Townsville

Townsville (pop. 200,000) is the "big smoke" of North Queensland. We've left the dry Outback behind and now we're in the lush tropics.  Townsville itself is quite dry - most rainfall is in the 3 months from mid-December to mid-March and temperatures range from 26C to 35C every day.

We're here to spend Christmas with family who moved from Sydney a few months ago.  We were in Townsville about a year ago for a few days and did the tourist bit then so we'll be having a nice relaxing time.

Merry Christmas

We drove to Ayr, about 1 hour away for a picnic lunch at Plantation Park, where there's a large sculpture of a python.  Ayr also has a lovely fountain and sculpture depicting many animals of the area.









A trip to Reef HQ and the Turtle Hospital  took up about 4 hours.  The large aquariums are filled with colourful fish.  It's relaxing just to sit and watch them.

The Townsville skyline is dominated by Castle Hill with it's graffiti of The Saint which was painted on the cliff face about 50 years ago.  There are great views over the Coral Sea to Magnetic Island.

A relaxing stroll along The Strand beachfront is perfect in the cool of the evening and is very popular.  Dogs, pedestrians, roller skaters, skate boarders, cyclists, scooters etc all share the wide path.  There are fitness stops and playgrounds along the way.  There are a couple of swimming areas which have been netted to keep out stingers (jellyfish).  Care still needs to be taken as this is crocodile country too.