Sunday morning we walked the 2.5 km from our caravan park into Airlie Beach for a coffee. It was a beautiful morning with a light breeze. The last time we experienced anything other than a sunny day in the mid 20's was at Inskip Point, more than 5 weeks ago. Eat your hearts out Victorians!
At the upmarket alfresco cafe on the esplanade the owner, a delightful lady, came and chatted. She and her husband had left Sydney to travel Oz, lobbed in to Airlie a couple of years into the trip and loved it so much they bought a house and stayed. That was eight years ago. They were both fishing fanatics and spent 4 months up Cape York way, so they shared a whole lot of information about great fishing and free camping spots. Nice couple, great conversation, fantastic coffee!
When we got back to the van we did a bit more research on day cruises out to the islands. We settled on the 'Three Island Discovery Cruise' which visited Whitehaven Beach for swimming, walking or sunbaking, Hook Island to see the Coral Gardens and Daydream to take in the resort environment. The $120 pp cost included transfers from our van, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, snorkeling gear and stinger suits. Pretty good value we thought. But.....what to do with James? A few phone calls led me to a lovely lady named Jane who would be happy to puppy sit James in her house for $20. She assured me he would have great time playing with her two small dogs and a Schnauzer she was currently caring for. Excellent! We booked our cruise for Tuesday.
Mid afternoon we went down to Shute Harbour and drove through the hills surrounding it, taking in the stunning views and looking at the beautiful homes nestled into the steep hillsides. It was photo heaven. We then went into Airlie and did the same thing, driving around the residential area overlooking the town and beach. Some of the properties were to die for. The price tags (researched later) were up near the $3 million mark at the top end. Exey eh! We drove back to Canonvale, the next town back toward Proserpine and followed the beach. There we discovered a large yacht which had run aground - very upsetting for the owner no doubt.
The huge new marina complex was on the road back into Airlie so we called in and drooled over the millions of dollars worth of boats moored. James had a great time trotting along the boardwalk that ran along the side of the marina. Before heading back to camp we popped into the Sailing Club which sits on a headland at the bottom end of the esplanade. It has a balcony overlooking the ocean and dozens of yachts moored not far off shore. It was quite entertaining to watch the yachties motor between their vessels and the floating mooring in front of the club carrying loads of shopping or containers of water. It was funny to see two large men loaded with goods and a very large Golden Retriever climb into a tiny, low sided boat, immediately start bailing water and continue to do so as they motored out to their yacht. It was amazing they actually made it. Brian likened the experience to sitting on the deck at the Aero Club watching aircraft take off and land.
Monday we toured the wider general area, going back to Proserpine to have a look around the town and on to Peter Faust Dam, 25 km to the West. First we had a coffee at a huge new residential complex in Airlie called 'The Boathouse'. It is an attractive, multi-story apartment building with its own very flash marina. There certainly seems to be a lot of development in and near the CBD of Airlie Beach.
Proserpine, by contrast, is an old town. We didn't see too much that was new. It was built around the sugar mill in the 1880's and judging by its appearance, the mill hasn't changed much in 130 years. It's right in the heart of town, puffing profuse white clouds from its dual stacks. There's not much to 'Prossy'; a main street with shops and pubs, a few businesses in adjacent streets, the Mill and the residential area, which houses some three and a half thousand locals. All of it surrounded by miles, upon miles, of cane fields. We drove through the canefields (and over a few dead snakes) to the dam, the most outstanding feature of which was a stark mountain in the background.
On the way back to Airlie we took a left turn to Cedar Creek Falls, Conway Beach and Wilsons Beach. The falls were not falling, but there was still an idyllic rock pool at the base and we could imagine how lovely it would be after rain. As we were getting back into the Beast a large member of the reptile family entered the scene, much to James' interest. As I was photographing him he climbed a nearby tree. His camouflage was very good.
There wasn't much at Conway and Wilsons. It's not commercial at all. No shops, just a few houses and holiday shacks, and a nice little park on the foreshore at Conway. There is a large boat ramp on an inlet nearby so fishing is probably the main attraction in the area. The beaches were quite bland with muddy colored sand and water, due perhaps to the 18 knot winds blowing. We spent the rest of the day doing mundane things like washing down the filthy van and awning, giving the dunny a really good clean and stuff like that. After dinner we went into town to check out the nightlife. It was surprisingly quiet. Mind you, it was 7.30 on a Monday night.
