headin' south ...

After the rather inauspicious start to our Australasian leg of our trip we started the long trip South. By heading North.

Our logic being that you haven't really done the East Coast unless you start where the tarmac runs out - so we made the 150km trip north to Cape Tribulation* where we had a pleasant afternoon exploring the beaches and rainforest of Daintree National Park.

We awoke early next morning in our beachfront caravan park gently poaching in the morning sun as we listened to the waves lapping against the shore. The soaring temperature in the van helped us make an early start and we returned to Cairns in time to make the day trip to the outer barrier reef.

While I had an excellent dive, including a close encounter with a shark, let's just say it may take a couple more attempts for Mel to earn her scuba flippers ...

Over the next few days we took in Mission Beach, Airlie Beach, The Whitsunday Islands and Eungella National Park where we were lucky enough to catch (not literally) a Duck-Billed Platypus in the wild.

But most of all we spent lots of time getting to know our new friend Bruce. Or Bruce Highway to give him his full title, the East Coast route that will take on our 4500km trip South.

Already living in a campervan seems to be having a strange effect on us. Perhaps it's the heat, but we've started noticing other caravans and campers with a worryingly heightened level of interest. Finding ourselves discussing the relative merits of features like overhead sleeping areas and chemical toilets can only be a worrying development ...

I've added a few photos from Singapore to flickr - just click here

* Cape Tribulation was where Captain James Cook (the famous Yorkshire-born explorer) ran aground on the barrier reef, hence the name.