One of the ‘extras’ you could buy with the camper trailer was a storm cover. I didn’t buy it, but when it started pelting down in Byron, and the roof started leaking in earnest, I ordered one.

It was supposed to be couriered but didn’t arrive, so I bought a big silver tarp in the meantime.

It worked a treat, and we purchased another one on our way to Gordon Country so we could cover the entire tent. And I’m very glad we did. I think we would have really been in the shit without it.

When we left Gordon Country we headed straight for Brisbane, dropped the trailer off for minor repairs and finally picked up our storm cover. I asked if it was cool to leave the trailer as we needed to dry out for a couple of days, and we were told that was fine. The guy was very nice, and totally understood what we had been through.

I must admit it felt brilliant driving away without the trailer for a change. We had kept our spirits up throughout, but Jesus, I was fucking sick of the rain. 20 minutes later we checked into a two-bedroom apartment overlooking the city. It had air conditioning. A massive TV. Wi-fi. A proper kitchen with a microwave. A clothes washing machine. A dish washing machine. An enormous balcony with a view of the city and the bridge. It was, freaking amazing!

We booked in for two nights, and within 10 minutes extended for another. Ahhhhh. Erin and I watched Midsommer Murders that evening and stayed up far too late, but hey, loving the ability to do such a thing, lounging on a couch as well. A couch is a wonderful thing. Never let it be said otherwise.

It was a great few days in Brisbane. Exactly what we needed. First of all we went to Chinatown and treated ourselves to a nice Thai lunch – then it was off down to the river and a free ferry along to Southbank. That being my favourite kind of ferry by the way.

We felt as if we were on a weekend city break. And as the recreation and cultural centre of the city, Southbank was lovely. The kids play parks were brilliant, the landscaped gardens pristine, there was even an artificial beach and pool down there! Then we arrived at the museums and we just didn’t have enough time.

Queensland Science Museum is right next to the Museum of Modern Art, which is right next to the Queensland Art Gallery. The entire precinct was seamless. And it just so happened that it was the beginning of ‘Science Week’ in Brisbane too, so there was a lot of extra bits and pieces going on. Fantastic.

Having spent so much time in the great outdoors it was a welcome change to wander around and soak up some culture for a while. We couldn’t get enough the first day so came back the following morning, and spent the whole day in the Science Museum and the Museum of Modern Art.

I really like Brisbane actually. People say it’s a bit sleepy, and there’s not that much going on but hey, there’s no horrendous traffic jams, the property’s actually affordable, and you can get out of the city and into the countryside in less than an hour. Not so bad in my book. We went to a kids park in the suburbs and it was one of the best playground I’ve ever been to.

The climbing frame wound its way around an enormous Moreton Bay Fig tree, and an oversized, rubberised crocodile emerged from the ground allowing kids to climb all over its back.

At last it was time to pick up the trailer, and although we had planned to spend some time in Lamington National Park, we just couldn’t face going back into a forest again right now, so we headed up to the Sunshine Coast to stay at a beach side park in Maroochydore.

There was also the fact that an enormous Cyclone called Debbie, just happened to be bearing down on the mid-Northern part of Queensland – so if there was going to be some bad weather, we didn’t fancy being stuck in the middle of nowhere once again. So, off to Maroochydore it was.