The strong wind forecast eventually proved correct and we
felt quite safe in the marina. We were invited to dinner by my friends from PNG
days – Trevor and Elizabeth Kerr. We had another great night with continued reminiscing
of the past and a bit of a hangover in the morning. We were also celebrating the sale of their yacht Bligh Spirit which has been in their hands for 30 years since PNG days.
Trevor with the Elizabeth and Tamara
It was forecast to blow 25 to 30 knots for several days so we
decided to hire a car for 3 days and do some sightseeing.
First day we drove to Charters Towers which was founded in
the 1870’s by a chance gold discovery by a young aboriginal horse boy. The town became the second largest city in Qld
boasting 65 hotels and 11 crushing mills and a stock exchange. A lot of the
early buildings are still standing including the stock exchange. In the town surrounds you can see the mine
shafts and they still mine for gold but on a much bigger scale.
At the top of Towers Hill - Charters Towers in the back ground
After lunch as we departed town we came across a butcher
which was advertising eye fillet steak for $12.50 per kilo. We had to
investigate as we were having a BBQ on Thursday night at the marina with a few
friends. It looked good quality but we had to buy it in bulk. So between Graham
and me we bought 5.5kg’s of eye fillet steak. We ended up with 16 steaks.
We headed back to Townsville and a sight which made us laugh
was out in the middle of a paddock. A half completed boat project. Someone had
a funny sense of humour and painted a few words on the side. It was a long way from the water!!
Someone has a sense of humour
Back in Townsville we caught up with another CC13 cruiser “Our
Island” with Martin and Margot and we had our own rendezvous at the Townsville
Yacht Club.
Thursday we took turns between Echo Beach and ourselves to do
some provisioning which took most of the day. That evening we used the marinas
BBQ and social room to have a BBQ. We invited Chalky and Mike over from
Magnetic Island where they had been competing in the race week along with
Trevor and Elizabeth. Martin and Margot
came along with Deryn off Nari. We had a great night and the steaks from
Charters Towers were big and delightful. No complaints by anyone!!
Friday we drove to Paluma National Forrest with Graham and
Leanne. We left Townsville at 8am and we were sure we would find coffee on the
way. That was not to be. We ended up at the National park without a coffee and
the girls were not happy. We completed the walk to the lookout and to the falls
through the rain forest and while Leanne was leading the walkers came across
this beautiful black snake sunning itself on the path. It was lucky that she
saw it before stepping on it. We carefully moved it on and completed the walk.
SNAKE !!!!
Cloudy creek falls
We drove back into Paluma for lunch and could not find anything open. By this
time it was midday and we drove back to Townsville to the yacht club for lunch.
It is a great National Park but cannot believe that there were no food outlets
open on a Friday to cater for the tourists.
Crystal Creek bridge - Took two years to build in 1932 during the depression - work for the dole.
Saturday we spent most of the day at the Townsville Museum
which houses the relics from the wreck of the Pandora. It floundered on a reef
in 1790 after capturing the mutineers of the Bounty in Tahiti - a fascinating story and display. A must see
if you ever visit Townsville.
Sunday morning was a quick dash into the markets
for the very best produce one can buy at very reasonable prices. We stocked up on
vegetables, salads and fruit for the next 10 to 12 days. Back at the marina we
filled the water tanks and the fuel tank and departed for Horseshoe Bay on Magnetic
Island. The forecast wind shows that it is easing and it should be good
conditions to travel south. We will set off at first light tomorrow for Cape
Upstart.
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