It's a big, beautiful country....

So anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. The outback.

I had an interesting experience in Longreach. I was minding my own business, when an extremely curious bug flew in my ear and decided to have a little nibble on my ear canal.

Oh my goodness, I would rather give birth than go through that kind of pain. It was horrendous.

And all I got for my trouble was a ride in the back of an ambulance - admittedly with a very nice man who was extremely concerned for my welfare.

No lollipop in sight though.

From there we headed up to Undarra and the amazing lava tubes.

I had read a little about them, but it didn't prepare me for how completely unique and amazing these underground tunnels are. They run for approx 26 km but unfortunately due to some collapsing roofs, only a small section is open to the public and is tour guide accessable only.

Our tour guide was called Greenie and he immediately made Ellie and Harri junior guides which thrilled them no end. He was very patient and answered ALL of their questions. Better man than me!

It was quite difficult to capture the immense size and magnificence of these tunnels, but Nev as usual did a brilliant job.....(I really would like to take credit for all these photos, but Nev's the gifted one!)

From here we headed to the tropical coast of Far North Queensland where we spent a lazy week in a lovely, shady site in a caravan park in Cairns.

The site included a macadamia tree and with all the bat activity (eating, digesting and then wantonly splattering) the camper was quickly christened "The Bat Guano Hotel". This was a great joke until it came time to pack up!!!

One of my favourite places was the Daintree Rainforest. It was so thick and beautiful, and with the constant, fine rain, everything glistened and dripped.

We took a very long walk along the beach at Cape Tribulation, getting steadily wetter and wetter. 

I love this photo......