo Waterhole, proportedly the site where ‘Oh! There once was swagman camped by a billabong, under the shade of a coolabah tree’. Winton is all about that poem, A.B. ‘Banjo’ Patterson, opals and dinosaur fossils. We had a terrific time in the Watlzing Matilda Centre, learning about the history of the area, the history of the poem and enjoying their ‘sound and light’ installation. We were in town for the Opal Festival, which is more of a trade show for collectors and miners. We had a fun time checking out the boulder opals, both raw and polished, talking to the miners and jewellers and buying a few souvenirs.

Dinosaurs fossils feature heavily in Winton’s (and this part of Queensland’s) promotional material. We checked out Lark Quarry’s dinosaur footprint stampede exhibition and walked their Jump-Up Track through spinifex and rock. We visited the Age of Dinosaurs Museum and thoroughly enjoyed the half-day visit to the fossil-preparation laboratory and all the other activities the centre has. We were glad we choose to ignore a fellow travellers rather negative critique of the Centre. We loved the dinosaur sculpture walk and centres architecture. We capped off our Winton visit watching a movie at the Royal Theatre open-air cinema, sitting in deckchairs, eating popcorn, drinking wine and enjoying The Accountant 2.

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.

We visited the very helpful Outback at Isa information centre and, over the course of the days in town, revisited the place for tickets to the Underground Hospital Museum, (fascinating and so well guided), museum trips (there are two great exhibits – Riversleigh and Mt Isa history) and local information. We also rocked up at the local camp draft – and looked so out of place in our camping/town clothes rather than the obligatory big hat, country shirt, denim jeans and riding boots.

A day trip to the Duchess Hotel was fun – and it must have been one of the longest drives for a steak sandwich in our history. After the Gregory Downs debacle, we phoned ahead to check there was food being served! The countryside is stunning – there would have been five dramatically different landscapes on the corrugated-road journey there and back.

Sunsets have been terrific – Lake Moondarra was particularly pretty and the City Lookout over the industrial area was unusual but with great colours.

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.

The drone has been such a great asset to our trip; it gives us such amazing perspectives of where we are. Unfortunately for us (just for droning, because otherwise it is brilliant), the local raptors/birds of prey are numerous, curious, territorially protective and everywhere, which has made droning a tad nerve wracking. Wanda is pilot and Alistair is bird and obstacle spotter, which makes for an awesome team and even more awesome images.

We have been using our UHF radio more, since meeting Shane and Clare, and it was a lifesaver (overstatement warning: more a stress reducer) on our way out of the falls. The track is one lane wide with very few passing places, very sandy and slippery and has washouts and gullies to navigate. As a precaution and courtesy, we put out a call to say we were heading back to the main road. Luckily an incoming group heard the call and was able to stop us from starting. Two large off-road campers, two motorbikes and a 4WD were on their way in. Such a relief not to have to reverse too far or meet head on.

Dusty roads have been the order of the day ... not a lot of bitumen on this part of the route. It is somewhat of a relief to leave the gravel or dirt/sand roads for the hard top – but in some cases these are just as rough or more so. We discovered a stunningly colourful artesian bore wellhead on the entrance to Burketown, lunched in the pub eating food from the one place providing food (which was across the road), refuelled the car then headed southwards towards our next stop.

We arrived at Gregory Downs, which has a pub, a council depot and not much more. We camped by the Gregory River and looked forward to a pub meal and a few wines. Entering the pub, we could get the wine, but a management decision meant that the weekend’s kitchen work (who would close a pub kitchen over a weekend?) had not finished. No food (or petrol for that matter; there was diesel) was a big problem for quite a few travellers. The poor staff, all of whom were backpackers from Europe, had to deal with irate grey nomads and fuel-starved young travellers. We, on the other hand, cooked ourselves a delicious parmi, accompanied by salad. We are always prepared!

