THE DAINTREE RAINFOREST

The Daintree is 6-10 times older than the Amazon! I enjoyed that fact and thus far it seems the only one of hundreds I've managed to retain, It is a good one though!

Here the forest runs rite into the ocean,dense rainforest merging seamlessly with the turquoise waters. At low tide the mangroves sit exposed on dreamy, long empty bays like magical giant bonsai trees that have up-rooted and left the forest canopy for a better view of the ocean.

We camp at Cape Tribulation Camping in the heart of the forest, It's glistening white sand beaches,   coconut trees, lizards, shrub turkeys and the infamous and ever illusive cassowaries. It's also about as far north you can go on the coast in a two wheel drive. So we take a four wheel drive tour a little further one morning with a local and learn a little about the landscape, the aboriginal locals, the flora, fauna and just about anything else you want to know whether it's Daintree related or not, the man is a driving encyclopaedia! No crocs to be seen unfortunately but the buff-breasted paradise kingfisher we're told is a pretty special spotting. 

Swimming at a secret little spot deep in the forest, always helps to befriend the locals!

Digging in to some alien-looking exotic fruits, sour sops, paw paws, bread fruits, custard apple fruits, chocolate pudding fruits (I forget their official names).. Ridiculous and delicious.

Hard to leave Cape tribulation, or 'Cape Trap' as the locals know it. Feels like there’s so much more to see but we've almost been here a week and it's time to start moving south. At times this year we've both felt as if the year couldn't move quick enough but now that there’s only weeks left and we're finally adventuring we're both fighting the feeling of being a little rushed for time. Alas, Australia is too bigger place to be explored or understood in just a year and I doubt very much this will be our only time here! Southward.

*In the Daintree we also celebrate 4 years of Storm + Jaimie!

ECLIPSE

So we got the basics - the moon will pass directly in front of the sun and for a couple of minutes we will be in shadow, yeah yeah ok. Fair to say, not fully prepared for the single most spectacular thing either of us have ever seen. Completely bizarre, it's not just dark it's a totally weird light unlike the light at any time of day, like a slowly developing black and white photo, everything becomes very still. It was confusing enough for us humans to comprehend but we also had an insight into an animals reaction as a poor dog was roaming around during the eclipse, mind absolutely shattered, its face a perfect representation of it's sheer bewilderment. The birds who had only just perked up moments before (it was 5.30am) went back to sleep and two minutes later began their second morning chorus accompanied by some legends who had speakers attached to their backs playing the Beatles 'here comes the sun'.. perfect. After waiting until their was no sign of the moons silhouette  we shuffled back to the van for some kip feeling very privileged!

FESTIVAL

We pick up a hitch-hiker on the way to the festival, well it's probably about time we stop avoiding other travellers and get into the festival spirit eh?! Lovely chap can't remember his name, but can almost remember the smell of his feet resting on the seat behind my head. Quite hard to keep conversations about us-them, the man, love and oneness going whilst keeping at bay the incessant urge to strangle the smelly hippie and launch him from the vehicle along with the now infected cushion. Still, he did contribute to the fuel kitty, which should buy a few bottles of bleach!

Boom festival in Portugal was arid, this is post-apocalyptic, fallout wasteland! Dust blows in thick waves unearthed from vehicles misguided, confused and weary like overloaded camels blinded by a sandstorm and those who have abandoned their camels for foot and are shuffling at the roadside, clinching their maps and joining queues behind tens of others in-front of a man who has a high-vis jacket and a walkie talkie but wishes with every bone in his sun scorched and sweat sodden body that he didn't!

 

Ah beautiful chaos. We finally settle Vanny 'somewhere' amongst the madness and go about setting up for the week. Now one notably different and great thing about Australian festivals is that you can drive your vehicle right into the general camping and plonk it wherever you like and not be restricted to only the 'camper-van field' at the back end of the festival site. Which means, amongst other things that people go all-out on their campsites as they don't have to drag the entirety of their supplies and shelter through miles of knee deep mud, or any mud for that matter! Awesome to have your vehicle at a festival, let alone your home!

Awesome festival, did Jaimies injection a little early in the week so spent the first few days settling in and acclimatising / recovering. Nice though, when a festival's a week long it almost forces you to surrender the usual festival routine for an approach with a little more longevity and sustainability anyhow, especially given the heat in the days. Still however ended up being when most serious stomping was done!

