Road Trip - Take Two

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Cairns
We finally arrived in Cairns after a long flight to Brisbane then a connecting flight which totalled around 12 hours, wasn't too bad though the plane was pretty snazzy had our own tv's and supper and breakfast which i didn't expect.. When we got off the plane it was fucking hot the only way i can explain it is it's like when you go in the bathroom after someone's had a really hot shower and the steam hits you!! After collecting luggage we headed for the car rental places and picked up a Toyota Corolla with air con and everything 😊 nice new car taking no chances this time ha ha, haven't thought of a name for it yet though?? So we got in the car and realised we have no road maps of Australia we've got a basic plan and a road map for every other place in the world but not the one we actually end up driving in ha ha.. We drove into Cairns centre and found a room above a pub for a few nights, which is good first real pub we've hit in a long while so obviously even though we hadn't slept it was time to hit the bar.. Went for a wander round the town first which was quite good they have a lagoon and ALOT of bars 😊.. Also we were staying opposite the shopping centre so in a pretty good spot..
We have the car for a month so are planning to drive down to Sydney for christmas and then onto Melbourne for New Years, it's about 4000km in all so quite far but we've got along time.. Didn't do alot in Cairns it was too hot to even move, and also they don't take Maestro in any of the shops which is really annoying!! First night in Cairns just stuck to the bar downstairs and ran into some crazy old Australian man who's hat i stole 😊 he looked like a proper hillbilly with a plait beard and everything ha ha, was quite funny.. Also most places have live music it's not always the best and there was a couple of karaoke bars :S but it was alot of fun although a hell of alot more expensive than Asia drinks more like home prices!! Oh also thinking of changing my name cos Nancy is thee most anoyying name ever in an Australia accent!! Our next stop was a smaller town called Ingham which was about 375km..

Ingham
On arriving in Ingham we realised it's a bit smaller than we actually expected but did manage to find a hotel above a pub again.. It was a bvit like one of those towns where you walk down the street and people look at you like who the hell are they ha ha.. The buildings looked like something out of a 1950's american film, and all the locals looked a bit like they could be serial killers.. It was nice though, there wasn't much to do but there were some waterfalls the wallaman falls which is the longest single drop in Australia at around 270mbut with all the minor drops included it's like 340m.. We didn't get a chance to go there though as it was off road and we don't really wanna wreck the car yet!! Chilled out in Ingham they also had round pool table which was different, tricky.. As it was a small town everything closed at around 8pm so the first night was a bit of a shock tried to find food at about 9pm and managed to get the gas station to let us buy some sandwiches before closing, we knew better the next night and ate at the pub downstairs before they closed at 8pm.. The locals in the pub were alright although it was weird cos we all sat round the bar eating it was like sitting round a massive table with all these people i didn't know had had no idea what the hell they were saying i just kinda nodded and laughed a few times?!
We stayed for 2 nights then it was onto Townsville which was 110km down the road so not far..

Townsville
A very touristy place soo different from hillbilly Ingham, everything looked very new.. We booked into a hostel this time on the main bar strip ha ha.. Still not alot around they have a beach but you can't go in the sea cos of box jellyfish :S adn they have a harbour and castle hill which you can walk up but in the heat i'd prob get 10mins up and die!! Stayed off the drink whilst here thought i'd give my liver a rest for 2 days.. So both nights i watched Australian TV which is worse than english daytime TV it was soooo bad, but i still sat there for a few hours ha ha.. Mackay was next on our list but we thought we'd stop 1 night instead of 2 then pick a random small town on the way somewhere a bit like Ingham.. Mackay is 385km from Townsville so another 4 hour drive so we set off early.. OH and the radio ststions are crazy we've had a feew god channels alot of country and 50's music but more god channels ha ha.. We was listening to one and i was like oh i know this song then realised oh my god it's a fucking hymn..

Mackay
In the book we have it said that Mackay is boring and there is not alot to do so will get bored, but it was better than Townsville, bigger and more places to wander around Townsville was more like one street up and down that was it.. Mackay also had bluewater lagoon which was like a little water park area not big.. Still we only stayed for 1 night and went for a drink in a few of the bars, they have so many in every town we've been and they are all open til around 2am 😊.. Got myself a footlong sub had a few drinks and i was happy ha ha..
So didn't do much here but it was a good night out.. The next day onto Rockhampton about 340km and it's the beef capital of Australia..

