Day 197 - Thursday 13 July - Townsville

Day 197

Thursday

13 July 2017

Townsville

We woke to a lovely bright blue morning and a quiet camp, different to last night, as the oldies were gathered in the kitchen for the State of Origin and carrying on as QLD romped away to a win. Their cheering didn’t bother me as I was out to it no sooner was the light off, but I know Paul was kept up for a bit.

We made our way through breakfast and then made our way into Townsville just after 9am. Our first destination was the GP for Paul’s appointment for new scripts. We were seen and done before our appointment time so that was good service.

We then made our way into the centre, heading for Castle Hill. The place was well sign-posted and we wound our way up the large monolith, dodging the energetic walkers making the trek along the road. It would have been quite a walk at 3km to the top. We of course drove and parked at the top where there were lots of firemen and woman just finishing up a drill. We admired the view that the various lookouts provided and terrific 360° of the town. From here you could see how dry the place appeared. We have certainly left the wet tropics and entered the dry region. It actually reminds me a lot of Katherine and Alice Springs just with a big ocean on one of its borders. The landscape is rugged and the vegetation has shifted from the lush green, cramming for space trees to more of an open woodland.

We made our way back down the road and to The Strand, where we parked again and began a walk on ground a little more flat. Today we walked in the opposite direction passing ANZAC Park, marina and Reef HQ Aquarium before finding ourselves on Flinders Street, the centre of town. 

The Townsville Brewery Building

We worked out where Townsville Brewery was located then followed the sign to information. We didn’t pick up anything before continuing and locating City Lane where we had been told about a good pub, The Courtyard. We didn’t go in, just checked the craft beers they served and moved on. 

We walked back to the car for Paul to change shirts and then retraced our steps back to the Townsville Brewery. Paul bought a paddle and we found a spot to sit and enjoy. Not long after two of the brewers, Sam and Adam, came out for a chat.  

When Paul was all done, we drove out to the big shopping centre where we had lunch and then picked up a few bits at woollies. Then it was on to a chemist for a quick script fill and back to the van for a quiet afternoon.

Paul wasn’t feeling the best so he took it easy reading while I happily worked on photos and surfed the net. Before it got too dark we did a couple of laps of the park as the sun began to set and when we returned it was into dinner.We had word from Jaden that the car was back from Joe's with another new starter motor. Thankfully it was covered by warranty and everything was fixed up for free. We hope that is the end of the dramas for the Mazda. 

We retreated to bed early, happy to read before lights went out.