October 19th, 2011
SO, you’ve hit Brisbane, picked up the keys to your DriveNow campervan rental and thought, ‘wow, Queensland is big. Where do I start?’
Well, Nambour, 101kms north of Brisbane is the home of three “big’’ attractions, so that’s a good jot down for later. But to begin with take advantage of a few days on the Gold Coast, enjoy the fabulous holiday parks and check out the Big Golfball in Broadbeach and the Big Hard Rock Café guitar in Surfers Paradise during your stay.
When you are ready to head north again, the obvious attraction to see first in Nambour [...]
July 21st, 2011
KILLARNEY is the jewel of the Queensland hinterland, so we decided to bask in its glow for a while.
Only a two-hour drive in a southerly direction in your Brisbane campervan rental, Killarney is an easily accessible, stunning little country village nestled at the bottom of some remarkable ranges and waterfalls. The waterfalls, while a steady, hard walk to reach, are worth the effort – Queen Mary Falls and Dags Falls are the best options.
Killarney is the starting point of Australia’s longest river system and a tight-knit community with all the amenities a traveller needs – including great [...]
December 7th, 2009
My family and I recently went to Port Douglas to relax before the mayhem of the festive season. Taking kids out of school for a family holiday is a hot topic at the moment. But as our eldest child was in Prep this year we thought a week away (armed with her writing journal and a few reader books), would actually enhance her education.
Now most people think that Far North Queensland is not the place to be in late spring, but let me tell you – the weather was perfect, we had the place to ourselves and we enjoyed [...]
November 30th, 2009
LEAVING Emerald and heading back out to the coast in the campervan was a welcome relief. I’m not saying anything bad about Emerald, it’s a very unique place, but to head out to where the Great Barrier Reef begins and see the view just says it all.
Pulling into Mackay we ran into trouble. Big trouble, so it’s worth taking note of this if you’re driving around Queensland in your hire campervan from DriveNow or caravan. We had all pulled over on the side of a newly tar-sealed road to wait for the others. We got out, I walked [...]
October 27th, 2009
AS sad as it was to leave Maroochydore, it was time for some Outback fun!
We headed north to Bundaberg, the home of the world famous Bundaberg Rum and I couldn’t wait. The drive up there seemed to take forever, even though it’s a great road to travel on, as I was so excited about our distillery tour that afternoon. Sheree wasn’t so keen … I wonder why?
After unhooking our vans and setting up, we headed in the direction of the birthplace of the big White Polar Bear (yep, you know the big fella from the Bundy advertisements on [...]
October 4th, 2009
So, having relaxed on the beaches of Far North Queensland we headed for a slightly different pace of life, south to Surfers Paradise and the Theme Parks.
Flying into Brisbane we picked up another Avis Car rental at Brisbane Airport. We’d make the booking with DriveNow back in August and one point that really came through was how much cheaper it was to book in advance. That may sound like a sales pitch however the reality was that it saved us $60 on a 3 day rental. It does pay to book in advance particularly in peak periods such as Christmas, Easter and [...]
September 30th, 2009
Weathermen were redundant for our week in Port Douglas. I mean, how difficult can it be to forecast blue skies and 30 degrees? Sheer and utter bliss. For that’s the only way to describe our week in September up North.
Departing a grey overcast Melbourne and with the obligatory (and brief) Sydney stop-over we arrived into Cairns to find the airport in a somewhat chaotic state with extensive renovations underway. To be fair looking at the impressive Qantas check-in area the chaos will be worth enduring.
We’d booked ahead through DriveNow (no surprise there!) and organised an Avis Corolla car [...]
May 18th, 2009
STRANGE LIGHTS AND DINOSAURS
As winter approaches, my thoughts don’t turn to snow-capped mountains and log fires, but rather red dirt plains and wide blue skies. The cooler months are the ideal time to explore Queensland’s outback, and hitting its dusty roads is the only way to get to fully appreciate the scale, complexity and beauty of this rugged, wild and bizarre landscape.
After flying into Mount Isa, we pick up our four-wheel drive camper and despite the kids’ pleas to don hard helmets and mining suits and venture underground (my idea of hell!) we press on, keen to [...]
March 23rd, 2009
The old adage “it’s a big country” certainly rings true in Far North Queensland, where distances between sights are great and the only way to experience them is by road. But that’s what makes the region north of Cairns such a great place for a driving holiday, with the open highway a journey of discovery and wonder.
When you’re deciding on a vehicle, keep in mind that the further from the Big Smoke you get, the rougher the roads – you may require a four-wheel drive if you are venturing north of the Daintree or up into Cape York.
The [...]
