Oct 12, 2009 - Back to Cairns

Turning right just north of tenant Creek onto Australia's own Route 66 and the traffic drops to near-zero, its as close to being in a Mad Max film as its possible to be. The scenery is much the same up as far as the great dividing range, at which point the greenery appears, the sugar beet farms return and I'm back on familiar territory for the last 350k's from Townsville to Cairns. ... I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the campervan, the freedom of movement and sleeping destination it provides is without doubt the best way to see Australia, and one day I will return and do it all over again, and more.Turning right just north of tenant Creek onto Australia's own Route 66 and the traffic drops to near-zero, its as close to being in a Mad Max film as its possible to be. The scenery is much the same up as far as the great dividing range, at which point the greenery appears, the sugar beet farms return and I'm back on familiar territory for the last 350k's from Townsville to Cairns. ... I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the campervan, the freedom of movement and sleeping destination it provides is without doubt the best way to see Australia, and one day I will return and do it all over again, and more....

Sep 21, 2009 - Last month in Cairns - and Mum comes to visit

This is despite a mammoth effort of walking the streets of Cairns putting flyers in letterboxes, on pin up boards and applying for the very few jobs advertised. ... This has left our days off free to explore the wonderful places around Cairns. ... We spent two of our weekends exploring the Atherton tablelands west of Cairns. ... There is only one tour operator in Cairns who has the license to do this and, even though they have had this license for a couple of years they have never actually made use of it. ... It was so lovely to see her! On the Sunday she arrived it was the last day of the Cairns Festival so we spent the afternoon wandering around the market stalls set up on Collins Street. ...

Sep 9, 2009 - Action-packed stay in Cairns

Our trip to Cairns was short and sweet, but action-packed nevertheless. ... It happened to be the last day of the Cairns festival, so the friendly city seemed to have even more of a buzz and we also got to enjoy some great fireworks in the evening. ... A friend of mine from Brisbane had moved up to Cairns recently and we met up that night to celebrate his 27th birthday. ...

Aug 18, 2009 - Day 25-28 – Cairns – Fun with N&P

Hi Dear, miss you So we have just set up camp in Cairns for five nights and what a sensational time it has been. ... I took Aaron back on the Skyrail (so I could pick up the car) while the rest of the crew took the scenic railway back into Cairns. ... Stardate 3 – Cairns. ... Our last day in Cairns, without visitors, was very functional. ...

Aug 14, 2009 - Day 24 Tully To Cairns – Fibreglass, Fibreglass, Fibreglass.

Starting out from Tully we saw the big Marlin (later to be reclassified as a slightly oversized Marlin), past the Big Golden Gumboot for one last longing glimpse of its majesty, up the road to Cairns where in our travels we saw the Big Captain Cook, and the ‘actual’ Big Marlin in Cairns - only about 10 times the size of the Tully heads version. ... From caravan beginners four weeks ago, we have managed to get ourselves to Cairns reasonably unscathed and healthier for the experience. ... Better still we are positively enjoying the whole experience and would absolutely hate to turn back.Starting out from Tully we saw the big Marlin (later to be reclassified as a slightly oversized Marlin), past the Big Golden Gumboot for one last longing glimpse of its majesty, up the road to Cairns where in our travels we saw the Big Captain Cook, and the ‘actual’ Big Marlin in Cairns - only about 10 times the size of the Tully heads version. ... From caravan beginners four weeks ago, we have managed to get ourselves to Cairns reasonably unscathed and healthier for the experience. ... Better still we are positively enjoying the whole experience and would absolutely hate to turn back....

Aug 3, 2009 - Off to the Tropics

The flight to Cairns is about 3. ... Cairns is a small city – about 130k population – but it’s a gateway to the northern Great Barrier Reef resorts and the rainforest. ... It’s much smaller than Brisbane, which is the state capital of Queensland, but it acts as a northern capital as it’s 1900km north of Brisbane (and the state goes on for another 400km so beyond Cairns to Cape York at the peninsula tip. ... Another thing we hadn’t booked was the camper van to get us from Cairns to Brisbane once we’d finished our mini-package. ... This gave us an excuse to wander round Cairns aimlessly, which was not unpleasant in the warm sun, and we eventually found the right bus. ...