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After exactly two months in the van, and the departure of two fellow convoy members, it was time to drive home.

And then there was three...

The drive was a big one, 2150km and we travelled from the camp at Gordonvale near Cairns to Surfers Paradise in just 10 days.

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Starting from Gordonvale, these are the places we visited on the way to Surfers Paradise:

• Mission Beach: Dunk Island View Caravan Park,
• Jourama Falls: which we camped at a few weeks ago,
• Funnel Bay at Airlie Beach: which is where I first met the convoy at the start of my trip,
• St Lawrence: a recreational reserve on the way to Rockhampton from Mackay,
• Bargara Beach outside of Bundaberg: staying at the caravan park a short stroll from a nice cluster of shops,
• Caboolture: our final camping at the back of the showgrounds,
• Surfers Paradise: where I am now, heading home to Grafton next week…

The drive was hard but having a co-driver helped hugely. We tried to breakup large days of driving (300kms +) with a rest day in between. Now I have hot showers, cold water and electricity on demand which seems so luxurious.

Free camping just 20 minutes south of Cairns. We spent a while at this spot, and the one previous post ‘Free camping at Gordonvale, near Cairns‘ just doesn’t show how great this spot was. Enough said, photo time…

One of the many iterations of the van setup.

This is the main and most easily accessible camp area which is sign posted and free to stay. Some campers had been there for weeks.

Some of the local wildlife.

One of two Goanna's that frequently walked buy then climbed the trees. Click the image above to view a large version of this photo.

North Queensland Bandicoot beside the Mulgrave River at Gordonvale. Click the image above to view a large version of this photo.

Beautiful spot, just be wary of crocodiles and rain as this area can flash flood.

We have stayed here for a few days and could stay for many more. Beautiful scene, river beside us and safe swimming holes.

HRD photo of the Mulgrave River at dawn. Click the image above for a large version.

29km south of Cairns is the Gordonvale rest area, where there are toilets and tables. Around that is some larger spaces for caravans and campers to park. Looking off to the edges you will notice dirt vehicle tracks that lead down to the river, down here you can setup camp also. Beyond that we drove under both bridges and found a few nice spots. Although I don’t think technically this is part of the rest area, this is one of the best inland camp spots this convoy has discovered. There are plenty of shaded and private sites, rarely do you hear other people.

Great landmark for our camp spot, the view of Walsh's Pyramid Mountain when driving back from Cairns. Click the image above for a large version.

The river meets the base of Walsh’s Pyramid Mountain which is the largest in the area, definitely the most unique. Have had a good time relaxing here, sleeping a glutinous amount and thoroughly enjoying it.

Related article: ‘Free accommodation near Cairns‘

There is no camping except for caravan parks, within 15kms of Cooktown. With some local knowledge we headed to Annon Gorge and found a spot on top of a hill on the other side of the river from the main access point (tour groups showed up there everyday).

The three vans with a communal covered area, the tarp comes out on rare occasions.

Very good part of the river here, a sandy beach type entry to some rapids for fun and safe swimming. We had a fire on the sandy area one day and cooked potato’s in the fire – delicious jacket potato!

About 60km from Cooktown just past Lakeland, secluded off-road in-a-ditch style camp tonight.

Sunrise, before departing to Cooktown

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This is the furthest north in Australia that we will travel.