Townsvill Queensland Australia

Having arrived at Townsville we took a while to find the motel.  The Townsville Icon is a large rock that juts out in the middle of the town.. An imposing hill that is now a reserve.. But one or two houses had managed to be built on it's slopes so far up ..... 



The hitch hikers guide to the universe says this of Townsville

 

As the unofficial capital of North Queensland, Townsville combines the lure of the tropics with the attractions of a city. It is a renowned centre for research into marine life and is home to the headquarters for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Townsville also supports a significant defence presence along with the main campus of James Cook University, so visitors are well catered for with a complete range of accommodation, nightlife, cultural and leisure pursuits.



"Beautiful Magnetic Island is just a 20-minute ferry ride offshore, and a huge drawcard for visitors. Also within reach are Orpheus, Hinchinbrook, Dunk and Bedarra Islands. Inland, the historic goldmining towns of Charters Towers and Ravenswood make a fascinating day trip or overnight stay. 

The Strand is the favourite beachfront leisure spot for locals and visitors with four man-made headlands, rockpools, eating places and a play area with waterslides, fountains and a water cannon. The city’s modern buildings have been successfully integrated with 18th century heritage architecture to house the galleries, museums and restaurants that make a visit to Townsville especially memorable.

  

This is the beach off the strand ..And by shear good fortune the motel was just across the road from where this picture was taken ...















Note the water temperature of 24C :O) Not that Jill would agree having taken feet out of 40C+ tramping boots and paddling for a few seconds .... We were so over dressed on the beach...we're trampers not beach bunnies ..







The motel was not the best.. Dark and well in need of re-decorating..But Clean and the bed was comfortable ... We did a little drive around that evening. The good cafe's were packed and being tired from the travelling we opted for a takeaway..Red Rooster ...I'll say no more :O\



Up early the next morning we made the call to stay another night to allow us the change to take a 20 minute  boat trip over to the now famous (to us having heard so much about it ) Magnetic Island...But first we wanted to drive up the hill in the middle of the township and have a look around .....



This was an interesting looking church we came across ...Note the rather 'Dan Brown' sinister URL of 'Spiritus.org'...I was going to go on and make fun of them over it here ..but I googled the site and they seem a rather nice family/charity focussed bunch ...So I won't ....























Blurred Picture of a flowering tree - but it was an awesome plant - must look up the name ..







Similarly - wonder what this tree was ...The fruit wasn't large







As we got closer to the rock we noticed something painted on the left bump in the picture







Turned out to be the icon from the 'Saint' TV series with Roger Moore decades ago...But who the sam decided to put that there off a sheer cliff !!!! 







The day was almost cloudless and clear...The views were pretty damned good







The island is Magnetic Island in the distance















Plane crash on side of cliff face !!!































































Blurred picture again - But this was unofficially the biggest Bumble Bee on the planet !! Huge !!! HUGE!!! how he could take off with those tiny wings he had would be a major physics lesson in itself !! 







Shame about the power lines ... By now the temperature had risen dramatically ...It must get really hot up there as at the carpark there was a drinking fountain with chilled water !!! and very welcome it was too :O) 









We then headed off through the township (Dramatic, large, turn of the century, affluent  type buildings ) and back over to the port to grab a ferry... What we didn't know was that between about 11am and 2pm there are no ferries over to the island !!  Whoops ... What to do ?? We came across the marine building and the fish displays but as we were about to enter we talked it over (as we do) and decided to pack up and head north a way to shorten the next leg of our travels to cairns and the daintree forest .... 



It was sometime around now that Jill asked where the passports were ......Don't know why ... But at that point my heart stopped beating and a cold sweat broke out on my forehead !! THE PASSPORTS !!! They're in my Jacket !!!! Which is still in the hotel wardrobe back in Mackay !!!!!!!!!



As Jill rang the motel I looked up numbers of Embassy's...HOW LONG to get a replacement !!! How long to get my permenant residency Visa re-issued !!!!! It could be weeks !!



