The journal

We left Perth in our motorhome and headed east, as far as a small caravan site at Cunderdin, 250 kilometres down the road. Poppa did all the driving that first day.

This morning it was my turn behind the wheel, and from then on we shared the driving. It was a 500-kilometre day. We passed close to Kalgoorlie, where gold was discovered in 1893 and is still mined today, and for mile after mile a great pipe ran alongside the highway, carrying water all the way from Perth to Kalgoorlie.

By evening we were at Norseman, 750 kilometres from where we started. It's a large site, known as the Gateway to the Nullarbor. It was fine, but there were so many flies outside that we ate indoors. Otherwise they'd have eaten us!

Tomorrow we start across the Nullarbor Plain.

We spent the night at Madura, out on the Nullarbor, with no internet connection to be had.

Crossing the Nullarbor, there are no fences, and big signs warn drivers that kangaroos, wombats and camels may be on the road. All we saw were a few dead roos at the roadside: no wombats, no camels. A pity, really; perhaps they come out at dusk. We always make a point of being at our site before dark so we don't meet any of them on the road.

This afternoon the road brought us alongside the Great Australian Bight. We drove the van right up near the cliffs. It was blowing hard, but we could stand and look down on the ocean with the cliffs towering above it, a magnificent sight after so much barren country.

We got talking to some of the road-train drivers, whose rigs sometimes pull three or four big trailers. What should we do when one wants to overtake? "Just put your right indicator out," one said, "and give it about three flashes. Then we know the road in front is clear and we can get past." Good advice, because once they get going they're powerful beasts. The roads out here run pretty straight, so you can usually see a long way ahead.

Tonight we're at the Nullarbor Roadhouse, with a Telstra tower right beside us, so we're connected again. Wild dingoes are roaming around the site, probably looking for food. We've been told to leave nothing outside, because shoes and mats may not be there in the morning!

We've covered 1,750 kilometres from Mandurah so far. We crossed into South Australia at Border Village, and the quarantine check is at Ceduna, so we have to eat up all our fruit and vegetables before then or they'll be taken from us. It's to keep fruit fly out of the state.

We woke to a white world. Not snow, but a mist so heavy that everything felt eerie. Poppa took a picture of it. The dingoes were still wandering about, looking for food, and they all looked pretty skinny. Soon the sun came out and the mist burned away.

The country was very barren at first, then little by little it grew greener, with trees along both sides of the road, which made for a more interesting drive. Wildlife? A big dead wombat lying in the road, and something I think was a snake crawling across, though I can't be sure. We travel so fast we probably miss quite a bit.

At Ceduna the motorhome was inspected for fruit and vegetables. We'd spent all morning eating up the last of our apples and stuffing ourselves with cucumber till it was coming out of our ears. I gave the man three lemons; I'd have eaten them too if I could! South Australia has no fruit fly and wants to keep it that way, and since Western Australia has the Mediterranean fruit fly, everything goes, just in case. Ceduna seemed a nice, clean place, so we did our shopping there and stocked up on fruit and vegetables all over again. There were more Aboriginal people than white people in town.

Another 300 kilometres brought us to Kimba, 600 kilometres in all from the Nullarbor Roadhouse after a late start. We arrived just before sunset. There are only four motorhomes and caravans on the site, which is nice. It's 10.42pm, 78°F inside the van, and we are now an hour and a half ahead of Perth and ten and a half hours ahead of the UK.

The day began through fairly dull country until we reached Iron Knob. A funny name! This is where the Australian steel industry first started, and it looked like an enormous slab of rock with chunks cut out of it. We tried for a picture, but it isn't easy to stop the motorhome by the side of the road.

Next came Port Augusta, the Crossroads of Australia: west to the Nullarbor, north to Darwin, east to Sydney and south to Adelaide. We soon left the main highway, since we're no longer used to traffic, cars and traffic lights, and took a pretty road through rolling hills with sheep and a few cattle.

An enormous train held us up at a level crossing, its containers stacked two high and loaded with goods, cars included. It went on and on and on! We'd never seen anything like it. It couldn't happen in England, where the bridges are too low; here there were no bridges to worry about.

Tonight we're in the wine-growing country around Clare, and what a change from the Nullarbor: hills and valleys, trees and grapevines, all of it lush. A big wash in the laundry has made us clean again, and after macaroni cheese, a salad and a yoghurt our tummies are full. Tomorrow we hope to see some underground wine cellars owned by Jesuit priests.

It's such a nice area that instead of motoring on we booked another night and took a rest day, tucked in among the gum trees and not at all crowded, which is how we like it. The only nuisance was a gang of wasps that pestered us at afternoon tea. I put on insect repellent and they seemed to like it. Crazy!

In the morning we shopped and looked around Clare. The townships in this wine country look prosperous: a good harvest and good wine sales bring a lot of money in.

In the afternoon we went to Sevenhill Cellars, the winery founded by the Jesuits, for an hour-and-a-half tour of the estate, with a tasting to finish. Poppa likes a sweet wine, so we came away with a bottle that keeps for up to six months once opened, which suits travellers like us. It's 18% alcohol.

The winery's cat is a marmalade fellow called Frontignac, Fronti for short, usually found snoozing on top of the wine vats, as cats do.

Supper tonight is a "Poppa special": three tins opened, steak and onions, peas and carrots, and red kidney beans. I know I'm going to enjoy this marvellous meal!

We came to Mannum to be close to the great Murray River, Australia's longest. Its waters feed most of the south-east of the country, and Adelaide depends on it for up to 90% of its drinking water in dry years. Plenty of people live in houseboats along its banks.

It wasn't a long drive. Leaving Clare, the vineyards gave way to harvested wheat fields, miles and miles of stubble as far as the eye could see across beautiful rolling country. Some hills were very steep, but in automatic the motorhome took them easily. I love driving it: we sit up high and see everything around us, except of course when we have to keep our eyes on the road. We avoid cities and take the country routes, narrower and bendier and slower.

Lunch was at a pretty little place called Angaston, parked in the shade: cooked chicken, lovely fresh bread, Australian cheeses and local grapes. Very yummy.

No driving today. We stayed put for the afternoon river cruise on the Murray, and it was worth the wait: the day was very hot but much cooler on the water.

