June 20 (314 km) INGHAM, Palm Tree CP ($A20)

Sadly, we had to leave our friends in their piece of the Tropical Rain Forest. We returned to KURANDA, then took the twisting road towards Cairns, climbing through the Kuranda Range World Heritage Area, pausing at a scenic lookout over the coast at 1,270 ft, finally dropping abruptly to sea level at SMITHFIELD. We stopped at the Smithfield Centre: a huge shopping complex, its crowds and cars a strange contrast to the peace of the forest, just 20 km above. Nearby is the base of the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway, whose passengers are bussed out from Cairns, to be carried above the Barron Gorge to Kuranda.

Highway 1 (known as Captain Cook Highway, running down the coast from Cape Tribulation) took us past the airport to the centre of CAIRNS – about 40 km commuting each way for Kev. The city looks very modern and very busy, with no unmetered parking in the centre. The sea beyond the mudflats is unattractive, but there is bathing in a large open pool on the Esplanade and we found a free car park for lunch to the north of it. There are about 10 caravan parks round the city, at above average prices, and signs threatening $A150 spot fines for free-camping ('Ranger on Duty').

South on highway 1, now called the Bruce Highway or Great Green Way, a busy 2-lane road. Sugarcane and bananas grew along the coastal strip, with forested hills still rising behind - Queensland's highest peak, Bartle Frere, poked through the clouds in the Bellenden Ker Range. The afternoon temperature reached 31ēC, with tomorrow the winter solstice! Sugarcane mills smoked and lorries loaded the cane train cages which feed them.

Paused where the road touched the coast again at INNISFAIL, 90 km from Cairns at the mouth of the Johnstone River. Continued south, past a Sugar Museum, directly to TULLY, which boasts the highest rainfall in Australia: 450 cm or 180 inches per annum. Its Visitor Centre has an excellent exhibition about the history of the banana and sugar plantations – and free cups of tea!

We met the sea again at CARDWELL, where the expensive Top Tourist CP was crowded (it's school holiday time in Queensland). The road turned inland again, rising to a lookout over Hinchinbrook Island at 420 ft, then down to INGHAM. The caravan park is 3 km south of the town, directly on the Bruce Highway (and at non-seaside prices).

Our overnight stay was recorded with a lovely flash photograph of a tree-frog, which sat motionless all evening in the foliage, right outside the busy amenities block.

June 21/22 (306 km) CHARTERS TOWERS CP – Top Tourist ($A22.50)

South again on the Bruce Highway (or 'Great Green Way', whose logo is a tree-frog), through ROLLINGSTONE to TOWNSVILLE, a fine city 110 km along with a harbour on Ross Creek. The landscape changed as the sugarcane fields gradually gave way to mangoes and more bananas; the dark green cloud-shrouded forest plateau turned to sparse low woodland.

In Townsville (founded 1864 by Captain Robert Towns) we parked on the Strand, for a walk on the seafront. The Surf Lifesaving Club had flags indicating the safe swimming area, though in the Marine Stinger season (November to May) the deadly jellyfish must be avoided by keeping to the enclosed Rock Pool. Don & Madge from Brisbane, walking past as we had coffee, inspected the motorhome - 'thinking of hiring one' was their excuse. We were pleased to oblige.

A narrow 3-km road winds up to Townsville's Castle Hill Lookout, 880 ft above the town. A short walk round the summit loop enabled us to admire the panorama and watch the planes on the civil and military airport below. A busy spot for lunch with a view. Offshore is Magnetic Island, named by Captain Cook in 1770, as his compass wouldn't work as he sailed by. See www.townsvilleonline.com

After crossing the Ross River we left the Bruce Highway, tired of the busy coast road (which we knew from our last visit in 2002). Instead, we turned west for 130 km to CHARTERS TOWERS, along the A6, the Flinders Highway or 'Overlanders Way'. Now we were back in the Outback, with parched Brahman cattle, termite mounds, dry riverbeds and sandy creeks. About half-way from Townsville, the Reid River Rest Area, just before crossing the river, had toilets and tables and allowed a maximum of 20 hrs stay, though we just stopped for a pot of tea.

The road was empty until the outskirts of 'The Towers'. We went straight to the shady wooded caravan park we'd stayed on 9-10 June, to enjoy an en-suite site. There was an unexpected bonus, in the shape of Cliff Berry and the Driftalongs! For about an hour and a half, Cliff, Betty, Tony and Pauline entertained campers with country music and singalongs. 'One Day at a Time, Sweet Jesus': a good philosophy for being back on the road. At over 1,000 ft, it was noticeably cooler than at the coast, particularly at night.

As the end of June, and our time in Australia, approaches we start preparing to leave, sorting our stuff out. The Post Office sells a plastic 'satchel' for $A8, in which to post up to 3 kg anywhere in the country. This was ideal for posting Ruby & Bill's maps and books back to Perth – to await their return from Turkey/Eastern Europe. (We last heard from them in Hungary.)