 Dancing under the sprinklers, hooping and spinning, swimming in croc infested waters (which they advise you not to put your head under...) bush survival workshops with Koa (the man who claims survive for a couple of weeks on a hand full of ants), morning yoga, chi gong, meeting Alex Gray the famous visionary artist, making new friends, meeting old ones (Ro, a fantastic bloke I met at a festival two years ago and hadn't seen or spoke to since, turns out he now lives in Cairns as a GP which is hilarious if a little disconcerting) Poco Loco (the only bar at the festival where all drinks are FREE), insane fire performances, partying with loads of Japanese people! (lovely folk), hanging out with Tom Morris (Jaimies neighbour from the Gower who despite some misleading facebook reports is alive and well and hasn't been eaten by crocodiles!), adorning glow-stick genetalia, sitting on a huge flower sculpture watching the festival-world go by from above with some amusing French people, receiving skeena therapy, turning Vanny into a cocktail lounge!!!

PALM COVE AND ELLIS BEACH

Two days in the big smoke (population of only 147,000 by the way) is enough. We find Cairns, despite the transient colourful influx quite a charmless place. No swimming is one thing but Cairns has no beach! Just a board-walk above the mud-flats of its front and a small swimming pool (you can call it “a lagoon” all you want but it's still just a small swimming pool) oh and more keep-fit fanatics than is surely healthy! So we creep just a half hour (and six large roundabouts) north to a little camp-site on THE BEACH! and what a beach. Instantly reminded that we are in a magical tropical part of the world. Tropical beach, tropical blue water, tropical islands, sand, seclusion and fresh mangoes falling at your feet. Funny how easily you can forget your surroundings in a city. This is Ellis beach, Palm Cove was lovely except for one particularly grumpy woman..

 

Note to all campsite managers: When a friendly young person enters your office and explains how he and his girlfriend arrived the night before and the office was closed (at 6pm), so he'd like to pay you for last night and another night.. - Do not ensue to tell him off for not coming in first-thing and that “other campsites simply wouldn't allow it” (Allow what exactly?! We've already camped for Christs sake, I’m simply trying to pay you woman!) Because he may just tell you to go 'fluff' yourself and leave without paying for anything. This riled me for a number of reasons - 1) when we arrived at the site “after hours”it was Tuesday night, which as we know means injection night for Jim. So all we really wanted to do was set up and have a quick shower before Jaimie had to cram an inch of needle into her thigh. But of-course.. it's after hours so we don't have the combination-lock number to access the facilities - no worries I thought, I'll simply get it off some friendly campers... 2) Turns out the white-van mob don't like to hand out the access  codes to someone who isn't yet officially a patron. Well thanks a bunch! In the end we have to make do with being chaperoned into the toilet facilities by Mrs Snoot whilst she conceals the code from us as if she's opening up the school tuck shop during detention time as a special treat for bad kids because it's Christmas or something! And I'm sure the only reason she did this was because she suspected I was some form of dangerous Spanish gypsy who would surely put a terrible curse on her and her family if she didn't, “well just look at that lovely young blonde girl with him, she's obviously under some form of spell!”.

KARUNDA

Karunda, another 'bit hippy' place hidden away up in the Tabletop Mountains behind Cairns. And it is, there's the usual colourful nut bags and trinkety market stalls, ganja paraphernalia and the likes. Nothing particularly new or interesting. The way to and from Karunda however.. is pretty spectacular! A scenic railway weaves up the mountainside above endless gorges and views toward the ocean, AMAZING if a little slow.. The views are incredible yes, but at snail pace the hours accent begins to feel a little like the exciting part of a roller coaster without the pay off at the end and with added (stationary) 'Kodak picture moment' stops along the way. The way down however.. Whoooah, an hours worth of sky-rail 20ft above the rainforest canopy! Mind blowing.

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Also, managed to keep ourselves busy whilst there by doing what any self respecting tourist would do when in a historic Australian mountain village, eating veggie brockwurst, sauerkraut and listening to German pop music.

(Jaimie showing her appreciation of the meaty breakfast delights!)

CAIRNS

Cairns begins as the last city did - with industrial estate. This time however we're thankful as a couple of crucial things need attending to before we head of to the the festival. Gas bottle – gas bottles have a lifespan of about ten years and ours saw its tenth birthday a little while ago which is making getting it refilled a bit of a problem, as there’s only so many times you can chat up the assistant while they're inspecting the date stamp before you end up in trouble or feeling a little soulless. So, it needs an official once-over and hopefully giving a new lease of life, Vanny's also going back to a garage to have her rear break shoes replaced as recommended by the last mechanic and.. we have to see if the pharmacy here will let us the it as a dispensary over the next couple of weeks so we don't have to risk Jaimies whole stash in the scorching outback at the festival.

Cairns seems like a funny place. The end of the line for most travellers moving up the east coast, boasting to be the place from which to explore The Great Barrier Reef and the capital city of Queensland. It's obviously seen its fair share of travellers though you get the idea not in quite such high density nor quite as wacky and wonderful as the Eclipse crowd. Hilarious to see the Cairns locals utterly bemused by the hippie invasion. Utterly bemused but also rather inquisitive and a little jealous I reckon! 