Tuesday was our Whitsunday cruise day. The courtesy bus pick-up was at 7.50, so James and I left at 7.10 to go to the dog-sitter's house, ten minutes away. He coped surprisingly well being passed into Jane's arms. She was a lovely lady around my age, so I think he instantly took to her and he does understand "you stay here and be a good boy, I'll be back soon". He knew I'd come back. The bus was on time and full of families. There were kids everywhere ranging from 8 weeks old to probably around 10 or so. Of the 70 odd passengers only a dozen would have been grey nomads. Most of the families were European. From the bus we went onto a two story, 30 meter Wave Piercer Catamaran that, to be honest, was a bit tired. With everyone settled into comfortable indoor seating downstairs, or outdoor seating upstairs, the boat was less than half full. We headed out of Shute Harbour right on 8.30, the crew of six working busily, the girls making sure there was plenty of coffee, tea, cakes and biscuits, the boys untying, driving and generally doing boy stuff.
As soon as we passed the slow speed zone the cat cut through the swell of the Whitsunday Passage at a great pace, heading toward Hamilton Island - and would you believe - black skies. Fortunately the rain only lasted a few minutes and the day began to brighten as we passed between Hamilton and Whitsunday Islands en route to Whitehaven Beach. We even saw a couple of whales bob along in the fairly rough water. The cat rolled a bit but the ride was surprisingly smooth. I didn't notice anyone looking ill.
Whitehaven Beach is reputedly one of the top ten beaches in the world. The crystal clear aqua waters and pristine silica sand stretch over seven kilometres along Whitsunday Island, the largest island in the Whitsundays. The boat moored a hundred meters or so off shore and passengers were ferried to the beach in two inflatable dinghies that were lowered into the water from the back of the cat. We had from 9.45 till 11.30 to enjoy the beautiful space, so we donned bathers and walked, at a crackerjack pace, north along the fine white sand. We reckon we covered about 4 km before turning around and making it back in a hefty headwind to be the last to get on board.
A smorgasbord lunch of cold meat and salad was served as we cruised from Whitehaven to Hook Island. We enjoyed a chardy from the bar with ours. At Hook the options were to ride in the glass-bottom boat over the Coral Gardens, go snorkeling and see the tropical fish being fed on the island's fringing reef, or both. We did snorkeling first. That was fantastic. It's decades since I've done it, but with the good equipment supplied, the water a comfy 24 degrees and lots of colorful fish to see and touch, I could have stayed in for ages. Brian ended up signalling me to shore as we had to swap over. The glass-bottom boat was interesting and the commentary given by one of the female crew was excellent. Her knowledge about the various types of coral and fish was quite extensive. Brian asked her if she was a marine Biologist - but no - a dive instructor.
Back on board afternoon tea was served. Cakes, fruit, cheese, cabana and biscuits were laid on. Boy, could some of those kids eat! The cat crossed back over the Whitsunday Passage where we saw more whales before pulling up at the Daydream Island jetty. We were given two hours to spend however we wished. We stopped at the man-made lagoon first. It is home to a couple of sharks, lots of tropical fish, three large Stingrays and a Shovel-nose Ray. They rays were being hand fed. They were gorgeous. So friendly! We wandered through the delightful tropical gardens, around the massive multi-pool and water bar complex and down to one of the beaches. Unlike the soft silica of Whitehaven, Daydream's beach was made of coral. There were even mermaids sitting on rocks at the end of the beach! We found ourselves a couple of lounges by the pool, laid back and enjoyed a drink.
We were dropped back at the caravan park at 5.45, whereupon I immediately went and picked up James. He must have had a lovely day cos while he was happy to see me I didn't get any 'squeals' of delight. He even went back to Jane when she called him to say goodbye. Happy about that given he will be baby sat for a week soon.
It was around 10 Wednesday morning by the time we'd packed up and left Airlie to head toward Townsville. We had no real plan around our exact destination. There were a handful of free camp sites South of Townsville, but a couple were really too close to Airlie and on the very busy and noisy Bruce Highway. There was one place called 'Funny Dunny' which was around 200 km away. It was 15 km off the highway along a dirt track near a beachside village called Wunjunga. We figured we should check it out - if for the name only.