First we went downstream past all the houseboats lined up along the bank, then turned upstream, where it was more deserted and rather sad. With so little rain the land is parched and the river level has dropped right down. The willows along the banks have their roots right out of the water, and the red gums further back are shedding leaves to survive. They don't look good at all. Strange to think of all the flooding up north in Queensland while down here they're crying out for rain.

At one spot we fed enormous carp and a few ducks with bread they gave us. They obviously know what time the boat comes along and are ready for their daily feed!

Last night, while I was on the phone to a friend in England, two or three little animals came towards me in the dark. All I could see were shapes, and they looked a bit like quokkas. I thought they might bite and dashed into the motorhome!

Poppa got me up early to watch the old paddle-steamer go past our site with its passengers aboard. Quite a sight, with the paddles turning at the back and pushing the boat along.

And the mystery animals that nearly nibbled my toes the other night? Possums. Our neighbours warned us they can be naughty: when they hang in the trees they sometimes wee on you if you're underneath!

We drove down from the Murray towards the sea, about 350 kilometres. The last stretch was rather boring, though maybe we were just tired. Tonight's site couldn't be more different: green grass, a willow tree beside us, a lake to explore in the morning. It all looks very English.

We're at Robe, on South Australia's south-east coast. It was once an important port for the colony; now it's home to a crayfishing fleet and a holiday resort. Nearby Long Beach is some 10 to 17 kilometres of firm, flat sand that you can drive along.

We followed the coast road from Robe to Mount Gambier, about 192 kilometres. Part of the way was a tourist drive around the biggest wind farm we've ever seen, probably more than 100 turbines. From Beachport the road wound a little inland to tonight's stop.

We're right beside a huge lake in a volcanic crater that erupted about 6,000 years ago, and tomorrow we plan to walk the three-and-a-half kilometres around its rim. Good exercise for us!

Tomorrow we also cross into Victoria. In Melbourne we want to look up an old friend, Jack Greenwood. We met him in 1966 on a long journey called "The Indiaman", a bus trip from Bombay across many countries to the UK that took three months. Three months after we got home our first son, Toby, was born, so he had quite a journey inside my tummy!

This morning we walked the rim of the Blue Lake and climbed to the higher viewing platforms. The water was a beautiful blue, though apparently around the start of autumn the colour begins to fade to a duller blue, and today is the first day of autumn in Australia.

Soon after leaving Mount Gambier we crossed into Victoria and made our way back down to the coast, past more wind turbines, white butterflies, pine forests and the usual sheep and cattle grazing in brown fields. English cows and sheep, with their lovely green fields, are so lucky.

Tonight we're looking out at hedges, green grass and dunes, with hardly anyone else in sight, right beside the Southern Ocean at Port Fairy. It's a favourite spot for surfers, despite all the rocks. It was once a whaling centre and one of the largest ports in Australia; now it's more of a tourist town. As we drove in, big tents were going up in the fields for the folk festival the town holds every year on the long weekend, which draws people from far and wide.

We're spending two nights in Warrnambool because of extremely high winds. Yesterday the police even sent a warning to our mobiles. Next comes the Great Ocean Road, and with stretches close to the cliffs it would be dangerous to take a high-sided vehicle like ours out in this.

Still, it's a very nice site, grassy and tucked in behind a hedge, with nobody else near us. That's how we like it. The town, which is quite big, is within walking distance. Last night we had a drink in an unusually decorated hotel, then a meal, and went to the cinema to see Slumdog Millionaire. A brilliant film.

We're right beside a surfing beach, so we want to climb the steps and see what the waves are doing. Yesterday it looked a safe place to swim, but in this weather who knows? Tonight there's an outdoor sound-and-light show.

Tonight's sound-and-light show is all about life here in Warrnambool and the shipwrecks of the 1800s. It's meant to be quite spooky.

The day was very, very windy, and the afternoon very, very rainy, so we stayed in the motorhome with the paper and some puzzles. It was quite cosy, actually, and it's the first rain we've seen since leaving Perth on 18 February. Tomorrow we hope to drive the Great Ocean Road towards Melbourne.

Today we began the Great Ocean Road. It was a wild, windy, showery day, the seas were boiling and the rocks were simply amazing. Every few kilometres there's a lookout, and the wind was so strong it almost took my breath away as I tried to photograph the scene below.

Being high-sided, we took the wind broadside, which makes the motorhome hard to control, and the other motorhomes on the road must have had the same trouble. So we stopped early at Port Campbell, where the caravan site sits low and sheltered, and we feel quite cosy. Only 92 kilometres today, 3,806 since Perth, and we're on course. The winds are supposed to ease tomorrow.

A better day: the gales have dropped, though it's still showery, with the sun breaking through now and again. It's chilly here by the sea.

We spent the morning turning off the Great Ocean Road every few minutes for the marvellous views along this coast. The waves pounded the rocks and threw spray high into the air. The only children about were little ones holding tight to their parents' hands, because the wind is so strong near the cliff edges.

Some of the road was very twisty, and when I'd had enough of concentrating, Poppa took over. Tomorrow the road runs close to the cliff edge, so I think Poppa will drive!

Not a good start. Poor Poppa got a soaking backing out of our last site: the ground sloped, the window was open, and all the rain that had collected on the roof came cascading down over him, the seat, our books and the camera inside the door!

The rest of the day made up for it. The road was twisty again, with the sea on one side and tree-covered hills on the other, and the views were fantastic. We kept stopping to take photographs. The waves on this coast come rolling in a long, unbroken line, ideal for surfing.

We stopped for coffee at a little café at Kennett River, where kookaburras sat waiting to be fed. A short walk up the road brought us to two koalas in their own habitat: one asleep, as they usually are by day, the other feeding on gum leaves.

Tonight we're at a big caravan and camping site right by the ocean at Anglesea, full of families, with kids on bikes, skateboards, dragsters and go-karts. We're staying three days.

It's the long holiday weekend, so no driving for us except on foot. The small town was crowded with families; it's a real holiday place, and I bet the shopkeepers were pleased.

After lunch we walked through the site to the beach, round the river, which wasn't flowing out to sea, so the water probably wasn't salty. The beach is so flat, very like Perranporth in Cornwall. The surf was good, not too big, coming in long lines, safe enough for anyone who loves body-surfing, unlike many Perth beaches, where the sand drops away and giant waves knock you over. We walked a long way to some large rocks, and Poppa took lots of photos.

