Somewhere in... going up to Cairns

It looks like that waking up at 5:30am will be now something which will happen quite often... but let me start from the beginning.

We have left our fantastic hosts in Brisbane and made our journey up to north of Australia (well it is still 1300km:). Passing great beaches and small little towns like Noosa, Collum Beach, Rainbow Beach, driving to 1770 or Agnes Waters. Gorgeous! I just can't describe it differently. We were worried that we won't be able to swim anymore, as the stingers still might be in the sea. But it looks like that they didn't like the beaches above and left already, so we could have enjoyed some more swimming. Check the crowded Saturday beaches....!

We planned as well to visit Fraser Island and the Lake Mackenzie with lovely blue coloured water, but it looked like that the weather didn't want us to do this and as it was cloudy and rainy, we have decided to move more up and enjoy more sun until we can ( I guess New Zealand won't be so sunny and tropical hot:). For a night we camped in the national park, just by the beach in the white sand. Of course the national park department told us we won't have any problems to drive there (normally for Fraser Island and surroundings they require 4WD and our poor campervan is definitely not coping). Of course we got into some small issues:) Within 10 meters from the first turn into the park, we got completely stuck in the sand and definitely couldn't move forward or backwards. It is really great that all Australian Mates are so friendly and helpful and ready to help tourists, who have no idea what to do. We got successfully unstucked and could continue our drive through national park! It looks like as well that there is one common joke going around. When you ask them if you can swim in the sea and if there is something you need to pay attention to, they say no worries, all stingers are gone, but we have some crocs around.... They are all very dissappoined when you tell them that you have heard this joke before.....

The town of 1770 wasn't on our GPS, as I think it was a bit confused to recognise numbers as a town name. By the way we have changed voice of our GPS to pracise a bit Australian accent and Steve Irwin is helping us to find way around and teaching us a lot about australian animals and dangerous manouvers in Australia as well. 1770 is a very small, hidden town with a small Captain Cook Memorial to remember that this was the second place where he landed. He must have loved it - deserted beaches, fantastic views, great bays with rivers going to the sea, turtles (which we haven't seen). But we have hired a boat and went up to the "creek" and the national park to observe crabs, stink rays, and all possible water fauna.... WOW! Pedro is really improving his "sailing, driving the boat" skills.


Still heading up north we stopped in the Cape hillsborough national park and this was the other place where we woke up at 5:30am - without being forced. The camping place was just on the beach and believe it or not, wild wallabies and kangaroos are heading at this time to the beach for a "swim". And yes, it is true - just to be a bit patient and you see them all. I must say though that the kangaroos are from the local sanctuary, so they are a bit domestic.... But... even better - who can say: I have petted kangaroos on the beach on Monday morning, 5:30am in Australia! (sorry for the thousand photos, but they were really sweet:)!!!



We are now in Airlie Beach, the best way how to get to Whitsunday Islands. They looked just fantastic and like a small paradise.... but unfortunately we are not going to explore them. To do so, we would need more than one day and for that we have the time, but not the finances:) So who knows, may be other day and we will have an excuse to come back to Oz:)

OK, it stopped raining. Sorry... have to go to the beach!:) have fun everybody.....