Day 10 Feb 20th (Friday)

We caught the shuttle at 3:30am for our early flight from Auckland to Cairns in the far northern part of Queensland . Welcome to Oz, the heat and humidity hit us as soon as we stood outside the terminal waiting for the hotel shuffle. We checked into the Hotel Cairns, an old established typical Queensland tropical hotel. We had a great room and were right downtown within walking distance to everything that we needed. We then had to check out the area so we went for a walk and then spent the afternoon around the pool. While we were swimming we got talking to the other couple and they were from Hamilton and both work at CHCH T.V.. We shared our experiences over the weekend as our paths crossed several times. We also booked a tour to the Rainforest for Saturday and then went for Greek food. We were tired so it was an early night.

Day 11 Feb.21st (Saturday)
This morning we were picked up at the hotel at 7:20am for our bus (van) trip to Port Douglas. This is now a tourist resort with some beautiful condos and a golf course. On the way into the Port we saw all the bats hanging upside down in the trees which has the residents very upset . From here we drove to Mossman and into sugarcane district. Sugarcane is harvested between Nov. to Apriland each field lasts approx. 8 years before it has to be replanted. It grows to about 12 feet tall and must grow for a full year. This is the number one industry in this area and the railways are right along side of the road.
We then entered the Daintree Rainforest Nat'l. Park where we stopped for a break before we took a river boat along the Daintree River. Here we learned that there are over 30 different species of mangos and man cannot eat all of them as some are bitter and others poisonous. Also learned that there are over 170 different types of fruits--didn't know that there were that many. While riding on the boat we saw 3 crocodiles and learned that they live to be over 100 years old.
After the boat ride we boarded the van again crossing the river on a ferry to Cape Tribulation Resort. We had our lunch and then headed to the beach where Captain Cook was shipwrecked. He named this Cape after all his tribulations . By this time it was raining and you couldn't go in the water because of all the jellyfish. We continued on to Canopy Tower at the Daintree Discovery Centre for lots of information and a climb up above the forest. About 4:30pm we still hadn't seen a cassowary (an endangered species as the only way some of the seeds can grow is to pass through there digestive system) so we boarded the van and made our 2 hour journey back to Cairns and it was sunny here. on our way back Bill our tour guide pointed out the 80 acres of tea being grown in the rainforest which grows on bushes like berries. I had never seen tea growing or even knew how it grew. Being tired we decided to have dinner at the hotel which was excellent. We also booked an excursion for Sunday and then retired for the night.

Day12 Feb. 22nd (Sunday)
Up early again but not as early as yesterday and it is still raining. We walked to the harbour wearing our rain ponchos and boarded a catamaran to Green Island on the Great Barrier Reef . It was pouring buckets when we arrived but it didn't last long. We took a glass bottom boat out over the reef and saw many interesting coral and various lichens as well as many varieties of fish. At the feeding grounds we saw the fish nearly jump out of the water. Afterward we got the ferry back to Cairns and it was sunny and humid. We stopped for lunch and then found the mall in order to buy a phone (successful). We returned to the hotel for another swim in the pool and ate at the hotel again. Had to repack as we were checking out of the hotel in the morning.

Day 13 Feb. 23rd (Monday)
Another very hot and humid morning. After breakfast we took a cab to Bartok and picked up our camper van "Winnie the Winnebago", filled out the paper work and got our instructions. We then went back to the hotel and checked out into the van and were on our way. Bought groceries and drove to Ingham the 1st night. On our drive we saw more sugarcane, and banana palms with plastic bags over the bananas . Spent the evening doing laundry and getting organized. It started to rain.(our staring mileage is 52500)

Day 14 Feb. 24th (Tuesday)
It is still raining and neither us slept very well. Stopped in Townville for shopping to get the rest of the things that we needed. It is sunny here and we also got gas. The rest of the day was very interesting as I saw so many different kinds of birds --- some i knew and others I have no idea. The flooding was still evident through here as the creeks were flowing like torrents, and cattle and horses in their pastures standing in water up to their bellys. Saw cattle and egrets grazing together and one egret sat on the rear of a cow and with a flick of the tail the bird was gone. This I found amusing and got a chuckle. It is very mountainous through here and it is starting to rain again. We finally stopped in MacKay for the night. The trailer park was badly flooded but we managed to get a spot. Tried to toast some bread and managed to set the smoke detector off so we know that it works . While I was sitting in the van when we were checking into the park I saw several geese and more the two dozen trocans -- they are very colourful birds with their vibrant reds and greens. It is still raining as we hit the sack.

