For our last two weeks in Australia, we stayed in Cairns (except for our trip to Atherton, Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation). During the first week, we worked out a deal with a hostel for accommodation in exchange for taking photos for their website. I had my hesitations at first since the hostel hadn’t been … Continue reading Last Week in Australia
Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef June 7-8 I snuck quietly out of the dorm room for free breakfast bright and early at 6:50am (early for backpacker standards). We finished up just as the giant Quicksilver tour bus arrived to whisk us down to the marina. Today, we were snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef! … Continue reading Great Barrier Reef and Port Douglas
Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest June 9-10 From Port Douglas, we carried on north past more sugar cane fields and mountains to the Daintree River. We paid $10 and got in line behind the cars on the tiny cable-pulled ferry. The ride took no more than three minutes until we were deposited on the … Continue reading Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest
June 5-6, 2018 Ever since we left Sydney, I'd been excited to ride the Atherton Tablelands and the Gillies Highway. Ladies in the motorcycle groups I'm in all raved about the twisting mountain roads through evergreen forests and past gushing waterfalls. The roads did not disappoint. The climb into the mountains curved endlessly swerving back … Continue reading Atherton Tablelands
Mission Beach to Cairns May 29, 2018 I woke up excited and also kind of sad that this was the last day of our Australian East Coast journey. As much as I wanted to cruise into Cairns feeling victorious, I also yearned for more road to travel and scenery to pass by. Continuing with the … Continue reading Road Trip Day 43: Mission Beach to Cairns – The Last Kilometers
May 27 & 28, 2018 Mission Beach was our last stop along the road trip before finishing up in Cairns. I could feel how close we were to the end and was buzzing with excitement. The town consists of a small downtown area with a few shops and restaurants, lush green rainforests in the Djiru … Continue reading Day 41 & 42: Mission Beach
May 24-27th, 2018 Koalas, Hikes, and Snorkeling After breakfast and tucking away our big backpacks, we squished the two of us, plus two small backpacks, and a bag of food on one of the motorcycles and headed over to the ferry terminal. We squeezed in next to the other families, backpackers, and delivery trucks on the … Continue reading Road Trip Day 38 to 41: Magnetic Island
May 23, 2018 After a couple days at sea, we were ready to ride again and keep moving north. Bags strapped and gas in the tank, we cruised out of Airlie Beach and away from the sailboats bobbing in the harbor. Less than twenty minutes later, we were in the sugar cane fields, following the … Continue reading Road Trip Day 37: Airlie Beach to Townsville
Day 36, May 22, 2018 I slept so much better in the bunk the second night and actually enjoyed being rocked by the gentle waves. The Skipper was also kind to us this morning and didn't start the engines until the late hour of 6:45am. After bread and peanut butter a la fresco, we sailed … Continue reading The Whitsundays Sailing Trip, Day Three
Day 35, May 21, 2018 Shockingly, sleeping on a plastic mattress bunk bed tucked in the bow shared with another person is not the recipe for restful sleep. I kept trying to stretch out my legs but hit the metal wall of the galley. The cool part though was that our beds were under the … Continue reading The Whitsundays Sailing Trip, Day Two