The very nice lady back at the 'Ocean International Motel'  was very helpful. But she would have to speak to the cleaning staff and find out if they had them ...Jill and her worked out contacting arrangements and then it was a waiting game ... Then - Yes they have jacket and passports !! OH JOY !!!!!!!!!!!... Arrangements for couriering the package to the lodge we were staying at in a day or twos time were made ... ticket numbers would be sent so we could track our parcel ... we had done all we could .... 



De-stress - De-stress - De-stress ......... 



I've never felt so sick ...Stupid thing as normally they would not be in my jacket... We usually check the room about 3 times before leaving etc ..... But holiday back on track we packed and looked for accommodation for the night ahead somewhere north of where we were ... 



And we found it - Sanctuary retreat Mission Beach ...and the heart of cassowarie territory !!! 











 

The trip to Mackay and Townsville NSW

The Trip to Mackay north of Brisbane and approximately half way to Cairns was unpleasant but relatively short ... Having arrived at Brisbane airport and checked our bags in we went through security and got some food and drink and one of the cafe’s there ... after a long wait we moved ourselves to the gate. There we were greeted by announcements of only one bag per customer ... We had many small bags such as cameras and camera equipment and Jill’s rather large carry bag ... There was no way I was going to have my hard earned camera gear subjected to being stowed away with the luggage .. No Way! .. So I was preparing myself for a trip to mackay by road ... We could do it through the night .....

As it turned out we were let onboard without even a glance at us ... The plane was unbearably hot and cramped (thanks Qantas) but the flight was only about an hour and a half......It was dark when we arrived and I think both of us were pretty shattered at that point ... Thankfully a friendly & pleasant taxi driver took us to our hotel and on arriving a very pleasant lady behind reception greeted us. Though on seeing me first had panicked as the booking was under Jills name and the Motel was full...Thinking she had to turn me away this late into the evening... Turns out that Mackay is pretty busy in the week til Thursday as people fly in to there to then go on to the mines in the area.

The woman at reception was very nice and chatted with us for a while . Turned out she had lived for some years just a couple of hours north of where we live. Go figure. Further down the track we were to be very grateful for her help .... We even sent her flowers, but that’s a future story ...

The room was very nice, clean and comfortable ... It had a good sized balcony and the grounds had palm trees and garden lighting making it an awesome place to sit and chug a couple of cold beers after the hot flight. The wind was blowing quite strongly. Something that would stay with us for the rest of the holiday .... We ordered in and the food was much better that we had expected. Jills Prawns in garlic were fantastic as was my steak. The prawns though were huge and in the shell looking like min-lobsters :O)

Being on the east coast and the room facing east we got to see the sun rise up from the sea through the palms. Is there a better way to welcome a new morning :O) We then went out and walked along the beach a while enjoying the sights and sounds and fossicking around on the sand below the tide line. It was very relaxing after the stresses of the day before...

Having said our good byes and checked out we headed for the airport again with a very pleasant taxi driver (I think Mackay may be a pretty laid back lifestyle for the residents). Our rental car for the rest of the holiday was to be a 5-door RAV4 ... IT was great to have it after the old convertible sports car in Brisbane :O)

We took a quick drive into Mackay township. I thought we would see some of the ‘old’ town. The older settler/colonial buildings .. But we found none .... Disappointed we drove north on the Mount Bruce Highway, destination Townsville. While not overly scenic it was an interesting drive ...



On the way as we had no booking for a hotel/motel in Townsville Jill had a look through some tourist rags we had grabbed and made a call..... Sounded nive and right beside the beach...









We had our first sightings of Sugar Cane fields and the small trains that lug the cut cane to the processing factories....We stopped and took some shots ....

 

























And of couse when you see a giant mango (Or anything else like that) you have to stop and grab a picture .....Even if it’s only to freshen up after the long driving...Sadly Mango was out of season so we didn't get to sample any:O(  Now, was I stretching in the picture or trying to hold the thing up ??  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            

Some additional Photos Wildlife Park pt3