If you are reading this, and know that I am without
gainful, paid employment, there is no need to worry that I am finally
destitute, and now living on the streets of Sydney. No, that is not going to happen for at least
a few weeks yet.
The title refers to the recent road trip, and not my
current living arrangements.
Inspired by writers such as Kerouac, I have long
wanted to be “On the Road”. Set free to
explore, windows down, wind in my hair, no agenda, and a very loose itinerary,
I finally got to tick off another item from the bucket list. A camper van road trip.
 |
| "Chubby" - how I miss this little van! |
However, not one that didn’t start with a little
trepidation. Neglecting to pay for
additional insurance (well, I am still a Yorkshire man), thus leaving me with a $3000 excess should anything
happen to the van, had me ever so tentatively reversing the camper out of the
parking spot in Cairns, after checking all mirrors so often my neck was
hurting.
The road trip started in Cairns, after flying up from
Sydney two days earlier. Cairns has
continued to develop and improve over the years, now catering for a slightly
more up market clientele, and not just for the hundreds of backpackers that
have a visit to “The Woolshed” as a rite of passage on their overseas
adventure.
New waterfront developments, bars and restaurants,
targeting the cruise ship arrivals no doubt, add some much needed drink and
dining options if you tire of the $10 beer and burger offers proliferating
central Cairns.
And as an element of this trip morphed into being a
search for the east coast’s best coffee, I found a definite contender in
Cairns. If you ever find in town, and in
need of a caffeine fix, head to “Caffeined”, a Mebourne-esque alley way coffee
shop, with coffee that will make you want to stay in Cairns.
 |
| Hipster-ville, in the centre of Cairns |
From Cairns, the plan was to head north, across the
Daintree river, all the way up to Cape Tribulation, until the road runs
out. Literally. The sealed road ends in Cape Trib, only
allowing for 4x4 vehicles to travel past that point. From Cape Trib, we were going to turn around
(it is one road in, and only one road out), and then head south, back over the
Daintree, back through Cairns, and continue until we hit Brisbane, a few weeks
later. It was in Brisbane that we had
arranged to drop the camper van off, hopefully strike off the $3000 excess on
my credit card, and then continue by bus to Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay.
 |
| The state of Queensland |
Quite an adventurous undertaking, with some 3000kms of
road to cover. All of our road trip
would be done in Queensland, Australia’s second largest state. To provide a sense of perspective, Queensland
is about seven times the size of Great Britain, covering an area of 1,727,000
square kilometers.
But we were in no rush, had no constraints, and set
off with a great sense of adventure.
My next instalment will be to cover off the
highlights, and lowlights, of the trip. Make
sure to keep reading.