We had a noisy night, with the rumble of cattle and mining road trains all night long. The next morning, we drove the 100km dirt road to Wugudaji Adels Grove. This is a beautiful (and dusty) campground on the banks of Lawn Hill Creek. We spent a few days kayaking (in our own kayak; it was not getting a free trip around Queensland!) along the creek, portaging over the rapids and marvelling at the stunning, red-cliffed Wild Dog Gorge (we had it to ourselves). We drifted past a freshwater crocodile (see video) that had Wanda dropping her camera, spotted a birdlife and cooked delicious dinners over our firepit.

We were the first visitor (according to one of the rangers) to the reopening Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) National Park. The park, Adels Grove and river had been devastated by a massive flood in 2023 that scoured the riverbanks of most of its vegetation. Along the creek’s edge were tree trunks and branches in huge dams, rapids and cascades had been created, removed or combed clean, and buildings and other infrastructure destroyed. We definitely preferred Adels to Boodjamulla but it was great to see them so resilient and positive. On our departure to places further south we stopped at the world-heritage Riversleigh Fossil Site for a fascinating walk through Earth’s fossil record.

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.

First was the incredibly green Atherton Tablelands. A very twisty but stunning drive up the Gillies Highway (Wanda was not a happy passenger, with forested valley views and sheer drops from her window, took us to Barrine Crater Lake and its lovely 1930s tea house for breakfast. It was then waterfall time – Millaa Millaa and Millstream – with a very relaxed stop in Ravenshoe (Queensland’s highest town) between the two. The Visitor Centre there is a so helpful and doubles as a local history museum and environmental centre. For some reason best understood by the military, thousands of WWII servicemen and women were stationed in this part of Queensland … not really sure why, as the transport connections would have been terrible, the summer heat unbearable and the winter cold unpleasant. A stop at Innot Hot Springs almost turned into Idiot Hot Springs, as when we were exploring the creek bed, Alistair fell out of his thongs onto the hot sand – the water comes out of the ground at about 70ºC! – luckily not burning his feet, using some quick footwork and a jump into cooler water.

We headed west to another of our bucket-list destinations, the lava tubes at Undara Volcanic National Park. We completed the Kalkani Crater Rim Walk on our way into the park, with it pretty-faced wallabies, incredible views of the surrounding savannah plains and collapsed lava tube remnant rainforest patches (semi-evergreen vine thickets) from its scoria cone. We had booked a few tours of the tubes, which is the only way to see them as most are considered dangerous, owing to a buildup of CO₂ gases that could cause death. We had the most wonderful guides: Murray in the morning to Collins Road Cave, The Archway, Stephenson and Ewamian caves, and Mel for our evening visit to a sunset spot for champagne and charcuterie board and then to the microbat-rich Barkers Cave for their nighttime flyout. They really helped explain the tubes’ creation, uniqueness, geology, botany and local history. There are lots of tube caves in the area but only six are safe to visit and we managed to take in five of them. It has been unseasonably wet so there was still a lot of water in the tubes, reducing our ability to go deep into them, but they are impressive all the same.

The next day was a long drive through savannah countryside and small, formerly prosperous gold-mining towns to the Gulf of Carpentaria coast. Mt Surprise is not surprising, Georgetown has a terrific minerals exhibit, a comprehensive roadhouse and was our introduction to the Savannah Way Artwork Trail sculptures, Croydon has an amazing history precinct of goldrush-era buildings and is also one end of the Gulflander train, Normanton has a few historic buildings (one being the other terminus of the Gulflander), amazing birdlife and resident crocs (unseen in their river). Last stop was Karumba Point at the mouth of the Norman River. Incredibly popular with fisherfolk, we endured torrential downpours and flowing streets, loved spotting a variety of previously unseen birdlife and explored the little that was open in Karumba and Karumba Point.  

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.

A visit to Kuranda, up in the Atherton Tablelands, was a delight. We caught the famous railway up the mountain, exploring the village, popping into the Butterfly House and lunching at the Rainforestation Experience, getting an Army Duck tour with educative commentary through the rainforest, buffet BBQ lunch, Indigenous cultural performance and meet-and-greet with some Aussie wildlife, then a return journey down the mountains on the Skyrail gondola (Wanda’s fear of heights was challenged big time). It was a great day and very much one of the must-dos of Cairns.