The scenery North of Proserpine was rather featureless. Once past the cane-fields the highway was bordered by increasingly dry scrub. Bowen was the only significant town on the way, not right on the highway, so we had to detour a bit to have a look. We weren't there long. We did a loop, taking in the main shopping precinct, the beach, pier, marina and aerodrome before picking up the highway further North. Our impression was that it was bland.....not bad, not ugly.....just not particularly interesting.
We almost missed the turnoff to Wunjunga. It looked a bit like a driveway onto private property. The road in was good, passing through wetlands with lots of long, sealed flood-ways. Funny Dunny Park was a fenced area a couple of hectares in size, beachside of the road. It had a few shady trees, a couple of water tanks and a pit toilet. There were ten camps set up, most looking like they has been there for some time. We found a nice spot and settled in.
We headed down the short track to the beach and walked along the golden sand which stretched for miles. The water was quite warm and James had a ball bouncing along in belly-deep water. It looked like there was a large island off shore, but when we later checked our map it was part of the mainland. We were actually in a large bay called Upstart Bay. The small group of houses that make Wunjuga were around a point, so the beach in front of the park felt really remote.
End of month is busy for Brian as he has to do all his advertising, so connectivity was a critical factor in determining how long we would stay. Amazingly we both had phone coverage, so we decided we would do a couple of nights and get in a spot of fishing. Our neighbours who were regular visitors and had been staying for months said the fishing was very good. It was lovely to once again make a fire and relax in front of it for the evening. We were even visited by a friendly kookaburra. How we love bush camping!
After breakfast Thursday we drove a couple of kilometers into the township of Wunjunga, a collection of maybe 20 buildings. Most appeared to be holiday houses in various conditions of repair and states of long-term construction, though some were quite lovely and probably primary residences. We parked where the road ended at the beach and chatted to three guys from Funny Dunny who were cleaning fish. They had caught some Flathead on plastic. Given we didn't have any bait we thought we should give that a go.
We walked up the beach with our rods and were surprised to find several shacks built into the rock face right on the beach front. Surely it couldn't be privately owned land. They were clearly not made to comply with any building regulations, mostly constructed of old corrugated iron or a hotchpotch of materials. All were shuttered to protect from storms. We fished along the beach and around the point to the inlet, but with no success. One bite. That was it.
As we drove into camp we ran into some neighbours walking back from the beach. They were grabbing buckets to go back down and help a sick turtle. I went too. The big Green Turtle female did indeed look unwell. She was too weak to move and a couple of the blokes from Funny Dunny were already there pouring water over her. Two locals drove up with a slide to put under her. The four men maneuvered her onto the slide and dragged her in to the water. I'm not sure that was the best thing to do, but it wasn't my call. I was concerned that if she was too weak to walk she might be too weak to swim and drown. Hopefully she'll be ok.
Funny Dunny was windy most of the time we were there - apparently that's the norm. We didn't mind at all as the days were pretty warm. It cooled rapidly toward evening so by five it was time for a fire and long pants. I built a lovely fire in our fire pit and the three of us sat around it in our chairs. James loves that part of the day. He has a low chair with a rug in it and snuggles down watching the flames. George and Sue, a nearby couple, brought their chairs over and shortly after some more campers joined us. We sat and chatted for so long it was too late to cook dinner. Never mind - we're both carrying some extra kilos so missing a meal was not so bad!
We got away from Funny Dunny at 8.30 on Friday and drove 230 km North through Home Hill and Ayr to Townsville. The multiple lots of road works all along the Bruce slowed our pace massively. We arrived after midday and went straight to The Lakes Holiday Park, which was the closest dog-friendly park to the CBD. Every site had an en-suite, which we didn't need, but our next option was to be 15 km out of town. We paid the $45 per night tariff and booked for two nights. James instantly went into a sulk having been ripped from the tranquility and freedom of bush and beach to suffer through being tethered and having to sit on a concrete slab in the noisy burbs. We felt the same, but wanted to see what Townsville had to offer.
Brian still had a heap of work to do so he jumped straight on the computer. As soon as that was done we headed into town to have a look around and get a late lunch. We ended up at The Strand, a 2.2 km stunning beachfront promenade custom-built for enjoyment. Along the palm tree studded stretch are bike and walkway paths, swimming beaches, picturesque picnic spots, a water park, rock-pool, jetty and chic restaurants and bars with to-die-for water views. We walked James along the winding pathway to a seafood kiosk, ordered lunch and looked out over Magnetic Island, the Port of Townsville and a massive wind-surfing race that was taking place on the water. It was blowing a gale and there were some excellent spills!