More work on the laptop, ready to put on the website, and a postcard of thanks (hardly adequate) to Bec & Kev.

June 23 (440 km) CAPELLA Van Park ($A16)

After another fill of Woolworths discounted diesel, it was south on the Gregory Highway (or Great Inland Way – logo, Ernie the Emu). It is a Developmental Road, currently being widened from one lane with gravel shoulders to 2 lanes. This meant 2 lengthy delays during the first 70 km for roadworks, chatting to the Stop-Go Traffic Controllers. Then 50 km of unimproved narrow road, before crossing the Cape River on a low-level bridge, after which there were 2 good lanes of bitumen.

The first habitation on our route was at BELYANDO CROSSING, 205 km from Charters Towers: just a small roadhouse-motel-caravan park, by the bridge over the (dry) Belyando River, the entry to Belyando Shire and Central Queensland. Stopping for lunch, a flock of assorted birds came begging: ravens, magpies, common mynahs, some unknown ones, even a pair of lovely rainbow lorikeets.

We had gradually dropped from 1,100 ft to 600 ft and a flat grassy plain continued for many miles. More birds were seen: a few emus, a flock of galahs and (more unusual) many brolga cranes in the stubblefields of sorghum. The Gregory Highway (from the coast at Mackay) joined our road 165 km after Belyando near the Blair Athol coalmine (the largest of its type in the world). 7 km further on we took a short detour into the small town of CLERMONT and found the 'very quiet spacious caravan park' was absolutely full. We are now going against the flow of the great northward migration.

So we continued south for another 55 km, the trees getting taller, the grass greener. The peaks of the Peak Range National Park were visible to the east. The main crop grown here is sorghum, a tropical grain used for fodder. (We'd come across sorghum beer, made from its fermented syrup, in S Africa).

In CAPELLA the new owners of a quieter van park offered a choice of sites under the trees and 'complimentary smoko' on arrival (free tea/coffee and biscuits). How nice! A cold night with ground frost (height 740 ft).

June 24 (194 km) ROLLESTON CP ($A15)

Along the avenue of boab (or bottle) trees, leaving Capella for the 50 km drive south to EMERALD. A busy town right on the Tropic of Capricorn, at the crossroads with the Capricorn Way from the coast at Rockhampton. After shopping and diesel at Woolworths, we re-entered the Temperate Zone, still following the Gregory Highway south through agricultural land.

After 65 km the mountains of the Minerva Hills National Park rose to the west of the highway, as we entered the pretty town of SPRINGSURE in Queensland's Central Highlands at 1,150 ft. It has a tourist office by a big windmill, where the helpful volunteer suggested we wouldn't like the caravan park in the next town, as it would be full of coalminers and was not suitable for tourists. (Was she on commission for Springsure's CP?) We continued, the road climbing to 1,400 ft (the Staircase Range) before dropping to 800 ft.

ROLLESTON, 70 km along, had a simple caravan park with a friendly manager living in an old bus – we liked it very well! The tiny town has a tiny library with internet and for $A2.50 we had a happy hour reading our incoming emails – a great response to our newly launched website from friends and MMM readers.

June 25 (281 km) ROMA, Villa HP – Big 4 ($A27)

South on the Great Inland Way again (now known as the Carnarvon Developmental Road), climbing steadily from 660 ft to a maximum of 1,880 ft. We passed the entrance to the Carnarvon Gorge National Park after 60 km, its sandstone bluffs forming a line to our west. 13 km further on is the Warremba Farm Stay and Campsite, recommended by the Tourist Office back in Springsure.

The next town, INJUNE - south-west Queensland's 'Gateway to the Carnarvons' - was 174 km from Rolleston and a good stop for lunch, at 1,280 ft. With a population of 500, it has a pleasant caravan park, swimming pool, school, hospital, retirement village, police, small shops, tourist office, cattle depot:

Another 90 km to ROMA, over the crest of the Dividing Range at 1,450 ft. Through cattle and sheep country, there were still surprises: cacti in the fields and our first sighting of an echidna crossing the road (a spiky ant-eating animal like a shaggy hedgehog).

Roma, the birthplace of the country's natural gas and oil exploration, was disappointing. In the 'Big Rig' tourist office, the volunteer had volunteered to go home early (it's Saturday); the town's internet outlets were closed; the first 2 caravan parks visited were full and unhelpful. Success at the Big 4 park, a couple of km out of the centre next to a winery established in 1863. We got an en-suite site and the use of the internet in the office for an hour.

For Roma Tourism visit www.thebigrig.com.au The 'Big Rig' outside the Visitor Centre was used from 1929-1941 in local oil and gas drilling. Gas was first found on Hospital Hill by workmen drilling for water in 1900.

Macca (Ian McNamara's 'Australia All Over' on ABC local radio, 7-10 am) for Sunday breakfast, but not porage (run out!) Then east out of Roma on the Warrego Highway, the A2, all the way.

