The Whitsunday Islands are a wonderful place to visit, but they are sadly well out of the price range of a humble back-packer. In fact, various rock stars own many of them. Consequently we were exiled to the mainland at a place called Airlie Beach. The boat tour round the islands was not aimed at back-packers and most of the people on the boat were wearing socks with their shorts and sandals, a complete no-no for anyone under the age of 50. I joined up with three Germans from the hostel at Airlie Beach. Now I have not been too complementary of the Germans up to now, with good reason I might add, but these three were classic evidence of the evils of generalising. They were probably the nicest people I met the whole time I ... read more

There was no problem finding a backpackers' hostel in Townsville as the best one was right above the transit centre. For $9 (£4.50) you got a bed in a plush room with air conditioning, an evening meal, a beer, a bus service into town and a short tour. Like Cairns, Townsville was a nice little town and well worth a few hours just wandering round, relaxing and taking it in, but the main reason for going there is the nearby Magnetic Island. You can actually swim in the sea at Townsville as a net prevents the dreaded jellyfish from getting too near to the beach.... read more

What is it about waterfalls? You wouldn't give them a second thought back in England, but the instant you get abroad you are prepared to travel miles to go and see them. There was a lot to see on the two day tour of the rain-forests of the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns, but it did include an awful lot of waterfalls, although in the heat we were extremely grateful for the opportunity to swim. The first day also included a volcanic lake, and several large trees (in a rain-forest - amazing!) which were actually very spectacular. In the evening, we went to a pub which was the main drinking hole for all the local Aborigines. Now these people knew how to have a good time. They were hugging each other, dancing on tables, re-enacting tribal ... read more

The journey from Katherine to Cairns was 30 odd hours, but this included a break at a mining town in the middle of no-where called Mount Isa. Apparently, Mount Isa is the largest city in the world in terms of area, covering some 41,000 km2. I tried for a place on a tour of the town, but unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your point of view) it was fully booked. That came as a bit of a shock as I couldn't imagine that many people would bother going this far out of the way to look round a mining town. Rather than let that stop me, I found an underground museum and the Mining Corporation Exhibition Centre, and I learnt all about copper, zinc and lead mining and the contribution they make to the Australian economy. ... read more

The Greyhound pass not only included the journey to Kakadu, but a tour round as well. On the way there, we stopped off at some termite mounds. These were huge, easily 10 foot tall, and there were thousands of them everywhere. Upon arrival at Kakadu we went on our tour round. One of the highlights was the Aboriginal paintings at Nourlangie Rock which were literally thousands of years old. Successive generations of Aborigines had 'touched-up' these paintings, until now that is. Elaborate measures had been employed to protect the paintings, as when they fade now, they'll be gone forever. The best way to see Kakadu is by boat, so we booked to go on a boat tour the following day. This meant another early start as the main attraction are the crocs and they tend to ... read more