All Aussie Adventures: Series two

We left Ikea with mixed feelings. It was nice to be back on the road, but at the same time we were both dreading the first night back in the tent. We had decided that we weren’t going to go for the big long distances this time, and so thought we’d spend the first night at Wongi State Forest. Our faffing that day had cost us quite a bit of time and we didn’t get to the campsite until late afternoon. It was a very nice spot, and we only shared it with one guy in a campervan. As we set up, Becky’s spirit hit a wall and she started to voice her regret at continuing. As we tucked into our cheese and digestives dinner, Becky worked out the minimum number of days we’d have to be on the road to make it past Xmas… only 49 days to go!

I had the time of my life, and I never felt this way before

The next morning, after a good 12hr sleep, we awoke to sunshine and the birds singing and both felt much better for it. Sure, some bogan drove past the campsite in the middle of the night (it was actually only about 10pm, but we’d gone to bed at 7pm) that gave us a shock, but we both were feeling a little more positive about the next 48 nights.

Happier, but not happy.

We were tempted to stay another night, but decided we’d be better off continuing north, I don’t remember our reasons why. We’d singled out Deepwater NP as our next destination, an area we’d visited with Jess when she was over a few years ago and had always planned to camp there at some point. The campsite was listed as not having wifi, and for that reason, and that reason alone, we stopped in McDonalds at Childers. We’d been looking at housesitting as a way of 1) killing off a few of those 48 nights, and 2) doing so in a nice place. We’d seen a house being advertised in Daintree that looked amazing, with the pool overlooking the rainforest and sea. As we tucked into something off the “gourmet” menu, we signed up to the site, paid the $50 and sent an e-mail to the owners of the Daintree property explaining what fucking awesome people we are, and we would never fuck up their shit or piss in their pool or anything like that. With the net cast, we headed for Deepwater, stopping only briefly so I could have my McSquirts at a layby toilet.

There were a few people at the Deepwater campsite, but we were still able to find a nice spot and the layout meant it all felt quite secluded. The campsite was sheltered, so despite a strong wind coming off the sea, it was very calm around the tent. It is a beautiful national park, and after pasta mixed with a sundried tomato stir in sauce, we walked to the windy beach to enjoy a lovely sunset.

Nothing to complain about, but we'll try!

After another 12hrs of sleep, we awoke to another lovely sunny morning. The only thing I was a little concerned about was the lack of beers we were carrying. Becky had wanted me to dry out a little after staying with Adam, and I had agreed but two nights later I was ready to start drinking again. The nearest town, Agnes Water, was only 10km away, but it was along a sandy 4wd track, meaning it could take a while to get there. As we were waiting for a reply from the Daintree property I said we could combine my beer run with an internet check. This worked well, until Becky discovered a spot on the beach where we could get 2 bars of Telstra. Not wanting the 20km return journey just to be a beer run, I changed tact, and said we could have a big lunch in town and therefore not have to cook dinner that night… she agreed this was a great plan and off we went.

Easy pickings for a car held together with gaffer tape

The 4wd track road was a real 4wd track, but we made it without anything falling off, and that was a win. We also had a lovely fish and chips lunch, another win.

Another healthy lunch

Becky wanted to drink with me and, as the beers were quite expensive, we opted to share a 10 pack of 5 Seeds ciders that Becky spotted on sale and were $6 cheaper than anything else. Once back at the campground we realised we’d had this cider before and neither of us liked it. It was fucking rank, and was one of those drinks that seem to get worse the more you drink it. We did finish them, but it was tough and really didn’t feel like we’d saved $6. I guess other things happened over the rest of the day, but not only had we’d drunk some shitty cider but this all happened over 2 weeks ago from when I write this, and I can’t remember that much. We have a picture of us checking our e-mails on the windy, exposed beach, so we must have done that.

How do you show it's windy if you have no hair?

The next day was much the same in terms of doing stuff. Becky made friends with a brush turkey she’d called Timmy. He was running around the campsite hovering up any scraps we’d dropped, including some Weetbix dust Becky “accidently” left on the ground. I did the same with some other scraps, and then in true Aussie fashion got annoyed at him for taking the piss and trying to get into everything. There is a reason you’re not allowed to feed the wildlife.

Becky's new best mate

Even though we just sat around the campsite and weren’t doing anything, I was purposely neglecting more than just the blog in favour of nothing. My hair was longer than it had been for a long time…OK, the hair on the side of my head was becoming visible. I was quite enjoying running my fingers through the grey hair I had. Becky insisted on taking a photo of the top of my head, hoping to encourage me to cut it.

Shinny top

While it didn’t get me to cut my hair, as I’d begun to want an old man mullet, I did start wear my cap more.

As the day stretched out we went for numerous (two or three) walks on the beach, mainly to check e-mails.

Happier still

On one of them we found what looked like an untouched coconut shell. Excited by the prospect of something to do, we hurried back to the camp to crack open and eat some of nature’s bounty. I started hacking at the husk with my machete, trying to remember what I’d be taught by a local on the beaches of Thailand, twenty-two years earlier.

Bushman Tom is back!

Finally I cracked the shell, only to find a black liquid inside that spilled out and stank worse than my McSquirts. Luckily, Becky had also found a dead fish, so we set it up as a camp mate, hoping the dead fish smell would over-power the rotten coconut odour.

Part of our new family

We were really enjoying our time at Deepwater, despite the mix of smells, but we were starting to feel ready to move on. The only shower at the site had no walls, so we’d been showering with swimming gear on, and I was starting to feel like the dead fish was masking more than just rotten coconut. Another downside to the site for me was the mess someone had made in the men’s toilets, and no ranger had been past to clean. There was literally shit all over the seat and cover. It almost looked like a piece of modern art, and could only think he must have touched his toes while having explosive diarrhoea. So, I was keen to move on just so I could have a shit.

"Jeez, Fishy, you're quite quiet this evening"

That night it rained, so the next day we had to pack away a wet, muddy tent. We’d also found out that the house sit in the Daintree had been taken. All this didn’t bother us too much, as we’d had a nice time and were feeling very philosophical about our new start.

Packing away is even more fun in the rain

We decided that, despite what we’d said several days before, we’d try and get quite far north so we could meander down back instead. During the drive, we discussed how much we were enjoying our new trip, but started to guess what might break us this time; Becky had her money on the weather, mine was on the car. But for now, everything was going swimmingly. In fact, Becky had even decided we should have better dinners than pasta stir-in, and once we’d reached Rockhampton, we popped into Coles to buy the ingredients for a curry chicken stir-fry Becky had concocted, and for her favourite dish, spaghetti bolognaise.  Fridge stocked and beers bought, we headed towards the town of St Lawrence, for a campground that over looks a wetland.

This place turned out to be a real wikicamps gem, and after we set up Becky made her delicious chicken curry stir-fry… I cut the ginger and garlic. It was lovely, but it was a lot of work and Becky didn’t enjoy doing the dishes. It turns out there was a good reason we’d been surviving on pasta stir-in. Still, I enjoyed it and that evening we watched a beautiful sunset over the Great Dividing Range.

See you tomorrow Sunny, my old pal

It seemed like next 45 nights are going to be a breeze!