Keeping high across the Western Downs (never below 1,000 ft), the road paralleled the railway, passing cattle saleyards and grain silos along the tracks, through woodlands, pasture, sorghum. After 25 km, passed through WALUMBILLA, from where a pipeline still supplies Brisbane and Gladstone with natural gas. Much more development along our route now, with small towns in quick succession: YULEBA, then DULACCA (where the pub offered 'Meals for $5 including tea or coffee – pity it was only 10.30 am!) However small, Australian towns almost always have a memorial or jubilee park with toilets and a fine war memorial.

Stopped at an excellent Historical Village Museum and Tourist Info in MILES, a larger town, at the crossroads with the Leichardt Highway which runs north-south. Ludwig Leichardt was a Prussian explorer who disappeared in 1848 with all his men and animals on his 3rd expedition.

Lunch in CHINCHILLA, about 200 km from Roma, with another Tourist Info run by friendly retirees (a good source of free maps). The park had a monument to Leichardt, who came through in 1844 exploring a route from Moreton Bay (Brisbane) to the Darwin area. The Warrego Highway now turned SE, through small settlements likeWARRA, once a coalmining town, and the town of DALBY. Dark clouds gathered but the rain only lasted a few minutes.

Detoured through OAKEY, the 'Gateway to the Darling Downs' (rich volcanic soil) at 1,350 ft. No shortage of towns, caravan parks, shops etc today – it would be a good cycling route. On into TOOWOOMBA, high on the Gt Dividing Range at about 2,110 ft (700 m). With a population of 90,000, this is Australia's largest inland town, the Garden City noted for its 4 season climate. With 4 caravan parks, we headed for the Top Tourist on Ruthven Street, just south of the city centre. See www.toowoomba.qld.gov.au for tourist information.

A rainy day was spent in the excellent Internet Arena on James St, working side by side on our website, using both our laptop and one of their computers, still supported on-line by Bec working at home. Put in 6 new pieces, including many Australian photos and the comments on the Maui motorhome, as well as doing a lot of 'housekeeping'. Round the corner was Sizzlers, where we were able to park the motorhome and enjoy a splendid all-you-can-eat lunch. A very good day, not finishing until after dark at 6.30pm.

Down to the Pacific Ocean (or Moreton Bay) at Brisbane, our final destination. Time to unpack, pack and prepare to leave Australia. The motorhome returns to its owners at Maui after a faithful 90 days and 13,653 km (8,500 miles)

Woke to mist and steady rain, more like an English summer's day! Armed with a map of Brisbane from the Tourist Offfice, we took the A2, Warrego Highway, towards the State capital ('only 90 minutes away'). The 4-km descent from Toowoomba (2,110 ft) to the bottom of the Range at 320 ft is so steep that there are emergency stopping beds and speed ramps for the trucks. We remembered freewheeling down it on our bicycles, heading for Brisbane back in 2000 – and it was raining on that day, too. (We refused a lift in the van of a friendly German, keen to complete the coast-to-coast ride.) Interestingly, rain that falls east of the escarpment flows down to Moreton Bay off Brisbane, while that falling on the west side of the watershed at Toowoomba joins the Murray-Darling System, with a very long journey to South Australia.

Leaving the mist behind on the Range, we drove on for about 40 km, past the University of Queensland agricultural station at GATTON and the nearby 'Big Orange' selling fruit and veg at bargain prices. A further 20 km along the highway at HATTON VALE there is now a Budget Motel, which would have been very welcome when we cycled through these wet hills 5 years ago. We found nothing until IPSWICH, a town we bypassed today.

Lunch by the Moggill Ferry (over the Brisbane River – a 20-km route we had cycled into the city). Today though we continued on the A2 (now called the Ipswich Motorway) for 30 km, into and across BRISBANE to reach the coast at MANLY on Moreton Bay. We met the ocean at Darling Point and drove along the Esplanade to Oyster Point, a special moment completing our ocean-to-ocean drive at the same place we had finished our Indian-Pacific cycle ride. It was just as we remembered – the seafront, the gulls, pelicans and ibises, and the mangroves, though today we didn't walk far in the torrential rain (flooding was reported on the radio later).

Joining the Gateway Motorway, we continued north, over the new toll-bridge across the mouth of the Brisbane River and past the airport. Turning off at Toombul Rd for Aspley, we returned for our 4th visit to the large Top Tourist CP, the nearest to the airport (about 10 km). Rain continued to pour, to the relief of much of the country. The CP is well placed, with a hypermarket complex right behind it and plenty of eating places, though sadly no internet centres. We took an en-suite cabin for the remainder of our stay ($A58.50 a night, including discount and linen). Visit www.aspleyacres.com.au for more on one of our favourite caravan parks (where we first met our Perth cycling friends, Ruby & Bill!)

We unpacked, cleaned and returned the Maui motorhome to the depot near the airport; repacked for a flight to New Zealand on 1 July; wrote letters and enjoyed time to read and (a rare event) watch TV!