26 Nights In A Campervan, Australia’s East Coast – Days 1-7, Queensland

Kelly McKenna
Oct 29, 2017
4 min read

So after two amazing weeks in Bali, we flew back into Cairns Airport for what was undoubtedly the most backpacker-ey part of our trip – driving down the East Coast all the way to Melbourne.It is a path well trodden, unlike its West Coast counterpart, and as such a great opportunity to meet lots of other travellers and experience some of the most stunning scenery in the world. Daredevils also find there are ample opportunities to do crazy things – sky diving over the beautiful Mission Beach or driving a 4WD over sand dunes on Fraser Island are popular activities along this route. FYI, we did neither because we’re “old” and wimps… There are tonnes of different ways to do this journey, from flying between major towns to catching the Greyhound coach to buying your own car and throwing a small mattress and a sleeping bag in the back. Accommodation options are vast; hotels, hostels and campgrounds all vary in budget and range of facilities, but there really is a way to travel that suits every travellers taste and budget.

Undoubtedly, the most popular way to do this journey is to rent a campervan and there are a lot of different companies available, the ones we saw most frequently were Jucy and Wicked, but we decided to book a Spaceship (called ‘Vader’). As we’re flashpackers (read, snobs), Rich decided to book the newest and flashiest van – the Beta 2S. Looking back, this was actually a great idea as it was much more spacious and we were still lugging our ridiculous oversized suitcases from pillar to post. We spent almost a month living in Vader so I’ve decided to split this part of our adventure into three blog posts. This post will discuss the first 7 days of journey through Queensland.

Day 1: Cairns to Ellis Beach Kilometres travelled – 26 Where we stayed – Ellis Beach Oceanfront Bungalows (paid) Highlights – camped virtually on the beach, drank two bottles of wine, got some great tips from other campers about possible places to visit, first night in our new “bedroom”, lots of rain overnight.

Day 2: Ellis Beach to Port Douglas to Cape Tribulation Kilometres travelled – 122 Where we stayed – Safari Lodge (paid) Highlights – walked along 4 Mile Beach (avoiding ‘Stingers’ (jellyfish) and ‘Salties’ (estuarine crocodile)), drove through the incredible Daintree Rainforest, saw our first orb spider who we named Sid and two beautiful Ulysses Butterflies, swam in the rain and (because we didn’t have any wifi) started and failed to finish a 500 piece puzzle, drank more wine.

4 Mile Beach, Port Douglas

Rich on the ferry to the Daintree, sadly we didn’t spot any crocs

Day 3: Cape Tribulation to Atherton Tablelands Kilometres travelled – 174 (probably double due to all the closed roads) Where we stayed – Big4 Atherton Woodlands Tourist Park (paid) Highlights – got attacked by awful green ants (not really a highlight and the locals must have thought we were idiots as we were running around shrieking), walked through the rainforest which is over 100 million years old and home to some awesome animals, walked along the beach where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef, got some homemade ice-cream at The Daintree Ice Cream Co. (highly recommend).

Afterwards we had a highly traumatic journey to the Atherton tablelands as there were several road closures due to flooding (one of the few perils of travel during the wet season). It took us twice the time it should have and I was convinced we were going to die on one of the narrow winding mountain roads, but we eventually made it and we enjoyed our campsite, I even had a swim in the pool with a local lizard.

Day 4: Atherton Tablelands to Mareeba to Wongaling Beach Kilometres travelled – 217 Where we stayed – Dunk Island View Campsite (paid) Highlights – had really nice coffee and chocolate at ‘Disneyland for Coffee’ (Coffee Works) in Mareeba, visited the Malanda Falls and the Millaa Millaa Falls (Peter Andres Mysterious Girl video and a Herbal Essences ad were filmed there), drove onwards to Innisfail unaware that we had picked up a leech which Rich managed to get off my foot by spraying it with deodorant whilst we were hurtling down a hill at 70kph, had lunch at the beautiful Etty Bay.

Really NOT the sign you want to see when you’re eating lunch!

Day 5: Wongaling Beach to Cardwell to Ingham to Jourama Falls to Saunders Beach Kilometres travelled – 222 Where we stayed – Saunders Beach Park Rest Area (free) Highlights – saw Cardwell’s ‘Big Crab’, walked 5km through streams and hills to view the sensational Jourama Falls, drank cider walking along the beach avoiding crocs and stingers, experienced our first night of free camping and listened to a bogan couple screaming at each other for several hours which led Rich to ask the question “is this what it’s like to live on a trailer park”.

Just a little sweaty after our 600m uphill climb to the top of the beautiful Jourama Falls

First time using the portable BBQ and first crazy experience free camping

Day 6: Saunders Beach to Townsville to Ayr to Bowen to Airlie Beach Kilometres travelled – 324 Where we stayed – Seabreeze Tourist Park (paid) Highlights – actually finally got to swim in the sea in Townsville (between the stinger nets, have never been truly convinced that they work), had lunch with some birds at a park on the outskirts of Ayr, looked out for hatching turtles (none to be found) and hugged the ‘Big Mango’ in Bowen, drank lots of beer & cider and played in our massive pool in actual paradise (Airlie Beach).

Day 7: Airlie Beach (Whitsundays Trip) Kilometres travelled – none, we went on a boat trip Where we stayed – Seabreeze Tourist Park (paid) Highlights – went on a beautiful day trip on a tall ship called ‘Providence V’ to the stunning Whitsunday Islands, went on a walk to a sensational lookout over Hill Inlet, saw a baby brown snake, played on the beach where the sand is 98% silica, went snorkelling for the first time as a couple (my first time ever) and totally found Nemo, had dinner at the campsite with a German couple we’d met on the boat and I impressed everyone with my ability to only be able to speak German when I’m drunk.