The site has plenty for children: a giant, colourful bouncing pillow, a little pool and a bigger one, play areas and a covered games room. Everyone seems really happy. It's a proper holiday atmosphere.

Our third day at Anglesea, and a quiet one: a Sunday market set up beside the river, and lunch in town.

Tomorrow we move on towards Melbourne. We hope to catch the ferry across the entrance to Port Phillip Bay, and then to see a friend we haven't seen for 42 years. That's a long time.

Today we covered 143 kilometres. First came Bells Beach, so popular with surfers, though the wind was wrong today. It came from the south-east and broke up the long waves. Then on to Torquay, a real surf town, full of the big names in surf gear like Rip Curl and Billabong. Poppa bought a cover for his boogie board so it won't get damaged on the road.

Next was the big ferry from Queenscliff to Sorrento, carrying us and the motorhome across the water. The crossing took about 40 minutes, and we were amazed at how many cars, caravans and motorhomes it carried. There are two car decks, but because of our size we could only go on one. From up top we looked down onto the roof of our own van, something we never see!

Now we're close to Melbourne. The terrible fires a few weeks ago happened north of the city, and we're going nowhere near there. It's all too sad.

We're not moving the motorhome at the moment. Instead we've spent the day with Jack, whom we hadn't seen for 42 years. He was one of the drivers in 1966, when we travelled overland from India back to the UK. I was expecting Toby then, and everyone assumed it would be a boy, and they were all right!

This morning Jack and his sister Ricky drove to our site, and we had coffee and biscuits under the trees before they took us to their home, not far south of the city. We sat and talked and looked at photographs all day, then ate and drank plenty before they drove us back.

Jack collected us again this morning, and after coffee at his place we set off in their car, loaded with uncooked steaks, onions, salads, sausages, yoghurt and drinks, up into the Dandenong Ranges. Thank goodness the terrible fires never reached this far. It's a beautiful area of tall trees, giant ferns and lovely picnic spots, and much cooler than down in the valley. The gas barbecues are free: press the button and the plate stays hot for 10 to 15 minutes, then press again. We ate a good barbecue and felt very full.

We saw wonderful views with mountains behind, and so many birds: lyrebirds with very long tails, and rosellas in the most beautiful colours, with a green parrot among them. They fed from our hands and hopped onto our shoulders and heads.

Jack wants us to stay and stay, but we really must be on our way.

On the eastern side of Australia we have many old friends to see after a very long time, so for a while there's more visiting than travelling.

We stayed a third night on the same site near Dandenong, south of Melbourne. Our friends begged us to stay longer, but today we said we really had to go. They took us up into the hills, to a friend's house in Belgrave, and yesterday to another friend at Warragul, overlooking hills where the trees had been on fire. These were the worst fires Australia had ever experienced, and many people lost their homes. The views were so sad, because it could all have been so beautiful.

On the way back last night we took Jack and Ricky to an all-you-can-eat restaurant. The men stuffed themselves, back and forth, back and forth, filling their plates again and again!

Today we drove right through Melbourne, me at the wheel and Poppa navigating. It was a bit scary, but we did it and came out fine. Beyond the city we photographed burnt trees as we went, down the middle of the road, along both sides and over the nearby hills.

We covered 309 kilometres north-east on the Hume Highway, heading for Albury to see a sheep farmer. Tonight we're at Wangaratta, on a quiet site owned by the forestry commission, with lovely trees all around.

We're well clear of Melbourne now, at Colombo Creek near Jerilderie. It's roughly on the way to Sydney, but we came to see two special friends from our 1966 travels.

The first is Johnny, who lives right out in the middle of nowhere in a wonderful old homestead. He calls himself a farmer but has no cattle; the land around him is crying out for water, and everywhere is so dry. The good news is that he's a very clever inventor who travels about getting people interested in his ideas. He has a special tool just waiting to be produced, and when it is, he says, he'll be a millionaire. Good luck to him!

He cooked us a great roast from an enormous leg of lamb his neighbouring farmer had given him, and we finished with strawberries and ice cream. On the road I long for meals like that, because we have no oven in the motorhome. His lovely retriever, Maggie, is so obedient that she's even been trained not to bark, because Johnny can't bear barking dogs.

We talked and talked, showed him our photos from 42 years ago, and didn't get to bed until well after midnight.

In the morning Johnny drove us around his land in the ute, a very bumpy ride on red dirt roads with the dust flying. Maggie rode in the back on her lead so she wouldn't fall out, and every time we passed sheep she leapt up excitedly and, despite Johnny's orders, actually barked!

In the afternoon Poppa drove the motorhome while I went with Johnny and Maggie on a 350-kilometre round trip to see another old friend, Andy, near Albury. He farms sheep and cattle, with lots of land and lots of space, right out in the country. We chatted and had curry, then passionfruit cheesecake.

We're doing too much talking and too much eating on this trip, and it's a bit worrying, because there's a long way to go before our travelling ends in early May and we see our family again in Perth.

We stayed the night with our friends on the farm. It was lovely to sleep in a real bed again after so many nights in the motorhome.

I caught up on the washing while Poppa went out with Andy on the tractor to see to some hay bales that had been off-loaded. In the afternoon Andy set off on his quad bike with two of his dogs on the back, and Poppa and I followed in the ute. Our job was to move his cattle out of a paddock with too little feed, onto the road and into another field, and the dogs were fantastic. One is so lively that he has a front paw tucked into his collar to slow him down, yet he still raced along. They kept the cattle together while the farmer hung back a little, and soon the cows were in their new field. I was amazed how they just knew what to do.

Afterwards we drove to each end of the long road to take down the signs warning of cattle on the road. Then another super meal, lots of photos, and bed.

To reach Geehi we climbed very twisty, narrow roads with a big drop on one side. The motorhome puffed and panted, and the brakes were on so much that now and again there was quite a smell from the wheels. Netting covered the rock faces on either side to stop rocks falling onto the road, and we were glad to pull off for the night.

At Geehi we were right among beautiful trees and mountains, with a little stream near where we parked and no internet at all. Not far away, families of kangaroos stood watching us; some of the mothers had joeys in their pouches with their legs hanging out!