One of the must do things on our Townsville list was voting. With the Federal Election just over a week away and us on the road, we needed to place absentee votes. The Electoral office was in the heart of the city, just a couple of kilometers away, so we parked out front and got the job done with no fuss at all. Much simpler and quicker than we expected. After that a short tour of town to admire some of the beautiful old buildings, then over to the South bank of Ross River where Palmer Street is lined with heaps of gorgeous al-fresco restaurants. Late in the afternoon we enjoyed drink at the yacht club right on the river to celebrate the birth (earlier in the day) of a new baby boy, five weeks early.
Townsville is a fabulous place. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. With a population just on 200,000, it is the largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast. So much of it is attractive - it just feels good.
Our first port of call on Saturday was The Strand for a coffee. It was a beautiful morning and the entire foreshore area was buzzing with activity. There was an art show along it with some amazing sculptures which no doubt attracted visitors, but I suspect that any sunny Saturday it would be busy. There is a fantastic ambiance about The Strand. We absolutely love it. As we were sitting out in the sun sipping our cappuccinos a red biplane on floats flew along the waterfront, did a couple of steep turns, descended and landed. Out on the water wind surfers were again racing while over towards Magnetic there were yachts everywhere, participating in a National Regatta.
Even more stunning than The Strand is Castle Hill. It is a heritage-listed isolated pink granite monolith standing in the heart of Townsville. Rising to a height of some 286 metres, it totally dominates the city skyline. After a drive around the foreshore to Rowes Bay we went up to the top of it. The views were breathtaking. There are walking tracks and observation decks at several points on the top from which you can see the entire area of greater Townsville, the airport, city, port, Magnetic Island, multiple bays and mountains surrounding the city.
We had to do shopping, get gas and refuel the Beast, so dragged ourselves away from tourist stuff around midday. James had been left in the van so was mighty happy when we returned early in the afternoon. The smile left his dial a bit when I gave him a bath, but returned when he got a run around the lake and park area near where we were staying. We were hoping to visit the aquarium later in the day, but time just slipped away. All we managed to fit in was a trip to Jupiters Casino. Sadly we didn't win any money. Bugger!
At the upmarket alfresco cafe on the esplanade the owner, a delightful lady, came and chatted. She and her husband had left Sydney to travel Oz, lobbed in to Airlie a couple of years into the trip and loved it so much they bought a house and stayed. That was eight years ago. They were both fishing fanatics and spent 4 months up Cape York way, so they shared a whole lot of information about great fishing and free camping spots. Nice couple, great conversation, fantastic coffee!
When we got back to the van we did a bit more research on day cruises out to the islands. We settled on the 'Three Island Discovery Cruise' which visited Whitehaven Beach for swimming, walking or sunbaking, Hook Island to see the Coral Gardens and Daydream to take in the resort environment. The $120 pp cost included transfers from our van, morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea, snorkeling gear and stinger suits. Pretty good value we thought. But.....what to do with James? A few phone calls led me to a lovely lady named Jane who would be happy to puppy sit James in her house for $20. She assured me he would have great time playing with her two small dogs and a Schnauzer she was currently caring for. Excellent! We booked our cruise for Tuesday.
Mid afternoon we went down to Shute Harbour and drove through the hills surrounding it, taking in the stunning views and looking at the beautiful homes nestled into the steep hillsides. It was photo heaven. We then went into Airlie and did the same thing, driving around the residential area overlooking the town and beach. Some of the properties were to die for. The price tags (researched later) were up near the $3 million mark at the top end. Exey eh! We drove back to Canonvale, the next town back toward Proserpine and followed the beach. There we discovered a large yacht which had run aground - very upsetting for the owner no doubt.
The huge new marina complex was on the road back into Airlie so we called in and drooled over the millions of dollars worth of boats moored. James had a great time trotting along the boardwalk that ran along the side of the marina. Before heading back to camp we popped into the Sailing Club which sits on a headland at the bottom end of the esplanade. It has a balcony overlooking the ocean and dozens of yachts moored not far off shore. It was quite entertaining to watch the yachties motor between their vessels and the floating mooring in front of the club carrying loads of shopping or containers of water. It was funny to see two large men loaded with goods and a very large Golden Retriever climb into a tiny, low sided boat, immediately start bailing water and continue to do so as they motored out to their yacht. It was amazing they actually made it. Brian likened the experience to sitting on the deck at the Aero Club watching aircraft take off and land.
