Townsville

Another lovely morning in the early tropics! An overnight temperature of 16 degrees. I was awake early due to the departure of military and civilian aircraft from the joint airport almost next door.

It was time to do some serious washing and catch up. I was one of the first to the laundry so was able to get it underway by the allowed 7 am. By 8 am it was ready to hang on the line. A job done and freed me up to go and explore the city area.

I decided to have a coffee in the Karavan and wait until the ‘peak hour’ subsided. So it was about 9.15 when I left for the city. On the way in I passed through where the V8 Super Car races were held in Townsville last weekend. It is being dismantled and taken away. It was easy to see where the track was with the heavy rubber on the road at the corners.

I found a nice shady park and left the Bravo there. It is a City free park and only a short walk to the CBD. As the day was o pleasant, I had decided to do the two Heritage trails that went through the CBD area.

The first trail was called “Civic Pride” and displayed some wonderful historic buildings. A few of them were early bank buildings but now have other uses although an occasional one is still occupied by businesses such as a Legal firm. Most look well looked after but some are looking tired and in need of care. In the Flinders East area some of the historic buildings are now night clubs or major restaurants.

About half way through the morning, I found a lovely restaurant, “The Balcony Restaurant” which is a striking building with its timber balustrade, verandah and parapet. It is the last of this kind of building in the city. I had a lovely muggacino, at a reasonable price, and fruit loaf. It is really worth a visit.

After the coffee, I continued to walk through the area taking in the lovely buildings.

I walked back to the Bravo and then drove through the city to The Strand which is a beach side area that looks out to Magnetic Island and beyond. It is well done in the area.

The next stop was after a very steep climb up to The Castle lookout. It has spectacular views right around Townsville and its suburbs. There are some good energetic walks to be able to see these wonderful sights. A lot of people take advantage of this stunning lookout. While there I took some photos for several overseas visitors.

Then it was back to the Caravan Park to have a late lunch. Then it was time to bring in the washing. I think washing would be damp if left out overnight as I had quite a dew on the Bravo windscreen.

Late afternoon, my friend Baf picked me and took me to his beautiful new home for dinner. That home is magnificent and has views of the numerous islands off shore as well as views to the mountains. A wonderful chatting evening with a great fellow.