A couple of the historical buildings in Brisbane were shut for renovation (City Hall and the Museum of Brisbane), so we headed down to the botanical gardens - we seem to find ourselves in these in every city! James had to head off to collect the campervan so I continued through the gardens and walked down towards the south bank park and beach (a fake one, full of (real) children). I continued my walk along the river path under the pretty floral canopies, trying to get in shade wherever possible (it was so hot!). Our campervan has been named Maurice, we thought this was an apt name given his age (he has a cassette player!?!). Maurice will be our home for the next 26 days! After playing around with all Maurice's fixtures and fittings we headed ... read more

After a great nights sleep in our luxury apartment (but feeling a little stiff from surfing) we headed off early to walk along to the Sand Blow for views of Rainbow Beach and Double Island. The Sand Blow is essentially a huge sand dune that runs down onto the beach, weaving its way in between the coloured cliffs. The views extend all the way over to Fraser Island. Our next stop was an hour down the road to the local Eumundi markets. There were hundreds of stalls and crowds of people - the busiest place we've been yet! Our afternoon was then spent at Noosa National Park, walking along the coastal path and spotting the wildlife. We saw our first Koala (sleeping in a tree), a huge lizard (lace monitor) and possums. We booked a hostel ... read more

Yup the title pretty much sums up our ,day! A massive drive from Airlie, through Mackay, Rockhampton and down to Agnes water. We spotted our first Kangaroos (or Kangaroo-roo-roo-roo-roo if you're trying to keep James awake behind the wheel) and later had them for dinner - luckily not the same ones. Our Kangaroo burgers were delicious with salad, a crusty bap and corn on the cob! Bailey's bit: To keep you entertained on the long drive there is the occasional road trivia to get you thinking. the one and only question: what is the highest mountain in queensland? A: mount butler farrer. As we approached Rockhampton the radio informed us of a bush fire near the coast. Although we were no where near it the smoke drifted over the road and caused quite a haze! Daily ... read more

Again another day of driving, this time we covered twice the distance! Before hitting the road we had a quick wander down to the beach itself. Mission beach was the first stretch of land hit by the Grade 5 Cyclone Yasi in 2011, but it seems to have recovered well. The trip from Mission beach to Townsville took approximately 3 hours and we arrived around lunchtime. Townsville 'strand' bears a striking resemblance to the esplanade in Cairns! After another 3 hour drive we arrived in Airlie beach, a very popular stop for backpackers and also the gateway to The Whitsundays. At each stop we now have to make the decision between YHA hostels or NOMADS hostels - we've stayed on a number of both, but YHA is winning on service at the moment! Baileys bit: Even ... read more

An early start to board TUSA 6, our dive vessel for the day. The boat and crew were great and we arrived at Thetford Reef for our first dive around 10. Having only just qualified, we decided to go with a dive master, one other couple came with us (they'd done their PADI in freezing waters up by Hull .. crazy). Larissa our dive master was fab and we had three very smooth dives. I was so much more confident than in Thailand and a sea sickness tablet meant James felt fine all day. The water was calm and really warm and the visibility was perfect. There were so many fish, giant clams and crazy sea creatures on the reef. We saw a turtle on the surface but he swam off before we got in the ... read more