It was surprisingly chilly when we got to Cairns, not what we were expecting but perhaps we had been spoilt by Bali. It was a relief that in less than 24 hours the girls had acclimatised, jumping in the splash park at Muddy’s playground and swimming in the pool in our Airbnb apartment complex. What struck us after nearly four months in Asia were the dead straight roads, the wide pavements, the normality of it all.

The night we arrived we went to the local pub, the Cock & Bull, ate steak pies and thought about trying our luck at pokies but in the end only signed up for a raffle to win a fishing boat trip (which we didn’t win sadly).

We made the decision to not taking a boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef or the islands close off shore: when we looked at prices we had been so spoilt by our experiences in Bali and the Gili Islands just a week before we couldn’t justify it on our budget. We waited patiently to get on a boat in the Whitsundays.

My run was flat along the esplanade, realising we couldn’t swim in the sea given the presence of ‘salties’ crocodiles but admiring the pelicans. Tom found a hillier route up Mount Whitfield and we had a great afternoon exploring the Flecker Botanical Gardens close-by.

Frustrated at not being able to buy a coffee after 3pm (wow most Australians go to bed really early!), we managed to have some fun finding dinosaur footprints and walking across the Rainforest and Mangrove Boardwalk to Saltwater Creek and Centenary Lakes.

Finding the Tanks Arts Centre was good luck too. Three ex-World War II fuel-storage tanks which have been transformed into venues, one had some interesting art exhibits on display. We enjoyed the night market and aboriginal souvenir shops; we still regret not buying a didgeridoo – making do with a boomerang. We had fun with some familiar characters busking.

It sounds ridiculous but was so refreshing to be able to make simple sandwiches and eat them at a picnic table. This was something we ran on repeat throughout Australia and New Zealand – made all the better by having a fridge in our vehicle: bring on camper-van living!