Day 15 Feb. 25th (Wednesday)
It is still raining but it is very warm. We seem to have gotten use to our new digs as we both slept better. After breakfast we gased up and started towards Rockhampton. There doesn't appear to be as much flooding through here. Saw a kangaroo sitting on the side of the road watching us as the road kill around here are the roos. The eucalyputus trees are plentiful and with it being so damp you can smell them in the air. I really like the smell so was pleasantly pleased. There are alot of termite nests everywhere as they build them on the sides of the trees and look like wasp nests but are very black in colour. Saw some flamingos as they have pink heads but their bodies are grey. There is virtually no radio or TV stations since we left Cairns due to the flooding .
Rockhampton is know as the beef capital of Australia, and the Tropic of Capricorn runs through this city of approx. 66,000. Here we stopped in the park for our lunch and it isn't raining so we took advantage of this fact.
We drove on to Bororen for the night and it has finally stopped raining and the skies have cleared. The air is not as humid and is very comfortable.

Day 16 Feb. 26th (Thursday)
The sun is shining and it is a lovely summer morning. As we drove there are mountains on both sides with pasturelands. We stopped in Bundaberg to see if we could get the computer fixed (this is why we haven't been able to do much about the blog). We ended up having to leave it overnight which we did and checked in to the camp grounds near by. It is early so I was able to do the laundry and hang it up on the clothes line to dry while we went to the pool. It was very refreshing as it was hot.
The couple next to us in the camp ground were from Kingston -- she was on leave from Afghanistan for her 3 weeks of R&R and her husband flew from TO to meet her here . She was saying that she had to back and her tour kept getting extended so she didn't know when she would be getting home. This war over there makes you wonder if we should even be there but she says that it is better than letting the Pakistan rebels rule the roost.
We walked over to the mall after supper just for a walk and it was a good walk. We weren't as tired today so we obviously needed some down time. It was a most relaxing day.

Day 17 Feb. 27th (Friday)
Another glorious morning and we aren't rushed this morning as we still haven't heard from the computer guy. We had to check out of the camp grounds by 10am so we went and checked on the computer. It still wasn't ready but the virus scaner ran all night on it. We then drove to Bargara, a lovely spot for the tourists with a beautiful beach so we had a coffee and I finally got a hat. We then drove to Bundaberg Port for a walk around. There is alot of sugarcane here and it is almost 12 feet tall or there abouts . Other veggies are also grown here such as tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini , lettuce etc. We returned to Bundaberg and had lunch. Finally we got the call and went to pick up the computer. Fortunately there wasn't a virus and he just didn't have the knowledge for our setup at home. Anyway we got to find out what we could do and later on we got to try it all out.
Shortly after 2pm we were on our way. Our journey took us trough more sugarcane, passion fruit groves etc. and the soil is as red as PEI. Also saw some kangaroos in a field minding their own business. We stopped in Gympie for the night seemed to have a problem with the stove so we used the BBQ at the camp grounds. (The mosquitoes are after me -- thank goodness for the repellant from the Rain Forest).

Day 18 Feb. 28th (Saturday)
About 3am we awakened to a peculiar smell and it was a propane leak. We don't know how long it had been going on but the tank was hissing at Eric when he went to check it. Had to get outside and let the camper air out . Needless we couldn't go back to sleep so it turned out to be an early morning. Eric fixed the tanks.
We stopped at an Iveco dealership to try to get the hood of the camper up as Eric checks it daily. They weren't able to help so we continued on. The scenery was hilly and lots of pine trees (miles of them).  Passed Steve Irwin Dive where the Croc farm is in Landsbourough.
We continued on into Brisbane and I really wanted to see the show at the Australian Woolshed but it is no longer in business (found this out when we got there) -- very disappointed.
We then went into Brisbane and found a parking space and took the ferry across the river in order to catch the City Cat (this is a high sped catamaran ferry). This is the best way to view the city as it is built around the river. After lunch we decided that there was too much going on and it was Saturday afternoon so we left. The GPS took us through downtown Brisbane and then we stopped for the night near Logan for the night.