After our wonderful Whitsundays adventure, we were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves and the bubble of bliss we had been living in for days. However, there is no rest for the wicked! We picked up our little camper and hit the wide open road once again. This time headed for Millaa Millaa.
We had arrived back on the mainland at around midday, then had a few quick errands to run before we could get moving. Needless to say, this cut into our Millaa Millaa travel time and sadly we had to spend the night in a place called Townsville. I honestly can’t remember the name of the campsite we pulled up to, but I do remember that it was a very strange place. Very strange indeed. The kind of place you see in horror movies, where nothing pleasant meets the eye…
I may sound a bit harsh here, but really the possums are to blame for that. Possums are not creatures you encounter in England (thank goodness), but google image search and you will see what I mean… They’re essentially giant rats! A few people have disagreed with me on this matter, but they really freak me out! Anyway, I digress.
It was a long night. The further north we drove, the hotter it was. And in Townsville it was hot. And sleeping in a tin can was not ideal (sorry camper I love you really). We opened all of the doors in the hopes of a gentle breeze, but this is when the possums came. Jumping on top of our little home! Every time I lay back down I would slowly hear the pitter-patter of their feet getting closer and closer… searching for food (or possibly us). So we had to shut up shop. Sweat to death? Or be eaten alive? We made our choice.
Thankfully morning came and Mike made pancakes to cheer us up. Food always brings joy. It’s worth mentioning that I sadly I was still eaten alive despite my best efforts. Not by possums, but by those pesky mosquitos who had really gone for it.
We drove away from the campsite happy to see the back of it. Topped off by the caretaker calling out “I hope the possums didn’t bother ya!”. Yeah, good one.
After Townsville, the drive to Millaa Millaa was beautiful. I mean, really beautiful. It was like we had been transported to a far off tropical land (which actually, we sort of had). I think what made it so nice was that there were no signs of civilisation, which is a rarity back home. Just imagine greenery for days. Naturally, the weather was perfect, the tunes were loud, and we had not a care in the world as we made our way along those winding roads. Bliss.
We stopped off briefly at Mission Beach, which was unexpectedly deserted. I say unexpected, but it is rather in the middle of nowhere. It features in a few travel guides and is pretty stunning, so I thought it would be packed despite it being tricky to reach. The lack of tourists made it all the more enticing, and I would love to spend a day here. But alas, we had a long way to go and a camping spot to find.
It was time for the last leg of the journey. We finally made it to Millaa Millaa! Before choosing where to stay, we had to fill up petrol. An unexciting venture, but I wanted to mention it as the petrol station was so old-fashioned and cute; it was essentially just a pump attached to the front of an old gift shop/post office/small town wonder. After that, we headed for the first campsite we saw, which made the decision nice and easy.
Fortunately for us, it was blooming lovely. But more on that later.
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