Colourful people from the world over line the streets and adorn the sea front. Jugglers, spinners, dancers, wasters and chasers, all congregated in preparation for the festival. Lovely to see so many funky people around the place, feels like the party's started!

SWIMMING!!!

So there is swimming to be had, you just have to know whew to look and as it turns out that happens to be in the rainforest. Taking the most surreal drive through sun-washed sugar cane fields, crossing unannounced train lines used infrequently for cain transportation, permanently dwarfed by forest coated mountains on every side. We finally penetrate the forest edge where a gully cuts through the dense growth providing a number of deep swimming holes and shallow river beds. We are not alone, this place has the life of a beach on a hot day but without the intensity of the daunting lobster wall blocking the sea. Here people are spread throughout the forest enjoying the natural shade. Bliss. 

BRAMSTON BEACH

With Cairns on the proverbial horizon and the sun setting we get off the highway and head for the beach, Bramston Beach. A council funded site which means CHEAP! Ok not quite as cheap as free camping but in this heat a shower at the end of the day is worth the fee, especially when there’s no swimming, which by the way slightly undermines the allure of the beach after a while! It's lovely but sitting here we're only putting off edging into the city so after a night we push off for the big smoke... they also don't have a booze shop in Bramston Beach, not that that swayed our decision any.

WHAT LIES BENEATH

So there’s some lethal sea dwelling critters up here this time of year. Jelly fish: obviously we all know and loath and here they're about as nasty as they get! Here the Box and Irukanji jellies are common and taken very seriously. Adorned to every warning sign along the beach fronts are bottles of vinegar for treatment of attacks which beyond being I'm sure, greatly relieving for a victim is bloody marvellous for me because here the fish and chip shops deem vinegar a completely bizarre request! BBQ sauce for your fish? - 'too easy mate'! But vinegar, oh no. I however, consider the application of vinegar to chip the very essence of synergy. So sorry little Timmy, I know your in agony from the severe lacerations covering your legs and arms and death is likely and even the smallest relief from the trauma would be a Godsend but Stormy scoffed your medicine on his mackerel and chips last night! Ahhahahaha. 

Joking and comically concealed, honest sentiment aside they are well prepared for the jellies here where you can easily rent a 'stinger suite' which is even more flattering than a wet suite, if you can imagine such a thing! Ow they also have 'stinger nets' at most beaches too which are essentially small netted areas of the sea about the size of a baby swimming pool which don't actually guarantee safe swimming but if you weren't already convinced.. hold on just a minute! because as an extra little measure of piece-of-mind life guards wade around the enclosure (in full stinger suites) dragging behind them a small net as they weave between swimmers! So no need to worry. Oh, except for the other little nasties lurking in the waters... the CROCODILE. For which even a glorified wet suite won't protect you from, nor any wading net draggers or food condiment! So yes, swimming has become more of a anxious debate.

YEPOON TO AIRLIE

Not an hour out of Yeppoon we're stopped at a service station, which here in Australia invariably means deep fired goods aplenty! Deep dried corn-dogs, hash browns, chips, sausages, prawns, schnitzels... pretty much, if you can die from it - they've got it!

We're not here for the fried delights however, ow no! Vanny has started making a rather disconcerting sound. So, Jaimie's at the wheel revving the engine, a friendly, fryer-loving stranger has got his head deep in it and I’m doing my very best to stay out of it and be helpful which consists mainly of staying out of the way, not reciting my own mechanical vocab (the extent of which is “fan-belt?”) and ensuring that at no time does the gentleman become aware that Jaimie is in-fact the sole driver of the vehicle for fear of being lynched in the Australian outback for crimes against Man-sim!

After a half-hour of greasy ponder, we are none the wiser. The van is however working, so we decide to take it steady to the next town and get her looked at there. The Town (Mackay) is not a town at all but a hellish metropolis in which the Toyota garage wouldn't be able to see us for two days! Not huge fans of hell we creep another 200k up the highway to Airlie Beach, gateway to the Whitsunday Islands ringing ahead to ensure we can be seen first thing the next morning, and seen we are! Three hours, two new front break pads, a flush and replenish of the all essential (here’s what it should look like and here's what yours looks like!) break fluids and 500 bucks later and we're on the road, none the wiser as to what exactly the initial sound (which by this stage had of-course completely ceased) was. Happy nonetheless that the breaks were sorted and Vanny is sounding sweet! Northward.

*Australia has a bizarre fascination with incredibly large edible items. I guess it's the only way to get the message across to the truckies that there's actually a product for sale, as any smaller item may be dismissed as just another wired hallucination.