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| 2 Months in Kampot | Australia: Daintree to Melbourne |
The land of Oz, the land of Oz! Okay, Australia! How awesome! While spending two months in Kampot, we were lucky enough to borrow a computer to figure out what to do next. The original plan was Vietnam, but the weather there wasn’t cooperating. So, how about a complete change of scenery? Why not look into renting a camper van and traveling Eastern Australia?! Flights? Check (Phnom Penh to Brisbane). Australian visas? Check. Camper van rentals? Check, check again… once more, and then boom—pulled the trigger! Look out Australia, the Rimmers are coming… for three months!!! 😀
The Van: Every van needs a name. Ours started off as Skippy but we felt it needed a “stronger” name, so christened it “J.C.D.V.” (Jean Claude Damn Van). We went with a company called Let’s Go Motorhomes and got an almost-new Toyota HiAce. DV (short for JCDV) had a little kitchen and a comfy seating/sleeping area. No bathroom though, that would have doubled the size and the price. Any interaction we had with the company was positive and professional. We had booked our first campsite just outside Brisbane so we didn’t have to find a hotel. In hindsight, we should have given ourselves a night of rest instead of heading off into traffic… jet-lagged, driving on the wrong (for us) side of the road, stick shift on the opposite side. Luckily, Paul handled it like a champ. Add that to lessons learned and off we go!
Brisbane to Daintree: We spent a couple of nights in our first spot at Beachmere Caravan Park, getting used to the van and setting it up. Our first grocery shop was a bit chaotic, but we managed and felt the van was ready to head off north to Cape Tribulation. The area around Brisbane is one roundabout after another so it gave Paul a quick sink-or-swim masterclass in handling them. The big picture idea for Oz was to head north on the coast, head back south on more interior routes, down to the Great Ocean Road then fly out from Melbourne. Didn’t quite work out that way but when the plan is “there is no plan” what do you expect?
On the road up we stopped in Tin Can Bay, Hervey Bay, Moore Park Beach, Townsville, Mission Beach, Cairns, and finally Cape Tribulation. There were a couple of other stops, but those were the places that truly stood out. The sites varied from beachfront plots and tree-lined havens to sandy spots, concrete pads, or grass — some powered, some unpowered, but all with shared showers and bathrooms. Every caravan park had a kitchen set up for campers’ use, with the majority being really well set up.
It didn’t take us long to settle into a routine with Paul driving, me getting us lost with my navigating skills, stopping along the way for picnics, and generally visiting every beach available – all the while on the look out for the elusive kangaroos and koalas. Our grocery shopping trips improved and we learnt that “hey, how are ya” is hi and the response should be “hi ya” and not “I’m fine, thanks, and you?". The longer response will get a look and comment “you aren’t from around here, are ya?”.
The Goon Sack: We need to discuss goon and the goon sack. For those who don’t know, goon is cheap plonk, and a goon sack is what it comes in. It is classic Australian slang for what we affectionately refer to as Cardboardaux. Goon is great, and I have to say, we adapted quickly to consuming said goon. Beer in Australia is expensive. Really, Australia in general is pricey — groceries, gas, you name it, it adds up — but the price of beer really stood out. Goon was a great option, goon on sale was even better. Another lesson learned: don’t buy four boxes at a time and then park the van for three days in the sun. Goon quickly turns to vinegar in the heat, and we ended up having to do a “ritual dumping,” which caused tears to flow. 😥
Queensland: Heading up the Queensland coast was Tin Can Bay, Hervey Bay and Moore Park Beach which were great places and we spent a couple of nights in each location. I tried my hand at driving in Tin Can Bay – no one was injured and the only damage done was to my blood pressure. The first two photos are from Hervey Bay: a walk down the 2 km pier at sunset and a drive to a local park. While eating lunch we found some really neat trees at the shoreline and a friendly young osprey. We then stopped not far from Moore Park where we were tormented by the hissing bird who was using his Jedi mind powers to get us to feed it. Strangely it didn’t like my gluten-free offering? The weather was starting to change on us so after Moore Park Beach we ended up having to do a 7 hour drive to escape some rain. While driving we saw numerous large fruit offerings… must be an Oz thing.
Townsville: We spent two nights in Townsville and had some unique experiences. There is a huge park and beach area called The Strand that you can walk along with a museum, piers and all sorts of local history. We learned that this area was involved in a WWII battle, which we had no idea about! There were bunkers right in town and over on Magnetic Island, along with some cool displays that we really enjoyed walking around. We also drove up to Castle Hill to check out the view.
Magnetic Island consisted of a ferry ride, a snorkel trip, a bus ride and a hike – then all reversed (except the snorkel). We spent the morning doing a basic snorkel, which was okay – lots of kids on the boat so I fit right in! We also did a bit of fishing, but had no luck. In the afternoon, we hiked up to the WWII bunkers on the island, which was really neat to see. They are very well-maintained and lots of information all around the area. Australia deserves recognition for keeping its history alive with information on WWI, WWII, and honoring the people who fought and those who died – Anzac memorials are everywhere. The best part… we saw KOALAS!!! Not just one, but three, including a baby. That was a definite highlight of the day.
Mission Beach: Well, more correctly Wongaling Beach, we liked it here so much we actually stayed twice. On the way in we saw a (male) Cassowary with its two chicks, which is apparently quite rare. Paul was too slow with the camera but considering he was driving… well. 🤷 There are three beaches in the area and we spent time at all of them. The walk from the Bali Hai Caravan Park to the beach was less than 5 minutes. We did a hike down the coast line at South Mission and had a nice chat with a local who told us where to go so we could see turtles. We think we saw five or six at least. The best part was the snorkel trip on the Great Barrier Reef with Reef Express. It wasn’t a big group, we loaded up on a small boat and spent hours snorkeling on the reef. It was beautiful. We all had to wear suits, which Paul modeled for us…
From here, it was a quick overnight in Cairns for a sink pump repair, and then on to the Daintree and Cape Tribulation via the stunning Captain Cook Highway. Our first ferry crossing ($25 return) was less than 10 minutes, and soon we were on winding roads surrounded by massive trees. We stayed one night at Cape Tribulation camping, which was pretty rustic but has a restaurant with highly-rated pizza and decent coffee. It really felt pretty remote, especially on the beach. After that, we started the long journey back down south!
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