Heading South

The morning

This morning, I'm picking up the car that I have rented to go to Sydney. But first of all, checking out of the miserable hostel, and getting breakfast.

For my breakfast, since I was close to a bunch of restaurants, I went to Bang and Grind, a nice little cafe next to the Esplanade, and ordered an açai bowl. This thing is awesome: mixed açai with granola, chia seeds, banana, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, mango and coconut... it is a healthy and delicious way to start the day. It's the first time I've had an açai bowl, and it instantly became my favourite breakfast.

After that, I had a bit of time before I needed to pick up the car, so I sat down next to the shore, looking at birds and crabs. I get a call from the car company, that wanted to confirm that I'm picking up the car today. It is still earlier than the agreed upon time, but I take it that the car is available, and start heading there.

The car I got is from Spaceships Rentals, which isn't very well located: it's a solid 30min walk from where I am, and it's not a pleasant one (because Cairns wasn't built for pedestrians, especially not outside the coast line...). When I get there, the reception is unattended, I ring multiple times but nobody shows up... I have to wait around 15 minutes for someone to come.

I am then shown my ride: an old Toyota Estima (yes, the Japanese version instead of the Australian one for some reason) that was converted into a campervan by removing some seats and adding a storage and mattresses in the back. It has over 300k km on the counter, and feels pretty bad to drive: the motor is loud, it is quite large so difficult to park well, and its hand break is on the left foot for some reason. Oh, and the bluetooth doesn't work...

While I'm complaining about the car: why are the blinkers and wipers inverted compared to a normal car? That took me days to get used to... the car I had yesterday had them the correct way, with the blinkers on the left hand and the wipers on the right hand, at least...

Josephine Falls

I finally escape Cairns, and start heading south. First stop: Josephine Falls.

It is a nice short walk in the rainforest, which leads to pools full of people enjoying the water. A large slopy boulder makes a nice water slide, that people are enjoying. I didn't take my swimwear, so I just enjoy the nature while staying dry.

Here again, I am greeted by bush turkeys, which I still think are somewhat special. Don't worry though, I'll quickly realize that they are everywhere.

Etty Bay Beach

My second stop of the day is Etty Bay Beach, a beach known to be frequetly visited by cassowaries, which are large birds that look like dinosaurs.

I stay there for a while, and look everywhere for them, but can't find them. Apparently, they mostly come out in the morning or evening, and it is the middle of the day... Too bad. At least, I enjoyed the signs telling people that no, cassowaries are not our friends, and they are in fact quite dangerous.

A few viewpoints

Continuing on the road, I make a quick stop in Tully where I buy pies for lunch (the town itself has nothing else interesting so I don't stay long), then stop by a few viewpoints: the first is in Cardwell, right next to the ocean, and the second is around 35km later, at the Panjoo lookout.

Both of these lookouts provide a beautiful view on the massive Hinchinbrook island, the largest island on the Great Barrier Reef.

An interesting camping situation

Back in Cairns, I've been told that Queensland provides some very cheap camping locations, costing only $7.5 a night. It is getting late, so I have to get to a camping location close to me, and the closest one seems to be one of those Queensland campsites.

I head to the Jourama Falls, and the road there quickly changes: it becomes a dirt road, then there are a couple of streams to cross, with flood markings showing if they can be crossed or not... Thankfully it's not the rainy season, so that should be safe. However, it is getting dark, so I'm hoping to be there soon.

By the time I get to the campsite, it is night time (it falls pretty quickly, around 6.30PM). I quickly read the sign at the entrance, and realize that I can't pay for my night here: I should have done it online before coming.

Well, surely I can still book my night now, right? Uh, no, there is absolutely no network connection here...

So now I have a choice: go back to the main road in the complete darness to get some network, or camp illegally... It is already night time, I still have to pitch the tent, so I chose the latter. Hopefully the ranger doesn't come...