August 2015

The weather is still a sunny and warm 28 degrees.

On Saturday we met John and Chris for a light lunch at Bogarts on the Strand. After lunch John and Chris headed off to Ayr to see daughter Chace appear in a Cabaret. David and Di went for a walk up to the Kissing Point Battery which has recently been re-developed at the northern end of the Strand. The Battery was established in the 1890s for the defence of northern Australia, but by 1911 was deemed obsolete.

On Sunday we had lunch again with John and Chris, but this time at their apartment. We had a prawn starter and coral trout for the main course – not really a trout but excellent eating all the same. After lunch it was back to the caravan park to start packing up as we a moving on again tomorrow.

Bogart's Restaurant on the Strand.

Townsville's Strand Waterfront.

Live Cattle Transport loading at Townsville.

Looking north from Kissing Point.

Magnetic Island from Townsville.

Di at Kissing Point.

One of the guns at Kissing Point.

Aus - US Memorial established for the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Townsville Port from Kissing Point.

6 inch Armstrong coastal defence gun at Kissing Point.

31st Battalion memorial at Kissing Point.

Memorial inspired by the Australian Army Rising Sun Badge.

It was still cloudy and humid in Cairns with the promise of more rain.

We managed to finish packing up without any rain and were on the road by about 9:30 am for our 345 km trip to Townsville. Soon after leaving Cairns we had a couple of showers, but the skies slowly cleared for a bright sunny day. We stopped for sandwiches and a drink in Cardwell along with about 20 to 30 other vans that were parked up and down the main street. Last time we came through Cardwell it was road works from one end of town to the other. This time we got the benefit with masses of parking available for caravans.

We got to the Woodlands Big 4 Holiday Park at about 2:00 pm and checked in for three nights – that will give us the weekend to catch up with John and Chris and some of their family. The temperature in Townsville was a very warm 28 degrees. We had great difficulty when setting up the awning as the ground was like concrete – David bent about 8 tent pegs trying to get them into the ground. Townsville has had drought conditions for about 18 months, and everything is very dry. It is hard to believe the difference in weather between Cairns and Townsville when they are only 350 km apart. Cairns was green and lush, while Townsville is very dry.

After setting up and having a quick shower it was off to John and Chris’s apartment for a few drinks before dinner. Justine and Craig were also there and later Tom dropped in with Liberty and Chelsea, Liberty was dancing at a concert later that evening. We went to Salt Restaurant, one of Townsville’s better restaurants, for an excellent meal.

Parked at Cardwell for lunch.

Looking south from Cardwell towards Hinchinbrook.

Cardwell waterfront.

Plenty of room for caravans at Cardwell.

It was cloudy and humid again today, with a temperature of 24 degrees.

Because of the low cloud and occasional showers we decided to give Kuranda a miss this time. Di settled on Cairns Central and the chance for a bit of shopping, while David got a much needed haircut. Di managed to find a silver chain at a jeweller who was having a 50% off sale – another bargain!

After refuelling the Navara we headed back to camp to start packing up as we leave for Townsville tomorrow. There had been no rain for a couple of hours so we took the opportunity to roll up the awning while it was dry.

No Photos today.