A tour guide, after listing all things to do in Cairns and us saying “done” concluded that there was nothing left for us to do! He was wrong, in that we missed the art galleries in town, as they were closed to change exhibitions.

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).

We have spent our days exploring the surrounds and slowing down, getting into the Cape York/Far North Queensland vibe. That said, we did a fairly hectic ‘dash’ to the top (or tip) of Australia – to Cape York/Pajinka. We joined a fly/drive tour from Cooktown, flying north for two hours in a small plane just above and along the outer barrier reefs to the Northern Peninsula Airport at Bamaga. Even in the overcast light the reefs were still colourful and stretched for kilometres. From Bamaga, we jumped in a minibus for the 40km ride to the tip. Our driver and guide shared stories (in some cases, the same story three times!) and explained the history of the cape settlements on our bumpy 1½-hour ride along the corrugated, muddy, bauxite-red road to the cape (yes, that long to go that distance). A short beach-and-rock walk took us to the legendary tip, with its bullet-holed sign informing us we had made it to the ‘northernmost point of the Australian continent’. The weather closed in, so our return flight was above the rainclouds, meaning not much to see but white! Alistair passed the time getting a private lesson from Ben, the pilot, about the intricacies of the cockpit dials, radio frequencies and electronic flight instruments while sitting in the copilot seat.

Cooktown owes its existence to the 1880s discovery of gold in the hinterland; it developed as the coastal port for export. It has also had more than its fair share of natural disasters in its short history – town fires and cyclones regularly destroying buildings – and was almost abandoned in the 30s. The influx of personnel and the building of infrastructure during WWII was a lifeline. It still gets hit with cyclones and the locals endure the months of wet-season heat and isolation. Today it is the service town for the area and is developing its tourism options.

We visited all the cultural aspects of the town – art galleries, museums, craft centres, the re-enactment and reconciliation centre, the botanic gardens, scenic lookouts, public sculpture walk and several sundowner spots (there are many to choose from). We took day trips into the hinterland to see aboriginal art, unusual rock formations, coastal headlands, bird lagoons, lonely lighthouses, old homesteads, coloured sand cliffs, lily-filled crater lakes and croc-free freshwater waterfalls. A bonus is that we have reconnected with a couple we first met at Mission Beach, Shane and Clare, and explored many of these local sites together. The four of us enjoyed a sunset cruise up the Endeavour River, appreciating a delicious charcuterie board, our own wines and a glorious sunset.

The Cooktown Discovery Festival runs for three days on the weekend nearest the anniversary, and we stayed an extra few days to experience the fun. The Festival Village was a busy place, with market stalls, live bands and civic events, and the town’s main street hosted busking, a street parade and historical re-enactments (gold delivery on horseback and a 1½-hour educative Cook’s Landing and First Contact performance) and a spectacular 10-minute firework display. Cooktown, with its local attractions, discovery festival and surrounding landmarks and points of interest, was a terrific place to visit.  

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 took frequent walks along the flat, sandy Four Mile Beach (actually only 4 kms long) into Port Douglas township, a place that has Darwin and Broome vibes. We perused the high-end fashions and quirky souvenirs along Macrossan Street, walked the scenic headland track in a vain attempt to spot dolphins or turtles, checked out a marina-side market and frequented several establishments to sample their alcoholic and food offerings. Port Douglas targets a more affluent tourist (thought there are a lot of backpackers passing through too) and has many ways to part them from their money, with boat tours to the reef or crocodile watching (we spotted and droned over one lounging in the sun on the Mowbray River mudflats), overpriced and elegant eateries, a multitude of spa/beauty treatment options, pubs, bars and fashion and surf-wear shops.

Mossman Gorge was a lovely day trip. We spent our time enjoying the sound of crystal-clear water flowing over pale granite boulders, walking hilly tracks and level boardwalks through rainforests (spotted a Wompoo Fruit Dove, notoriously challenging to see but with a distinctive call) and paddling in refreshing croc-free streams (forgot our swimmers which was a bummer). It is a popular place but we managed to get many spots to ourselves, as people moved on.

