VWBUS T4&5+
http://www.vwbusmagazine.com 47little care for his safety. I wasn’t
even half way when he ran
past me in the other direction,
muttering something about
batteries. A few minutes later
he shot back past, heading to
the bottom of the falls. Once I
got there, he discovered the hot
shoe for the tripod was in the
van, so back up he went. We
really were a shambles. Maybe
this is why we needed a full year
to explore one country rather
than six months to see twelve.
One of the less frantic spots on
our list was Babinda Boulders,
the rainiest town in Australia and
home to a crystal-clear stream
winding its way between huge
ancient rocks. Of course, it was
raining when we parked up,
but eventually the precipitation
stopped, leaving the air thick and
damp. It clung to our faces and
slowly soaked into our clothes.
It was refreshing, especiallyMiniature falls in the rainforest
by the free pool in Cairns, but
we were also on a mission to
assemble all the information we
could on the Waterfall Trail in
the Atherton Tablelands. These
mountains are just slightly south-
west of Cairns and are littered
with incredible fast flowing
rivers and waterfalls. It wasn’t
the rainy season, meaning we
wouldn’t get to see the falls at
their best, but they run all year
and it also meant that we weren’t
going to get rained on too much.
Our days were spent hopping
from one waterfall to another,
frequently swimming and less
frequently managing to remember
our camera batteries weren’t all
charged. One of these occasions
was at Ellinja Falls. The steps
down to the pool at the bottom
of the waterfall were slick mud,
incredibly steep and worryingly
decrepit. I took them slowly, but
true to form Dan ran down withAtherton Tablelands, just
slightly southwest of Cairns
are littered with incredible fast
flowing rivers and waterfalls
Zillie FallsIncredible rock formations at Babinda Ellinja FallsDan making a frienda treat we headed for breakfast.
After eating we went south to
Cairns; one time getting knocked
on was enough for a lifetime and
I really didn’t want to illegally
camp in the area again. Cairns is
home to a useful and surprisingly
large legal free camp just a few
Kms out of town, it was here we
could spend the next few nights.
The camp gets jam packed with
vans each evening, giving us
opportunity to make a few friends
as well as take enjoyment in the
morning entertainment. The
show consists of between five and
twenty or so rust bucket vans
struggling to start their engines.
It was different vehicles every
day, and everyone seemed to
have different tactics for getting
their pre-historic campers going.
Some would kick the front wing in
apparently the perfect spot, others
would simply shout profanities
until their engines complied. We
witnessed one guy prising the
top off of his battery, and pouring
Epsom salts in. He reckoned that
he’d travelled from the Gold Coast
to here using this method, and
although it may work, we weren’t
convinced that it wouldn’t just
be easier to buy a new battery.
Many days were spent chilling