We were tired and went to bed early. Up here in the mountains the night was very cold.

We had a lovely day at Thredbo, thanks to Uncle Toby. In 1995 he worked and played at this ski resort through the winter, and he told us we had to ride the ski-lift for the wonderful views down over the village. It was a beautiful day of clear blue skies, and we really enjoyed it. On the lift were boys taking their mountain bikes up to the top, ready to hurtle down a steep, winding track all the way back again!

By the roadside lay a snake, dead, I think. Tonight we're out of the Snowy Mountains, on a site beside the lake at Jindabyne, which we'll explore in the morning.

We left our lakeside site at Jindabyne and, after some shopping and a coffee, took the road to Canberra, the capital. As we approached, though, we decided not to go in after all. Had we arrived in the morning we'd have taken a tram or bus to see the sights. Instead we turned east and took the road to the coast, 311 kilometres in all today.

We must have been climbing gradually, because soon we were crossing the Great Dividing Range. The roads were good but SO twisty and turny, with giant trees all around and a big drop on one side.

Now we're on the coast at Batemans Bay, beside an aquatic sanctuary. Lots of birds are out on the marshy water, and as I write the crickets are making a real din!

From here we drive north for about 3,000 kilometres, as far as Cairns, and after that from Townsville to Perth by way of Darwin, another 7,000. We've done 5,000 kilometres and have 10,000 still to go!

We had to stop at Gerringong. It sounds so much like our own name, Gerring! It's a lovely place with a very good beach. After lunch we walked to another beautiful beach not far away, Seven Mile Beach.

We drove 290 kilometres today, and for the first time the fields were green. Until now everything has been brown, because there's so little rain, but nearing Sydney the countryside is getting much prettier, very like England. We're staying on this site a couple of days to see friends before heading north again.

Not much to report. In the morning we crossed the road from our site and there were the tall buildings of Sydney in the distance. After a food shop we went back to the motorhome, because in the afternoon two friends arrived whom we hadn't seen for 43 years. We chatted until early evening, when they had to go home. It was great to see them.

Afterwards Poppa and I had fish and chips nearby and took some photos of Sydney by night, though they didn't come out very well.

We left Sydney this morning meaning to drive the toll road over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, but in all the traffic we missed the turning and went under the harbour through a network of tunnels instead. We still had to pay $10! Never mind. We'll probably come back to Sydney one day, by bus and train; with a motorhome this big, a city you don't know is no fun.

We drove through the city, up and down hills and through forests, and now we're by the ocean near Taree, on an enormous site with green grass all around and the sound of the surf nearby. Before supper we walked along the shore. There's plenty of surf, but some fairly large stones here and there that could hurt a body-surfer. We should sleep well after all that driving.

We're on a lovely site this afternoon overlooking a lagoon, with the sea just the other side of the rocks. People have painted those rocks in colourful designs and pictures and signed their names on them. Across the lagoon, our motorhome sits among the caravans.

We paid extra to be by the water, but it's worth it, because it's all so beautiful. Colourful birds chatter away in the trees; I must find out what they're called. Tomorrow we're back on the road north.

On our site at Corindi Beach grew trees with fruits like large coconuts that you can't eat. I've since found out they're called pandanus palms, and some of their roots grow all twisty above the ground.

What was new for us today was the sugar cane: rows and rows of it on both sides of the road. Now I'd like to visit a sugar mill and find out how they get the sugar out. We also crossed many bridges over rivers, some of them really wide, so there's no shortage of water up here. Poor old Adelaide and Melbourne are suffering, with water levels going down, down, down and the soil so dry everywhere. They need a big pipeline to send water south from here.

We reached Byron Bay later than we wanted, only to find the sites in town all full. The town is crowded with young people, many with packs on their backs, and it made us feel quite old. I don't think we saw anyone our age. At last we found a site a little out of town, and it suits us fine, with plenty of room.

The beaches we glimpsed looked great, as do all the beaches along this coast, with plenty of sand, rock pools and fairly gentle surf, though a real surfer would paddle right out and wait for the big waves. Cape Byron, just here, is the most easterly point of mainland Australia.

We're spending three nights with friends in Brisbane, in a beautiful apartment high up, overlooking the city skyline. What a view! Last night we ate supper on their balcony, the city a mass of different coloured lights below us, candles burning and a lovely meal in front of us. We felt we were in heaven.

This morning's photo was hazy, because the weather is so hot, so I'll take another tonight.

We breakfasted out on the balcony on fresh fruit salad, croissants and coffee, all very yummy, with the beautiful view as well. Later our friends showed us around the university, which was very interesting, and then we took the ferry that stops all along the Brisbane River. It was very cheap and gave us an idea of the city from the water. I think I'd rather travel this way than by car, bus or train.

After about eight stops we were hungry, so our friends took us to a Japanese restaurant, where we each had a large box holding about ten little boxes of different foods. All very tasty, except that we had to use chopsticks, and I'm not very good with them. I still loved it. Then a taxi back to the car, and home. Friends are coming over this evening.

Our last full day with our friends before heading north again. In the afternoon we went to the cinema to see The Reader, with Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes, and in the evening we all went to a Croatian restaurant for a gorgeous fish meal. Poppa paid the bill, to thank our friends for looking after us so well. We've been well and truly spoilt.

We left our friends late in the morning, after two more people we know dropped in to see us with helpful tips for the road ahead. So many of Brisbane's roads are very hilly. Driving to their house was quite scary: the motorhome was at a crazy angle while we hunted for the address, and I just hoped the brakes would hold. Fortunately they did.

We travelled 184 kilometres today. That's 40 days done and 40 to go, and Poppa reckons we're just 16 kilometres short of 7,000. Noosa looks a lovely place, very much a holiday resort, near both the river and the sea. Tomorrow, if there's time, we must explore.

We had a look around the very nice resort of Noosa, shopped for food and had a coffee, but we needed to keep moving and were soon back in the motorhome. Everywhere along the highway is green and lush, and once again there were lots of sugar-cane fields.

At the information centre in Maryborough we booked a tour of Fraser Island. They collect us at 7.30 in the morning, so it's an early night. Fraser Island is the largest sand island in the world, with lakes and forests growing on nothing but sand, as well as lovely beaches, coloured sand cliffs and rainforest.