Next stop was further north into the Daintree National Park (part of the Cape York Peninsula Aboriginal Land area), where the rainforest meets the reef. We camped on the edge of Noahs Beach, under the thick rainforest canopy. Days were spent exploring the area’s walking tracks, strolling the many sandy beaches along the coast from Cape Tribulation down to Cow Bay, avoiding crocodiles, feeding sandflies (we are covered in bites and are so itchy!), keeping an eye out for cassowaries (no luck) and other local wildlife (lots of various animals spotted) and using the time to slow down and relax. We rewarded ourselves on the last night with cocktails and camembert pizza for sundowners, as the rainforest clouds roiled and threatened over the mountains (but didn’t deliver).

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.

We arrived at Mission Beach around lunchtime, after detours through Ingham and Tully townships. Ingham has the original ‘Pub with No Beer’ (according to the sign on the Lees Hotel) and Tully has the distinction of being the town with the highest rainfall in Australia (about 4.4 metres a year with a record of 7.9 in the 1950s) which it celebrates with a giant golden gumboot. It is also a sugarcane town, crisscrossed with cane railway tracks and dominated by two steam-belching chimney stacks of the refinery. Our Mission Beach campsite was chilled and nicely shaded with a partial view of the ocean. The beach itself is almost cliched perfection – golden sands, tropical islands punctuating the calm blue sea and coconut palms fringing the beach.

It was lovely to watch the sunrise, stroll along the beach, feast on an amazing Bingil Beach Café burger (one between the two of us), and go for cassowary spotting on the South Mission Beach boardwalks. Our first venture along the Kennedy Boardwalk (an afternoon hike) was a little frustrating as we bumped into a couple who mentioned they had seen a cassowary on their walk along the path. On our return we did not see the bird but enjoyed the coastal path anyway. To ease our disappointment, we downed a glass of wine at the fancy Elandra Resort as the sun set. The next days was spent exploring the rainforest, marvelling at the thickness of the vegetation and beauty of the fan palms, blog duties and making new friends with our camping neighbours.

The next morning, we returned to the Kennedy Boardwalk in the hope of seeing an elusive cassowary. We almost tiptoed to Luggers Beach walking as quietly as possible in case we scared our prey away. Our return journey did not bode well as we passed two groups of very chatty hikers. But nature is wonderful, and cassowaries do not seem to have much fear. We rounded a curve in the path and there, just off to the left, was our prize. The bird was not the least bit fazed by our presence, so much so we had to retreat off the path to make way for its progress. We watched it forage for many minutes before we left in peace to breakfast alone. Another delight was that we have spotted Ulysses butterflies in the region, their iridescent blue wings dancing in the air.

Next destination was Paronella Park, in Mena Creek. The park dates back to the 1920s and 30s and has a heart-warming back story about a Spanish man’s drive to create a pleasure park out of the wilderness, building much of the infrastructure and planting the gardens with his own hands. The park has had its share of troubles in its 100-year history – think fires, cyclonic storms and floods – but the current owners are passionate about the place. They have invested time, energy and money to maintain, restore and repair the buildings and grounds. We had a very entertaining tour, revisited the place for their evening lightshow and did a small drone over the castle in the morning (with permission from the owner).

Next stop was just up the road to Babinda Boulders – a free camp near the large boulders that fill Babinda Creek and make for very dangerous swimming areas (21 deaths since 1965, as a trackside sign warns). We did a fabulous long walk through the Wooroonooran National Park rainforest along part of the Goldfield Track, spooking a cassowary on the path and being startled by a surprised scrub fowl in return. It was a challenging walk, in that we had to be vigilant about the botanical nasties alongside and across the path. Vines out to trip, razor-sharp pandanus leaves waiting to slice, a variety of spike covered stems and foliage waiting to skewer skin or catch clothing and, the piece de resistance, the Queensland rainforest version of the nettle, the Gympie plant, waiting to sting! Then there were the leeches – Alistair winning the feeding fest, with four on one foot (three between his toes!), one on the other ankle and a sneaky sucker on his back. Wanda got off lightly with only one on her leg. It was fantastic to be in such a beautiful, unique and varied environment but it was not the most relaxing walk.