Monday we toured the wider general area, going back to Proserpine to have a look around the town and on to Peter Faust Dam, 25 km to the West. First we had a coffee at a huge new residential complex in Airlie called 'The Boathouse'. It is an attractive, multi-story apartment building with its own very flash marina. There certainly seems to be a lot of development in and near the CBD of Airlie Beach.
Proserpine, by contrast, is an old town. We didn't see too much that was new. It was built around the sugar mill in the 1880's and judging by its appearance, the mill hasn't changed much in 130 years. It's right in the heart of town, puffing profuse white clouds from its dual stacks. There's not much to 'Prossy'; a main street with shops and pubs, a few businesses in adjacent streets, the Mill and the residential area, which houses some three and a half thousand locals. All of it surrounded by miles, upon miles, of cane fields. We drove through the canefields (and over a few dead snakes) to the dam, the most outstanding feature of which was a stark mountain in the background.
On the way back to Airlie we took a left turn to Cedar Creek Falls, Conway Beach and Wilsons Beach. The falls were not falling, but there was still an idyllic rock pool at the base and we could imagine how lovely it would be after rain. As we were getting back into the Beast a large member of the reptile family entered the scene, much to James' interest. As I was photographing him he climbed a nearby tree. His camouflage was very good.
There wasn't much at Conway and Wilsons. It's not commercial at all. No shops, just a few houses and holiday shacks, and a nice little park on the foreshore at Conway. There is a large boat ramp on an inlet nearby so fishing is probably the main attraction in the area. The beaches were quite bland with muddy colored sand and water, due perhaps to the 18 knot winds blowing. We spent the rest of the day doing mundane things like washing down the filthy van and awning, giving the dunny a really good clean and stuff like that. After dinner we went into town to check out the nightlife. It was surprisingly quiet. Mind you, it was 7.30 on a Monday night.
Tuesday was our Whitsunday cruise day. The courtesy bus pick-up was at 7.50, so James and I left at 7.10 to go to the dog-sitter's house, ten minutes away. He coped surprisingly well being passed into Jane's arms. She was a lovely lady around my age, so I think he instantly took to her and he does understand "you stay here and be a good boy, I'll be back soon". He knew I'd come back. The bus was on time and full of families. There were kids everywhere ranging from 8 weeks old to probably around 10 or so. Of the 70 odd passengers only a dozen would have been grey nomads. Most of the families were European. From the bus we went onto a two story, 30 meter Wave Piercer Catamaran that, to be honest, was a bit tired. With everyone settled into comfortable indoor seating downstairs, or outdoor seating upstairs, the boat was less than half full. We headed out of Shute Harbour right on 8.30, the crew of six working busily, the girls making sure there was plenty of coffee, tea, cakes and biscuits, the boys untying, driving and generally doing boy stuff.
As soon as we passed the slow speed zone the cat cut through the swell of the Whitsunday Passage at a great pace, heading toward Hamilton Island - and would you believe - black skies. Fortunately the rain only lasted a few minutes and the day began to brighten as we passed between Hamilton and Whitsunday Islands en route to Whitehaven Beach. We even saw a couple of whales bob along in the fairly rough water. The cat rolled a bit but the ride was surprisingly smooth. I didn't notice anyone looking ill.
Whitehaven Beach is reputedly one of the top ten beaches in the world. The crystal clear aqua waters and pristine silica sand stretch over seven kilometres along Whitsunday Island, the largest island in the Whitsundays. The boat moored a hundred meters or so off shore and passengers were ferried to the beach in two inflatable dinghies that were lowered into the water from the back of the cat. We had from 9.45 till 11.30 to enjoy the beautiful space, so we donned bathers and walked, at a crackerjack pace, north along the fine white sand. We reckon we covered about 4 km before turning around and making it back in a hefty headwind to be the last to get on board.