We were collected by bus at 7.30 and, after picking up people of all ages along the way, came to the jetty at River Heads. Soon a whole crowd of us was waiting for the ferry, along with buses and four-wheel-drive cars, each of which had to back on so it could drive straight off at the other end. The crossing took about half an hour, and then we were assigned our four-wheel-drive vehicle for the day.

Then the fun began. We rocked and rolled around the island, because there's nothing but sand to drive on, deeply rutted in places and often so narrow that branches snapped off the trees and bushes as we passed. Meeting another vehicle was tricky, though as the larger one we always had right of way.

First came a walk in the rainforest, where the streams ran crystal clear through very dense woodland. Then a long drive right along the shore with big breakers rolling in close beside us. The tail of a cyclone had come through not long before and washed much of the sand away, exposing the black coffee rock underneath. Our driver was very skilful, but it bucked us about and we had to keep our seatbelts on all the time. Exciting, and amazing how tough those vehicles must be.

After lunch we drove through more forest to Lake McKenzie, a freshwater lake, where we had about an hour to swim in the gorgeous turquoise water over white silica sand. Then back to the ferry and Hervey Bay. We saw wild dingoes on the island, and on the way back to our site families of kangaroos watched us from the green fields.

I'm dripping as I write, because it's SO hot, but Poppa has just turned on the air conditioning. Yesterday we travelled 149 kilometres; today it was 401, a lot of hard driving with a few stops along the way.

We stopped for coffee in Childers, where 15 backpackers died in a fire at a backpackers' hostel in 2000. The Palace building has since been rebuilt and looks very nice.

Then on to Bundaberg, home of the famous Bundaberg rum, and of the ginger beer I love. We did the factory tour, which was most interesting, learning how it's made and bottled, and got to taste the rum with cola, with ginger beer and in other drinks.

Our site for the night was lovely, with grass, palm trees and attractive flowers. We were shown a passionfruit vine and a star fruit tree. You can put star fruit in a salad, and when it's sliced, each piece looks like a star.

We left Bundaberg and drove a long way. At one point we turned off the highway for a rest, and when I flushed the toilet I nearly jumped out of my skin: a large frog, or maybe a toad, was swirling around in the pan! Then it crawled up into the rim. I rushed for my camera to take its picture. It was quite scary, and thank goodness I hadn't sat down!

Tonight we're on a small site just off the road. It's all right, if a bit rough, and the water comes from a bore underground, so we can't drink it without boiling it first.

At our not-very-nice site at Marlborough this morning there was a frog in the toilets again, on the wall this time.

It was another long day of driving. For most of the way, especially after Sarina, there were sugar-cane fields on both sides of the highway. We passed through national forests too, with beautiful hills in the distance, and everywhere was green, green, green.

In Proserpine we went into the information office to plan tomorrow's outing from Airlie Beach: a helicopter flight all around the Whitsunday Islands, with a swim at one of the beaches on the way. Being in this area, it was something we felt we just had to do.

Our site here sits among palm trees, a real family park with lots of children enjoying the enormous bouncy cushion and the big swimming pool. It's so hot that the air conditioning is on as I write, or the perspiration would be trickling down our faces!

The weather could have been better, rather cloudy, but never mind: the helicopter trip was a great experience. Poppa sat in front on the way out and I had the front seat coming back, so we both had the fun of being beside the pilot. Over the forests it was a bit bumpy, but over the sea and around the islands it was pretty smooth.

We landed on the white sand at Whitehaven Beach and had about an hour to swim and walk. The water was crystal clear, the sand white, and there was hardly anyone else around. Marvellous. Then we were airborne again over more islands, with yachts moored here and there or sailing lazily between them. What a life! Altogether about two hours, and a lot of fun.

Today's 345 kilometres took us past yet more sugar-cane fields, with mountains behind and a little rain now and again. It's hot and muggy: at 6.30pm it's 85°F inside the motorhome, so the air conditioning is going.

Our caravan site is right by the beach, and we had our drinks under a palm tree. BUT we've been warned there may be crocodiles in the river and stingers in the sea, so it's strictly NO SWIMMING. It all looks lovely, but there are hidden dangers. Flocks of colourful birds fly about, making a real din in the trees, twittering away as though they're talking to each other.

This morning, near where we'd parked at Rollingstone beside the beach, a lady had caught a stingray on her line and needed help getting it off the hook. A man nearby helped her, very carefully, because a stingray's tail can be deadly. Poppa took photos.

The rest of the way to Cairns was beautiful, everything so green, with mountains behind. At first it was more and more sugar cane, but nearer Cairns the scenery changed to bananas, bananas all the way.

Our site on the outskirts of Cairns has everything a family could want, from a swimming pool and a big bouncy mat to mini golf and much more. We're here because it's big enough for a motorhome our size. We're parked on grass with palm trees either side, and we'll be comfortable here for three nights. Tomorrow we go out to the Great Barrier Reef.

The bus collected us at 7am, a little early for us. At the jetty we boarded a 43-metre catamaran that can carry 160 people; today, I think, there were 103. After a briefing we were off, skimming across the water for an hour and a half, and we loved it. Most of the way Poppa and I were right out at the front, riding the waves. Poppa isn't a very good sailor, but he took two pills before we left and was fine all the way.

We anchored near a coral reef. We could dive, snorkel, go down in a semi-submersible, take the small boat over to a little sandy cay about 500 metres long and 100 metres wide to swim or wander, or just enjoy a scrumptious lunch. We went down in the sub twice and visited the cay, Michaelmas Cay, a bird sanctuary. A cay is a low island built up from sand on a coral reef, and it could simply disappear if a cyclone struck it hard enough. The water was lovely, warm and crystal clear. Our only disappointment was that, because of the birds, most of it was roped off, leaving just a small section for us. We understood, of course, but after all our driving we fancied a good long walk.

Now the reef itself. About 20 of us fitted into the little sub, and down we went, weaving in and out of banks of coral of every shape and size, with brightly coloured fish swimming through it. We hoped to see turtles, but not today, which was a pity. In the poor light our photos didn't come out very well.