Had a surprise visitor in the campground the one evening – a large male cassowary wandered through … what a privilege it was to see him, and at such close quarters. That made our cassowary tally three birds in three days

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!

Typical McDermotts, one of the first things we did after arrival was a walk along the beachfront to a fancy rooftop harbourside bar. Purpose of the visit: to watch the sunset across the bay but our timing was a little off (you know the drill: Saturday night, very popular place, we hadn’t booked, they needed our table, got moved to the bar where we had a minimal view, we left). This meant we were walking back along The Strand as the sun set, which was still lovely as we sat by a pier and enjoyed the slowly darkening skies. Our accommodation was just to the north and there is a lovely promenade and coastal boardwalk to and from town.

We added to our bucket list of first experiences with a day on Magnetic Island (Maggie), exploring the place via jet ski (first time!) and hiking. We had an amazing time, as the jet ski circumnavigation gave us a fantastic introduction to Maggie’s beauty and size … pristine beaches, amazing rock formations and steep tree-covered hills. The cute Horseshoe Bay market, a (no koalas) walk to WWII forts (with incredible sun-kissed ocean views) and another hike to the ferry terminal were all very enjoyable experiences.

But there is a ‘but’! The tourist services on the island are frustrating. The place is heavily promoted as a ‘must-see’ destination and tourists are woefully supported. The maps for the walks are vague, the signed track distances are wildly incorrect, phone signal is patchy and public buses are inadequate. Buses are supposed to link with the ferries … it drove off as the barge docked and before passengers had been permitted to disembark, which was not a connection in our opinion. An expensive taxi to the other side of the island was required to get to our jet ski tour in time. We had purposefully taken the earliest ferry to coincide with the bus timetable. Then on our way back to Nellies Bay, after a terrific Forts Walk, there is an almost two-hour gap in the bus timetable. Really??

On the plus side, Maggie is magical. The bus snafu meant we walked the wonderful Arcadia track, rock wallabies included, through the middle of the island. Trying to pace ourselves just a little we hoped to cut two kilometres off the trek with an attempt to catch a bus to our sunset destination. It was met with a handwave from the driver indicating the bus was full (not surprising with the pause in service). Fortunately, he let us know another was behind with a second gesture … but when it was going to arrive was a mystery (under 10 minutes). Anyway, we had sunset drinks at a backpacker’s hostel with stunning views and happy-hour prices which reconnected us with our youth. It was then a briskish walk (because we couldn’t trust the buses being on time) back to the terminal for our evening cruise (car barge) back to the mainland.

We decided to do a practice run of outback conditions with a day trip to Charters Towers, a former gold-mining town inland from Townsville. A drive up through the Hervey Ranges with amazing views back to the sea, marvelling at the enormous variety of military personnel and equipment as we drove past training areas, impressed by the quiet but obviously powerful Burdekin River, then a southward route along the Gregory Development Road alongside the Burdekin River gave us a taste of bitumen hypnosis and scenery monotony. Charters Towers was once one of the richest places in Australia and had the nickname “The World’ because you could get anything in the world there. It is certainly not on that excessive level anymore, suffering the familiar fate of many country towns, with a youth population collapse/exodus. We explored the town, chatted with a few locals (they more talked at us about themselves and their memories of the city in former days). The town has preserved many of its lovely Victorian-era buildings from its glory days and has repurposed them to remain relevant. This gives the town a bit of a buzz, even on a Tuesday lunchtime. A quicker route back into Townville gave us time to watch the sun set from the top of Castle Hill and see the lights come on in the city. Magical.

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.