Rockhampton
Absolutely nothing here we were going to stop in Marlborough before we got here to shorten the drive a bit but when we got there drove in it was like a caravan park nothing there but a few flatpack houses a convenience store and a motel, it was like driving through butlins or something, so headed straight into Rockhampton.. Bigger but once we got into our hotel had to get back in the car to get anywhere all the roads are like dual carriageways and you couldn;t really walk to anything!! After the heavy night in Mackay i was looking to just chill out watch TV and eat crap food but at 9:30pm a band started downstairs in the pub, it was heavy metal so i couldn't here the TV, til about midnight all i could hear was screeching from what i imagined was an overweight badly dressed and smelly man ha ha i was not pleased although did laugh at myself at one point i was on the edge of my bed face right in the TV trying to watch it ha ha.. Happily left there the next morning and headed for Hervey Bay with the intention of stopping somewhere else first..

Agnes Water/Town of 1770
After stopping in a few towns including Gladstone and Capiolle we saw 1770 and a few people had told us to go there so headed that way.. Closer to the beach and you can go in the sea 😊.. When we arrived we checked into a hostel and booked a kayaking tour round the coast.. It was a bit windy so we got a bit of the way and had to cut into a bay and hike the rest so not really the intended trip but after seeing the waves in the ocean i weren't going out there it had already been a bit choppy so i was knackered after like 15min ha ha.. The walk took us up and over the hills to the opposite beach which was really nice and the place where James Cook landed in 1770 hence the name town of 1770.. When we got back i was beat but headed up to the Tavern anyway where they had on a really shit band i don'y even think they knew what the hell they were doing at one point he started a cher song?? It was a laugh though and we got in around 3am.. Didn't feel quite so great the next day my back was killing me after the kayaking and i had glass in my foot, of course the medical centre is closed sundays, how annoying!! Here for another night prob just hang about the hostel tonight then tomorrow heading through Bundaberg (where they make Rum) to Hervey Bay and might go to Fraser Island??

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Photos

Cairns
Stolen hat ha ha..

Cairns
Our snazzy car..

Ingham
Our hotel above a pub :)

Ingham
Looks like an old American town!!

Ingham
Round pool table..

Townsville
The harbour..

Townsville
Memorial Park..

Townsville
Castle Hill, can walk up it but i passed!!

Comments

[gina]

you did it, you got to australia. who's a clever girl then!!! you look like a hillbilly in that hat! glad to hear you gace your liver a rest for a couple of days, it's going to end up pickled at this rate. love the pics, it does look like something from the 50's doesn't it? lovely to hear from you and look forward to the next one xxxxxxxxxxx

[Aunty Kate]

G'day Nance!
Great to hear of your adventures in Oz, keep up the blogs, we are loving them! It's a relief that your in a civilised country now, with indoor plumbing, and clean beds, although the lack of decent pubs is a bit disconcerting, I thought that about half of all Aussies were from England anyway, so you would have thought they could do better. I'm going to petition the PM of Oz and find out what his excuse is! Take care baby Aunty Kate

[Uncle Al]

G'day
Hi Nancy, You made it, well done. It will be interesting to hear what you prefer in a few weeks the driving or the busing it. I guess both have there + and - sides. So you are now firmly in the land of Pom Lovers ;-) and very strange creatures. I mean what the feck is a kangaroo meant to be, mouse, sheep bear or what. One thing to be aware of is when you are driving in remote places kangaroo's do have a tendency to run out in front of you, and they can do a lot of damage to you car. Also when you wake up in the morning be sure to bang your boots as hard as you can on the floor at least 4 times and shake any clothes you are about to put on really violently especialy if no one else has got up yet. This is not for any reason but it will anoy anoyone (Hopfully the Ausies) around you in the Hostel. :)) I guess its nice and warem as it now summer time in Aus. It's been really cold here. Oh how I love going out at 7am and slipping up the driveway cos it's so fecking frosty. Still musn't grumble I will leave that to your Dad !. ;-) Take care and be good Al x