After tea and delicious cake we headed back to Cairns, the captain using the enormous sails whenever he could. At times the wind was really strong and waves flooded parts of the upper deck. Really exhilarating. Again Poppa and I were right at the front, holding on tight as we bumped along. Back in the motorhome now, the rain is coming down outside, but it's still hot!

We stayed in today, because it's so rainy, very hot and tropical. How lucky we were to have such a super day on the boat yesterday! Two photos remind me of it: a starfish in the water at Michaelmas Cay, and the picture taken as we boarded. It came out so well that we bought it, a memento of a very happy time on board.

Our five-star Big 4 site in Cairns had its own buggies to take you around, and even its own petrol pumps, which is most unusual; usually there's just a shop on site for groceries.

And did it rain! Heavily, most of the night and much of the day, so no wonder everything is so green and lush. It's very tropical, hot and humid. In the morning Poppa tried to get us a stronger aerial, so we can pick up mobile and laptop signals better before we set off west across the top.

This afternoon we came up near Port Douglas, and it's raining again. This is as far north as we go on the east coast. We're only five kilometres from town, and we're told it's worth a visit.

How lovely to feel a little cooler this evening, up in the cool tropics. First we looked around Port Douglas, a very nice place, especially for tourists: so clean, with sparkling new buildings, shops and cafés, and a good flat beach with a large shark-net enclosure to keep swimmers safe.

Then we were back on the road and soon climbing a very twisting road up to the Tablelands. It was good to leave the hot temperatures behind, and amazingly we had no rain all day.

This afternoon we toured a coffee factory in Mareeba, where about 70% of the coffee grown in Australia comes from. We saw beans growing, not yet ripe. Further along we sampled peanuts of every kind: curry, chilli and lime, honey, plain salted and unsalted. Around Atherton they grow peanuts, maize, potatoes and avocados. In a shop window in Port Douglas we'd spotted a couple of funny things, too.

Now we've turned west, and Poppa tells me there are 6,000 kilometres to go to get back to Perth.

The day began through rainforest and green rolling hills; then we dropped off the Tablelands onto the savannah. The scenery is very different now: deep red soil on either side of the road, rough grassland and a few trees. In places the road is only wide enough for one car, so when we meet another vehicle we both have to pull half off the bitumen. The recent cyclone did a lot of damage, and the floods it brought washed some roads away. At one point a group of Brahman cattle, bulls, cows and a calf, crossed the road in front of us.

Tonight we're at a small caravan park in Georgetown. There isn't much here, but at least we've had nice showers.

It was another long day on the road, because we know how far we must go each day to keep to our schedule. An interesting journey, though: large buzzards circling for food, a wild black boar that had been hit by a car at the roadside, a small kangaroo that hopped out in front of us and that we only just missed, and bulls and cows everywhere. Nearing Normanton, where there's been so much flooding, water lilies had grown up in the floodwaters and the birds were flocking to drink. Quite a sight.

In town stands a very large model of a crocodile, and according to the sign a crocodile that long was actually caught here. Eeeek! He'd have been the length of our motorhome.

I'm writing this feeling very, very hot, and I do hope the temperature drops by bedtime. Time to find some cooler air.

The scenery kept changing as we went. First came scrubland and a few trees, often with just a single strip of road and red soil on either side. Then the land turned very, very flat, with hardly a tree, until at last some rocky outcrops appeared, everything got more interesting and the road returned to normal.

We stopped at the Burke and Wills Roadhouse for a pie and coffee at lunchtime. In the afternoon, when we changed drivers, we spotted a roadside bin with "Jo Jo" on it and couldn't resist a photo. Then there were the termite mounds, so many along the road, looking like gravestones.

Now we're in Cloncurry, on a very nice site with plenty of trees and a rock-pool swimming pool filled with salt water. Tonight we went stargazing with a couple from Darwin in the caravan next door. The skies are so clear and the stars so bright, and we learned the names of the stars of the Southern Hemisphere.

It was a lovely drive this morning from our last site to Mount Isa, and as we left Mt Isa we had our first heavy rain, though thankfully it didn't last.

Tonight we're at a roadhouse, with a funny sight out the front and a sunset behind one of the road trains parked up for the night. We're two very hot people. When I opened the door of the shower hut and switched on the light, FROGS were jumping all over the place, and in the shower two enormous CRICKETS were leaping about. I grabbed them in my flannel and tossed them out, water and all. Then, crossing back to the motorhome in the dark, I was squirted by the sprinklers! I've come inside to recover.

Tomorrow we enter the Northern Territory, with a lot of kilometres to cover.

The day started on a very bumpy road through wide open spaces, and we thought, oh dear, this is going to be awful for such a long way. Thank goodness the road had been upgraded further on. Sometimes there was simply nothing to see, then perhaps a few trees.

Halfway we stopped at a nice clean homestead for diesel and a bite to eat. A little later, swapping drivers at a rest area, we met two cyclists from Finland who are pedalling all the way round Australia. How anyone does it I don't know, with such vast distances between rest stops.

We looked around Tennant Creek but drove on, because other travellers had told us to stop at Banka Banka. We did, and it was a lovely little place with green grass and good toilets, though the flies were dreadful. In the evening the owners put on a slide show about the place, how the station was owned by S. Kidman & Co, the famous cattle company, and mostly about how a cattle station is run. Then came demonstrations of whip-cracking, and of divining water with two pieces of wire. Poppa and I can both do that, though not everyone can.

Today we visited a ghost town that was a busy little place until about 1970. The cattle drovers used to meet there for a drink and a chat before moving on along the roads with their herds. When road trains arrived the drovers lost their jobs, because the cattle went to market in the back of those giant lorries instead. An old petrol pump still stands there.

Tonight we're at a very quaint little pub, one of the oldest in the Northern Territory. It's absolutely crammed inside with cards, banners, bras and much more besides. The bar stools are made from vehicle axles and the ashtrays from hubcaps. Quite a few of us are in the caravan park beside it, and tonight there's a barbecue with entertainment. It's very, very hot here, and the air conditioning is on in the van as I write.

Last night at the little pub in Daly Waters we had a very tender steak off the barbecue and a salad, with a guitarist singing, accompanied some of the time by a seven-year-old boy called Bailey. He was great and kept his toes tapping to the music.

