Our itinerary for 2001 has us starting from Brisbane and
traveling to Cairns via the coast and returning via the
hinterland. We'll be keeping track of places we visit and
stay, kilometers traveled, and fuel prices.

Traveling with 2 young kids, we'll try to balance driving days with kid days, seeking out fun and educational activities. Play Animals in Focus.

We scored on the Sydney to Brisbane flight - a Qantas Internet Red E-Deal that was very cheap. The 4wd ($108/day) was hired for capacity, comfort and versatility as we plan to explore some of the national parks in the north. From our last trip we found having a fridge in the back to keep groceries cold was worth the $10/day as we always ate breakfast in and could stop for an afternoon tea at a roadside rest stop.

We seek out accomodation in caravan parks that have onsite vans (a kind of prefab cabin) that are very economical at $45 to about $75/day. We travel with sleeping bags and pillows so we didn't use the trailer park linens. We always get an ensuite so the kids can use the toilet at night. The parks are usually set in picturesque settings, though some were near the highway.

The caravan parks are organized into schemes. We'll be using 2 on this trip: Top Tourist and Big 4. Top Tourist parks tend to be more economical at $45 to $65 for an ensuite while the Big 4 parks are more upscale at $65 to $85. All of the parks have about 5 classes of cabins priced in $5 to $10 increments.

We could not possibly visit every place on our route so here is a page of links and phone numbers for EcoTourism activities, dining and accomodation that may be of interest for our dear readers planning holidays in the area.

Enjoyed our tour? Please drop us a line:
peter@organicsofoz.com