We drop the car off at the airport, hoping they don’t notice a scrape on the front spoiler – not sure where that came from. We have to hang around until 1230 for our flight to Brisbane. We get in at 1415. Nearly two hours by jet and we’re still in Queensland. It brings home what a huge country Australia is. We take a taxi to pick up the camper van in an industrial area of the city and take possession of an old Toyota hi-top with over 400,000k on the clock. Despite this it seems in reasonable mechanical order, if a bit battered around the edges.
We set out into heavy traffic. The plan is to head north for a few days to Hervey Bay where we can visit Fraser Island. The Rough Guide recommends Calounda as being less developed than the rest of the Sunshine Coast so we head there. The information kiosk suggest Dicky Beach as a lovely camping place, but it turns out to be crowded and scruffy. Unimpressed, we decide to give the Sunshine Coast a miss today and head inland. Maleny is supposed to be a bit of an enclave for old hippies with a laid back feel. We head there. As we climb from the coast it becomes cooler and the countryside greener, with spectacular views south to the Glasshouse Mountains.
We find camping at the Maleny showground for $15 including an electric hookup. We settle in to cook a meal, but discover the gas bottle is empty. After driving around the area in a vain attempt to find a refill we give up and get fish and chips. Very Good too.