For much of this morning's drive the land on both sides had been through controlled burning, so everything looked black and rather sad. They do it now and then to burn off the long grass around the trees and stop fires getting out of control near the road.

Further on we turned off the main road to see a crystal-clear hot thermal pool. I wish I'd gone in, but Poppa already had his swimming trunks on, so I stood at the side taking pictures. Along the track there was evidence of the flooding a while ago, which had swept through the palm trees and made rather a mess of the place.

Now we're in Katherine, on a very nice site in a sort of parkland among the trees, sitting in the motorhome with the air conditioning full on. It's lovely. I've done lots of washing and had a shower. Tomorrow we're booked on a two-hour cruise through the gorges.

Today we spent two hours on the water, travelling through two gorges in a flat-bottomed boat that carries up to 60 people. After the first gorge we got out and walked about 400 metres along a path beside the rapids, then boarded another boat above them to see the second gorge. There are 13 gorges in all; you can canoe through them from top to bottom, or fly over them by helicopter. The scenery was beautiful, with towering cliffs on either side, and the skipper gave a very good commentary. The land belongs to the Aboriginal people, and it is sacred to them.

Near our camp site the firemen were doing some controlled burning, because the grass had grown too high. They set it alight but made very sure it burnt only where they wanted.

Late this afternoon we arrived at Gagudju Lodge Caravan Park at Cooinda, ready for a two-hour crocodile cruise through the Kakadu wetlands at nine tomorrow morning. It's very hot and humid, and the mosquitoes are about, so we must take plenty of spray with us.

Our photos today: a gorgeous close-up of a dragonfly, our motorhome nestled among the trees and bushes this evening, and a group of motorcyclists camping close by.

This morning's two-hour boat cruise through the Kakadu wetlands was a hunt for crocodiles, and for bird life too. The crocodiles are so inquisitive: the moment they see something coming they swim over for a closer look, in the hope it's something to eat. So you NEVER swim in the rivers or creeks around here, and there are notices everywhere warning you not to.

We also watched a large bird called a jabiru trying to eat a snake. It wasn't easy, because the snake kept winding itself around his beak, but in the end he managed it. We saw whistling kites and sea eagles as well. A fascinating trip.

Now we're in Darwin, at a caravan park on the south side of the city. It's still very, very hot and humid, so the air conditioning is turned up high.

We took the bus into the city and, after a short walk, found the hop-on hop-off bus that took us round Darwin's places of interest. It's quite a modern city, because in 1974 a cyclone flattened so many buildings that much had to be rebuilt, this time, it was hoped, more strongly. We watched films of the devastation.

Then we went to the war museum, with many pictures and another film about 1942, when the Japanese attacked Darwin. I was a little girl of four in Perth then, and I remember how frightened everyone was whenever the sirens went, because it meant trouble up in the north of our country.

Our last stop was by the water, where loads of fish come in and anyone can feed them with the bread provided. The children loved it. On the way out I photographed Poppa beside the stone monkeys.

Tomorrow we get our tyres checked before turning south for the homeward journey towards Western Australia, though we still have a long way to go.

We're back in Katherine, having retraced our route from Darwin to continue the journey. On the way down we stopped at a war cemetery to remember the young servicemen who lost their lives around 1942, when the Japanese attacked Darwin. It was a beautiful, peaceful place and very well cared for. When we came out, some peacocks and peahens were admiring our motorhome, and one of them had the most gorgeous feathers.

Along the road Poppa photographed a road train carrying cattle; sometimes they're even longer. If we see one coming up fast in the mirror we slow a little while it passes, because they need to keep their speed up and usually have many miles to cover in a day.

Near our site, children were playing in the creek. Everywhere up here there are notices warning people not to swim in any river or creek in the Northern Territory because of crocodiles, but still some of them do it. So stupid.

It was a long day's drive, because when we reached Timber Creek we felt uncomfortable staying there and drove on. The countryside got better and better: towering sheer red rocks, small trees and a road that was often twisty and turny. We saw plenty of boab trees, which the Aboriginal people use in many ways. They eat the gourd-like fruit, use the bark for twine and the gum that oozes from the tree as glue.

Near the border with Western Australia the motorhome was searched for fresh fruit and vegetables, and for seed pods too. We'd half expected it, but never dreamt we'd be searched so thoroughly. We lost a cucumber, four apples, a lettuce, sweetcorn, an onion and four tomatoes, plus the interesting seed pods Poppa had been collecting. Our big bunch of grapes we managed to eat before we got there. They're keeping out any insects or bugs that might infect Western Australia's fruit and vegetables, so I suppose they're just being extra careful.

So now we're in Kununurra, which looks quite a nice place. It's Australia's youngest town, built in the 1960s when the Ord River Dam was being constructed and the men working on it needed somewhere to live.

From 11.30 until 5.30 we were out with Triple J Tours, and what a great day it was. First a lovely new coach took us 70 kilometres through rugged scenery to Lake Argyle, created by damming the Ord River. It is the largest man-made lake in Australia by area.

There we transferred to a waiting boat, another flat-bottomed metal boat like the one on our crocodile hunt, but this one had three 200-horsepower motors on the back, and did it go fast! It skimmed across the water, spray flying out behind and to the sides, and we all loved it. Now and then the driver stopped to point out crocs, birds and trees, and pulled down a map at the front to show us where we were, how far we were going and lots more about the area.

In the afternoon we moored and walked through the trees to a clearing for tea, muffins and scones with jam. All very yummy. Then we were off again, and this time we saw a whole colony of flying foxes hanging upside down in the trees. An amazing sight. As the daylight faded came wonderful reflections of the trees and hills, and a beautiful sunset. I could go on and on, we enjoyed it so much.

A big, hard day's drive took us from Kununurra to Fitzroy Crossing.

After yesterday's hard drive we took a rest day: lots of washing, sitting around because it was so hot, chatting to others and a swim in the pool, so that we'll be ready for the 400 kilometres to Broome on the coast tomorrow.

We've sprinkled talcum powder around our tyres, in the hope it'll stop the Singapore ants getting into the motorhome. A goanna walked across the ground near us. And then there were the frogs: we found them living inside the electric connection boxes beside each site. Kate, aged six, was delighted to have a little green frog cling to her. She and her brother Joseph, eight, are going halfway round Australia with their parents, camping all the way. They all sleep in one tent, which isn't very big, but they manage and all seem very happy.