A smorgasbord lunch of cold meat and salad was served as we cruised from Whitehaven to Hook Island. We enjoyed a chardy from the bar with ours. At Hook the options were to ride in the glass-bottom boat over the Coral Gardens, go snorkeling and see the tropical fish being fed on the island's fringing reef, or both. We did snorkeling first. That was fantastic. It's decades since I've done it, but with the good equipment supplied, the water a comfy 24 degrees and lots of colorful fish to see and touch, I could have stayed in for ages. Brian ended up signalling me to shore as we had to swap over. The glass-bottom boat was interesting and the commentary given by one of the female crew was excellent. Her knowledge about the various types of coral and fish was quite extensive. Brian asked her if she was a marine Biologist - but no - a dive instructor.
Back on board afternoon tea was served. Cakes, fruit, cheese, cabana and biscuits were laid on. Boy, could some of those kids eat! The cat crossed back over the Whitsunday Passage where we saw more whales before pulling up at the Daydream Island jetty. We were given two hours to spend however we wished. We stopped at the man-made lagoon first. It is home to a couple of sharks, lots of tropical fish, three large Stingrays and a Shovel-nose Ray. They rays were being hand fed. They were gorgeous. So friendly! We wandered through the delightful tropical gardens, around the massive multi-pool and water bar complex and down to one of the beaches. Unlike the soft silica of Whitehaven, Daydream's beach was made of coral. There were even mermaids sitting on rocks at the end of the beach! We found ourselves a couple of lounges by the pool, laid back and enjoyed a drink.
We were dropped back at the caravan park at 5.45, whereupon I immediately went and picked up James. He must have had a lovely day cos while he was happy to see me I didn't get any 'squeals' of delight. He even went back to Jane when she called him to say goodbye. Happy about that given he will be baby sat for a week soon.
It was around 10 Wednesday morning by the time we'd packed up and left Airlie to head toward Townsville. We had no real plan around our exact destination. There were a handful of free camp sites South of Townsville, but a couple were really too close to Airlie and on the very busy and noisy Bruce Highway. There was one place called 'Funny Dunny' which was around 200 km away. It was 15 km off the highway along a dirt track near a beachside village called Wunjunga. We figured we should check it out - if for the name only.
The scenery North of Proserpine was rather featureless. Once past the cane-fields the highway was bordered by increasingly dry scrub. Bowen was the only significant town on the way, not right on the highway, so we had to detour a bit to have a look. We weren't there long. We did a loop, taking in the main shopping precinct, the beach, pier, marina and aerodrome before picking up the highway further North. Our impression was that it was bland.....not bad, not ugly.....just not particularly interesting.
We almost missed the turnoff to Wunjunga. It looked a bit like a driveway onto private property. The road in was good, passing through wetlands with lots of long, sealed flood-ways. Funny Dunny Park was a fenced area a couple of hectares in size, beachside of the road. It had a few shady trees, a couple of water tanks and a pit toilet. There were ten camps set up, most looking like they has been there for some time. We found a nice spot and settled in.
We headed down the short track to the beach and walked along the golden sand which stretched for miles. The water was quite warm and James had a ball bouncing along in belly-deep water. It looked like there was a large island off shore, but when we later checked our map it was part of the mainland. We were actually in a large bay called Upstart Bay. The small group of houses that make Wunjuga were around a point, so the beach in front of the park felt really remote.
End of month is busy for Brian as he has to do all his advertising, so connectivity was a critical factor in determining how long we would stay. Amazingly we both had phone coverage, so we decided we would do a couple of nights and get in a spot of fishing. Our neighbours who were regular visitors and had been staying for months said the fishing was very good. It was lovely to once again make a fire and relax in front of it for the evening. We were even visited by a friendly kookaburra. How we love bush camping!
After breakfast Thursday we drove a couple of kilometers into the township of Wunjunga, a collection of maybe 20 buildings. Most appeared to be holiday houses in various conditions of repair and states of long-term construction, though some were quite lovely and probably primary residences. We parked where the road ended at the beach and chatted to three guys from Funny Dunny who were cleaning fish. They had caught some Flathead on plastic. Given we didn't have any bait we thought we should give that a go.
We walked up the beach with our rods and were surprised to find several shacks built into the rock face right on the beach front. Surely it couldn't be privately owned land. They were clearly not made to comply with any building regulations, mostly constructed of old corrugated iron or a hotchpotch of materials. All were shuttered to protect from storms. We fished along the beach and around the point to the inlet, but with no success. One bite. That was it.
