Townsville to Cairns

One big issue with Townsville – the public buses run fairly small routes and virtually none run at all on a Sunday. This means I had a hell of a walk out to the edge of town towards the highway and Cairns.

An hour took me to a McDonald’s a few kilometres out where I stopped for breakfast and internet access. Around half an hour later a very attractive young lady accompanied by her son (about 8 years old, I’d guess) stopped and drove me out of town to a petrol station. Certainly not the demographic you expect to be picking up hitchhikers and I’m very glad they did so!

Within twenty minutes, a minibus pulled up and two guys and a young girl from the Pacific Islands ushered me on board. They’d just been to a funeral in Townsville and were heading north of Cairns. They shared drinks with me as there was no aircon (other than the open windows) and they dropped me off on the Esplanade at around 3:15. If I’d caught the bus, I’d have been on the road for less than half an hour at that point.

I checked two hostels before I settled on the Esplanade Backpackers (I think one of the Nomad chain) as it was only $15 for the night, including free dinner at the Rhino Bar downtown.

McDonalds was required for free-wifi, and despite buying a meal I was harassed by the manager after some time to pack up and move out. The restaurant was near-empty, nobody was waiting for a seat and the internet policy online states that the time limit is only as long as your laptop battery lasts.

Had they been busy I’d have fully understood, but it just seemed like someone taking their own personal “20 minutes” rule at face value. This is for all customers, not just internet use. So even if the place is dead and you’re enjoying a massive meal and spending a fortune you’re only allowed a short time to eat it. I’ve seen this branch during the busy season and at that point, I’d agree – you need to shuffle people around. But right now, Cairns is dead. All they’ve succeeded in doing is annoying someone who’d not going to pay for food next time. I’ll just sit outside and leach.

Whinge over. I sat on the grass over the road and listened to two very talented musicians play some incredibly relaxing cover versions and ploughed through a couple more chapters of my book. It’s pushing 7pm now, from which time the free dinner is served, so I’m about to pack up and head over to The Rhino.

Hopefully, I’ll get this post online before I leave. Either way, I won’t be online until I get into Darwin – at least I doubt it. I’m hoping to take a route which is very unlikely to take me past a McD’s!

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Around Townsville

Not windy today

Not windy today

The train pulled into the new Townsville station at around 10:15. In case you’re using an old map, this is about 500m further out of the town to the west than the “proper” station. While walking into the city, I passed the old station which looks like a traditional British one. Fairly recently, I think, this was closed and the trains now only stop at the new station. It’s hard to tell, but I think the travel centre still operates at the old one.

Tourist information in the mall pointed me in the direction of the backpacker area, which is essentially South Townsville. The first hostel I spotted was the one built over the bus terminal and it turned out to be the same price ($22) as everywhere else. No need to walk any further, so I checked in.

It’s OK. All the rooms are airconned and have a fridge. Mine even has a telly. I’m sharing with a Korean guy and one other person I’ve not seen yet. The reception also deal with bus tickets so I checked the Cairns prices – around $50. The bus departs at 2pm and gets in after 7pm. The train also runs on a Sunday, takes 6 hours and costs a shade under $100.

So tomorrow I’m hitching. There’s a public bus I can take to more or less where the highway starts and I’ll thumb it from there. It’s only a 3½ hour drive, after all. I may as well aim to get to Cairns in the early afternoon than depart from Townsville at that time.

Right, I’m off for a walk up the hill (which apparently is only metres short of being classified as a mountain) and a stroll along the beach.

[later that day…]

Castle Hill

Castle Hill

I decided to start things off with a visit to the library to see if I could check any maps out. Only it closed at midday on a Saturday. So scratch that plan.

Instead I walked directly to Castle Hill and started up the “Goat Track”, a pretty steep climb up the side. It’s hard going, but not impossible. Water is definitely recommended – you can refill your bottle at the top. Partway up, the track splits. Stick on the Goat Trail until you reach the road at the top. The summit’s just around the corner. On the way down, follow the other route to be taken more toward the northern side of the hill.

The view from the top’s quite pleasant and you can see virtually the entire city from up there. The most impressive view, obviously, is out to sea. Magnetic Island is clearly visible only 8km off the coast.

Sweaty and hungry, I hopped down to ground level and through the Queen’s Park to Red Rooster where I picked up a burger. In a small shady spot just off the Strand, I munched on unhealthy food and read some more of my book.

Strong gusts

Strong gusts

I then walked the entire length of the Strand, starting at Kissing Point. This is the northernmost end and still has some military significance if the fences and “do not enter” signs are anything to go by. There’s an artifcial lagoon which is filled with seawater and about the safest place to swim between November and May when the jellyfish are in abundance. It’s sealed off from the sea and the water is replaced every three hours by a continuing pump system.

Further down the coastline are a couple of “stinger nets”. These are inflatable tubes with nets hanging off them. The idea being that the water within these nets is stinger-free and (hopefully) stays that way – although they’re not 100% safe. Canisters labelled “VINEGAR” are dotted along the coast where you’d normally expect to see flotation devices, along with instructions on how to deal with sting victims.

Typically Australian – Queensland in particular – is that it’s a beautiful place but there are natural dangers everywhere.

Beware of jellyfish

Beware of jellyfish

Again, I paused to read a book for a while before ambling further down towards the southern point and back to the hostel. Nobody was up for a night out, so I picked up a 6-pack from the local bottle shop and sat and watched films on the large projector telly. I had a good natter with a couple of Kiwis and a guy from London, then collapsed in bed just before midnight. I don’t think I slept as well on the train as I thought I had.

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Mt Isa to Townsville

A bye-bye hug

A bye-bye hug

OK, I don’t have wireless but I’m typing this up as the Inlander service approaches Townsville. The 21-ish hour journey has gone fairly quickly, partly as I didn’t sleep a lot the night before I set off so I snoozed a bit in the early evening.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the train. From the outside it looks like a bit of a banger, but the fittings inside seem almost brand new. The seats are comfy and the dining car area is very pleasant. A few TVs in there are used to show very family-friendly DVDs (a lot of people who use the service are pensioners) and the food from the canteen isn’t too badly overpriced.

Sleeping in the seater cars isn’t the most comfy option as the seats don’t recline at all. However, you get what you pay for and it’s now 9am and I don’t feel too knackered. With luck I should be in a hostel by 11am.

This in itself will be noteworthy. I arrived in Australia almost a month ago to the day and this will be the first night’s accommodation I’ve paid for. It will also be the first of only three if I have my sums right (Cairns tomorrow and again the night before I fly to Japan). So again, a huge shout out to everyone who’s been kind enough to put me up over the last four weeks. If ever the chance arises for me to return the favour, all you have to do is ask!

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