Airlie Beach is the gateway to the Whitsunday Islands, probably Australia’s best sailing destination thanks to the Great Barrier Reef, beautiful beaches and lush resorts. It was in the crossfires of Cyclone Debbie however, so I wanted to give them some custom even though we weren’t heading out on a boat.

Eungella National Park is the largest uninterrupted stretch of the Gondwana Rainforest, and also the best place in the whole of Australia, and hence the entire planet, to see a Platypus. I was quite excited about it, and I was also excited about the camp we were going to be staying at.

Yepoon is a lovely wee seaside town about half an hour from Rockhampton, the beef capital of Australia. They both received a battering from Cyclone Debbie but were back on their feet now. We stayed right on the beach, which was vast and covered with more shells than you could possibly imagine.

Back on the Bruce Highway. What else would an Australian motorway be called? Also back in a tent. Pffft. We’ve gotten soft. Too much easy living. Not having to worry if your house is waterproof. Not having to think about power, or drinking water. Jees. What’s happened to us?!

I had forgotten how beautiful Noosa was. And how expensive! $4.70 for a small coffee! It’s the only place in Australia I’d compare to the South of France. It really is a ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’ kind of hangout. And into this immaculately refined resort, fresh from the Glasshouse Mountains drives us, the Beverly Hillbillies.

North Stradbroke Island was supposed to be beautiful, and when the sun came out it was. Unfortunately, it just didn’t happen enough. As soon as you got yourselves out for a bike ride or something, it started raining. The copywriter for their website did a great job.

Refreshed and dried out after our city break, we cruised along the motorway for couple of hours to Maroochydore. Despite the fact that it’s centrally located in the ‘Sunshine Coast’, the weather still wasn’t that great. Cloudy skies with the odd patch of blue, but at least it wasn’t raining.

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 rained a lot in Byron Bay. So much so that at one point, the bottom of the tent was like a waterbed thanks to the lack of drainage and waterlogged ground underneath. It was pretty horrible, but it was nothing, compared to Gordon Country.