As we drove into camp we ran into some neighbours walking back from the beach. They were grabbing buckets to go back down and help a sick turtle. I went too. The big Green Turtle female did indeed look unwell. She was too weak to move and a couple of the blokes from Funny Dunny were already there pouring water over her. Two locals drove up with a slide to put under her. The four men maneuvered her onto the slide and dragged her in to the water. I'm not sure that was the best thing to do, but it wasn't my call. I was concerned that if she was too weak to walk she might be too weak to swim and drown. Hopefully she'll be ok.
Funny Dunny was windy most of the time we were there - apparently that's the norm. We didn't mind at all as the days were pretty warm. It cooled rapidly toward evening so by five it was time for a fire and long pants. I built a lovely fire in our fire pit and the three of us sat around it in our chairs. James loves that part of the day. He has a low chair with a rug in it and snuggles down watching the flames. George and Sue, a nearby couple, brought their chairs over and shortly after some more campers joined us. We sat and chatted for so long it was too late to cook dinner. Never mind - we're both carrying some extra kilos so missing a meal was not so bad!
We got away from Funny Dunny at 8.30 on Friday and drove 230 km North through Home Hill and Ayr to Townsville. The multiple lots of road works all along the Bruce slowed our pace massively. We arrived after midday and went straight to The Lakes Holiday Park, which was the closest dog-friendly park to the CBD. Every site had an en-suite, which we didn't need, but our next option was to be 15 km out of town. We paid the $45 per night tariff and booked for two nights. James instantly went into a sulk having been ripped from the tranquility and freedom of bush and beach to suffer through being tethered and having to sit on a concrete slab in the noisy burbs. We felt the same, but wanted to see what Townsville had to offer.
Brian still had a heap of work to do so he jumped straight on the computer. As soon as that was done we headed into town to have a look around and get a late lunch. We ended up at The Strand, a 2.2 km stunning beachfront promenade custom-built for enjoyment. Along the palm tree studded stretch are bike and walkway paths, swimming beaches, picturesque picnic spots, a water park, rock-pool, jetty and chic restaurants and bars with to-die-for water views. We walked James along the winding pathway to a seafood kiosk, ordered lunch and looked out over Magnetic Island, the Port of Townsville and a massive wind-surfing race that was taking place on the water. It was blowing a gale and there were some excellent spills!
One of the must do things on our Townsville list was voting. With the Federal Election just over a week away and us on the road, we needed to place absentee votes. The Electoral office was in the heart of the city, just a couple of kilometers away, so we parked out front and got the job done with no fuss at all. Much simpler and quicker than we expected. After that a short tour of town to admire some of the beautiful old buildings, then over to the South bank of Ross River where Palmer Street is lined with heaps of gorgeous al-fresco restaurants. Late in the afternoon we enjoyed drink at the yacht club right on the river to celebrate the birth (earlier in the day) of a new baby boy, five weeks early.
Townsville is a fabulous place. It has an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. With a population just on 200,000, it is the largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast. So much of it is attractive - it just feels good.
Our first port of call on Saturday was The Strand for a coffee. It was a beautiful morning and the entire foreshore area was buzzing with activity. There was an art show along it with some amazing sculptures which no doubt attracted visitors, but I suspect that any sunny Saturday it would be busy. There is a fantastic ambiance about The Strand. We absolutely love it. As we were sitting out in the sun sipping our cappuccinos a red biplane on floats flew along the waterfront, did a couple of steep turns, descended and landed. Out on the water wind surfers were again racing while over towards Magnetic there were yachts everywhere, participating in a National Regatta.
Even more stunning than The Strand is Castle Hill. It is a heritage-listed isolated pink granite monolith standing in the heart of Townsville. Rising to a height of some 286 metres, it totally dominates the city skyline. After a drive around the foreshore to Rowes Bay we went up to the top of it. The views were breathtaking. There are walking tracks and observation decks at several points on the top from which you can see the entire area of greater Townsville, the airport, city, port, Magnetic Island, multiple bays and mountains surrounding the city.
We had to do shopping, get gas and refuel the Beast, so dragged ourselves away from tourist stuff around midday. James had been left in the van so was mighty happy when we returned early in the afternoon. The smile left his dial a bit when I gave him a bath, but returned when he got a run around the lake and park area near where we were staying. We were hoping to visit the aquarium later in the day, but time just slipped away. All we managed to fit in was a trip to Jupiters Casino. Sadly we didn't win any money. Bugger!