We had booked ourselves a ReefSleep experience out on Hardy Reef – about 80km (3-hour trip) east of Airlie, past the Whitsundays, on the GBR. Our all-inclusive package covered return transport, dedicated staff, ridiculously fancy and delicious meals, unlimited drinks, unique accommodation, stinger suits, snorkelling gear and an underwater observatory boat trip. We added a scuba diving experience to the trip just to complete the list! The reef is incredibly healthy and the fish are so acclimatised to the multitude of humans invading their space that they come right up to you. Even the green turtles are oblivious to the gawking, using the pontoon hull's weed growth as a local feeding spot. The ReefSleep was amazing; we felt like royalty with the attentive service and private areas. Even the canvas swag-like beds on the upper deck (our private glamping area away from the day visitors) were perfect for lounging in the sun and taking in the views (with a cheeky glass of chardonnay or pinot gris) with the additional bonus of sleeping under the stars. We had perfect weather and the tides co-operated, so we had fantastic snorkelling and scuba opportunities. We met wonderful people, had amazing experiences, were looked after brilliantly, made lasting memories and thoroughly enjoyed the two-day trip.

We spent the rest of time in Airlie walking along their lovely boardwalks, taking in the sunsets, spotting turtles and relaxing. We also checked out Shute Harbour, Cedar Creek Falls and the vast sugar-cane plantatins (criss-crossed with narrow-gauge railway tracks). Total aside: bush curlews are a local bird that unfortunately makes for an interrupted night’s sleep … their call is reminiscent of a crying child, lost in the bush, screaming all night long … not conducive to restful slumber.

From Airlie we headed north. Bowen was a delightful stop … with its Big Mango, very wide streets, split jetty and turtle-filled harbour (four just off the pier). It was a lovely stop on our trip to Townsville.

A lasting and unwanted souvenir of 1770 was a multitude of sandfly and midge bites. The welts are worse than mosquito bites and seem to last for ages. It has been nearly 10 days (at time of writing) and the itching and heat from our bodies’ reactions are still present and uncomfortable.

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!

A standard “very long flight with stopover in Doha’s airport” was endured before we landed back in Aus, Brisbane to be precise. We met by a very well-dressed chauffeur holding a personalised welcome sign – thank you Immi for the effort. A few days with our wonderful daughters and their partners was the best welcome-home present we could ask for (Brigi and Ross had flown up to spend the weekend in Brissy). The usual post-travel, pre-travel business ensured (think washing, clothes sorting, food shopping and camper packing), broken by a park run/walk, lovely conversation times, fabulous meals and family time passed too quickly.

Queensland beckoned. But Nature has its own agenda, of course, with once-in-500-year floods in the northern outback (and northern coastal NSW too), meaning we are dealing with variable road conditions and potential limited (and safe) access to certain areas. Our early-part route was open, so we set off on the next leg of our adventure, northwards to the quaintly named 1770. What a treat this tiny hamlet is. Our campsite was on the foreshore, overlooking the water, with gorgeous ocean views and stunning sunsets. Walking along the beach, ocean swimming (Wanda clocked a 1km swim one day!), visiting Lady Musgrave Island and a turtle-swimming snorkel helped to reestablish our energies for this north-eastern Australian road trip. The afore-mentioned weather conditions required a rethink of destinations and routes, and what better place to replot our journey than 1770?

Several days of relaxing activities, bush walking, ocean swims, wildlife encounters, internet searches and phone calls all paid off. There were modifications aplenty: changes to travel plans, rerouting of journeys, extra destinations, accommodation reserved and additional activities booked. All very exciting.

An early morning departure for Rockhampton Airport makes a good chapter end to the first part of our Queensland peregrinations. Wanda was travelling to Sydney to get to a Hunter Valley wedding … only to be flying into a crazy storm cell and public transport meltdown. Delays and flexible thinking helped get her home: 13-hour journey ‘door to door’ instead of about eight. And a big question hung over her trip … with the Hunter Valley floods, would the wedding happen? Of course it did, with blue skies the order of the day and event was beautiful. Alistair explored Rockhampton, which is a very elegant city on the Fitzroy River, and ticked off a few ‘need-to-be done’ tasks from our preparation list. Many an evening stroll along Quay street with the obligatory pub stop off become the routine for the 4 nights. A lovely sunset on the last night with a champagne picnic at the top of mount Archer on Wanda’s return followed by a steak in the ‘Beef’ capital of Australia (see photos for the numerous cows decorating the city). The road North now beckons.