Day 55 - The Van

After flying through the night we arrived in Cairns tired and hungry. A pie at the airport fixed the latter and we caught a taxi to go an pick up our home for the next 18 days - the camper van. Neither of us has any camper van experience and had booked it because it was a cheaper option and because it sounded like a fun adventure. When you've had less than a couple of hours of broken sleep on a plane the fun and the adventure are harder to see when you're stood in front of the compact and battered tin can on wheels. My pick up damage report that I had to mark up said 'generally covered in scratches, dents and chips' - which we learnt from our experience in the Sunny in New Zealand can be a good thing as anything you add will probably be unnoticed.

The van is 'cosy'. It's supposed to fit 3 people in but I have no idea how. See photos for more but it's really just a bed/table end and a kitchenette end with storage at the top of both ends and under/in every other possible place. After a supply run at the local supermarket (everything is so expensive here) and picking up a local phone and sim Matt drove us to the holiday park we're staying at. Luckily it was very close by and the roads were quiet as the tiredness + heat + shopping did not make for happy campers. We just chucked everything in the back, ate a sandwich and had a nap on the 'sofas' for a couple of hours. Then I organised the van whilst Matt figured out how the electrics and water work. The camp site is surprisingly nice with clean and hot showers which we used before heading to the Esplanade for a walk around and dinner. Where we parked there were hundreds of big bats flying around and making an incredible racket. I thought it was amazing to watch, Matt is less of a fan of bats... Unfortunately that's when the rain started. Not just some drizzle but full on down pour. It carried on whilst we ate our pizzas, whilst we bought even more from a supermarket, whilst we drove home and then has continued pretty much ever since. I've worked out I can crawl fairly easily through from the front of the van to the back to find the best escape route to avoid puddles and we worked out where the small leak is in the van - luckily it's over the sink and not a bed. We braved the rain to brush teeth etc then listened to the rain hit the roof. We have to balance having the windows open - they have insect nets - vs the rain dripping on us in our sleep. Getting wet was the chosen option, it was that or drown in sweat. Here's hoping it cools down as we head South...Read more