Drove to Airlie Beach. It was ritzy, very much like Palm Beach and not our kind of vibe. There were a lot of people there that looked nicely dressed, and we'd just spent a month sleeping in a rooftop tent so it definitely changes your perspective a little!
We then drove around to Shute Harbour where the views out to the islands were better but there was just nowhere to stop. There was a national park by there but it didn't look like there was anything to do there, no walks on the information board.
From there, we drove out to Dingo Beach then out to Hideaway Bay in Cape Gloucester. It was a lovely area with islands all around. Stopped for lunch on the beach overlooking the islands.
From there we drove to Bowen and went to the lookout there – great views over the islands from there so we popped the drone up for a little look.
We were going to camp at a rest area on the highway but there were no spots available, it was just a caravan park even at 2:30, 3ish! So we went to another free site near a boat ramp called Wallace’s Landing which had a drop loo. It was nice and peaceful, lots of birds and some VERY friendly Brahman cows (my absolute favourite cows). We literally could not get rid of this one cow who kept wanting pats. It was acting just like a dog, without realising how large it was. We finally managed to get rid of the cow, which was a little sad but he wasn’t leaving us alone! There were also lots of mozzies around too but to be expected, as it was quite mangrove-y.