It's good to be back in my home state of WA.

It was a rather boring long drive from Fitzroy Crossing, practically the same scenery all day: short trees as far as the eye could see, and scrubland. The only animals were cattle, and you have to watch out for them when driving because they're free to wander wherever they like.

But here we are by the sea again, and the sea at Broome is so beautiful: turquoise water and a great expanse of pale sand stretching as far as you can see. In the distance we spotted a camel train and followed it. Twelve camels carry people along the beach while another twelve rest on the sand until the first lot return, and then it's their turn. A cruise ship was in, so there were plenty of people wanting a ride.

Our caravan site is not far from the beach, so we hope to swim tomorrow.

Today we had an absolutely gorgeous swim at Cable Beach. The water was just the right temperature and so blue. I think we can say it's the best sea we have ever swum in, so we'll be back in tomorrow. The tide here can rise and fall by up to nine metres.

Yesterday we met the man in charge of the camels, and a lady near us who watched a coconut drop and was glad it didn't land on her head.

This afternoon we took the bus round town, but it was very quiet. We were told many shopkeepers open in the morning and shut early so they can go down to the beach! This evening we must work out how to get back to Perth to see our family around 8 May. We still have 2,250 kilometres to drive, so we need to plan carefully.

We could have left today, but the beach and the water are SO beautiful that we just weren't ready for another long, hard drive. I'm sure we'll want to come back, perhaps for a week. We had two more swims this morning and spent the afternoon around the caravan site, keeping cool under the trees.

We saw the oldest cinema in the world that is mostly outdoors. We'd have loved to see a film there, but didn't like the ones showing. A pity. Tomorrow we head off towards Port Hedland.

Day 72 we didn't like very much. First Poppa dropped the oil cap down into the engine and lost it. We searched but couldn't find it, so in the end we stuffed a rag into the hole to stop the oil coming out while we drove.

The drive was pretty boring: very flat, small stunted trees and a lot of roadkill at the roadside. Finally we reached Eighty Mile Beach along a dreadfully rutted track. It was very low tide when we arrived, but as it got darker Poppa took a beautiful picture of the sun setting over the water, and it's now the screensaver on our computer. The beach is a vast stretch of sand running for miles either way, with many shells.

It was a long old drive to Port Hedland, Australia's largest port and the main centre for Western Australia's iron ore industry. In town we photographed some of the stockpiled iron ore. Port Hedland also has Australia's largest evaporative salt fields, and we saw the salt mountain.

We drove on to Karratha just as dusk fell. The name comes from the first cattle station here, in the 1860s, and is an Aboriginal word meaning "good country". As well as iron ore and salt, they have natural gas.

Here we are in beautiful Coral Bay, on the Ningaloo Coast. The camp site is very crowded, but when Monday comes many of the children will be back at school, though we'll probably be leaving too. The Ningaloo Marine Park runs down the west coast of the Cape Range, with lots of white beaches and coral reefs that come almost to the shore, so with luck we can go snorkelling tomorrow.

About eleven years ago Toby, Ross and the two of us flew up here from Perth, so we wanted to come back for the happy memories. This evening, at a little café near our site, we shared a plate of kangaroo and a plate of crocodile. We just had to try them.

On the way we photographed the engine hauling iron ore trucks out of Karratha, fully loaded and ready to be taken to the port and shipped overseas.

We love Coral Bay so much that we've decided to stay all of tomorrow as well and leave on Tuesday. It's so restful after all our driving, and the water is so clear that we don't want to move on just yet.

There's a glass-bottomed boat here, so when you're over the coral you can see what's under the water. We went out on it with Toby and Ross eleven years ago. Usually a whole crowd of quad bikes is parked near our site, but today there was only one; the others must all have been out. You can ride them every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset, and Toby and Ross each did a two-hour session and loved it.

Supper tonight is fresh skate, caught today and cooked for us by the fishermen in the tents next door. It looks yummy.

Not a lot to tell. We went down to the beach a little late this morning, when the tide was well in and the breeze was blowing, so the water, though still beautiful, wasn't as calm as yesterday, and it was the same in the afternoon.

The big fish we photographed were caught today by a father and son who go out early every morning and come back each day with a wonderful catch. They've spoilt us by cooking our supper every evening, but we leave tomorrow, so we'll miss that treat.

Only a few more days of travelling now: we'd like to be back in Perth by the end of the week.

A good drive from Coral Bay down Highway 1 brought us to Carnarvon. It was fairly boring, very flat for most of the way, and the only highlight was a large emu scurrying across the road in front of us. We'd have liked a picture, but he dived into the bushes before we could get the camera out.

Instead we photographed a giant of a road train that had stopped for fuel at the same roadhouse as us. Look at the massive bull bars on the front, there to protect it if it hits something big on the road, like stray cattle or kangaroos.

And there are more bananas growing here, not in Queensland this time but in Carnarvon, and no blue plastic bags over the fruit. Carnarvon has a very sunny climate, so fruit and vegetables grow here all year round.

Nearly our last day on the road: we should be back in Perth, where we started 79 days ago.

Bear was the guard dog at last night's caravan park, a big softie, though he could be fierce if his owner needed him to be. Today's scenery was much the same for most of the drive, and at one point we got ready to overtake one of the road trains. We saw some wild goats, too, but flashed past them before we could get the camera out.

Tonight we're on a site by the sea at Geraldton. We have a problem with the motorhome: the bonnet won't open and oil is seeping out, so Poppa needs to call the RAC to help us in the morning before the long drive to Perth.

Poppa took two pictures in the men's toilets, because he liked the idea of a target to aim at depending on your size. Then there was a last walk on the beach at Geraldton before we were back on the road, bound for Perth. Three times we had to pull off the road for a wide load coming the other way, sometimes two or three of them one behind another.

Tonight we're on a site near Perth airport, because tomorrow we want to visit a weighbridge to find out what our motorhome weighs. Then we drive to Karrinyup, to the site near where Joe and Luka live. We're so looking forward to seeing them. And THEN we can say we've DONE IT: AROUND AUSTRALIA IN EIGHTY DAYS.

AROUND AUSTRALIA IN 80 DAYS!