Townsville

Reef HQ

Turtle Hospital

Water Park

View from Castle Hill

We headed into the city centre where we thought we would check out the 'award winning Sunday market' in Flinders Street. I am not sure what award it won but we did manage to buy some cheap bananas and were grossed out by the ornamental stuffed cane toads. We searched for the Info centre but decided it must have moved because they were renovating the main square. We went back to the car and headed across to The Strand which is the 2.2km, palm studded waterfront promenade. Today was actually the Townsville Running Festival and the marathon finished on the waterfront. We watched some of the last runners come through and decided to go to the Reef HQ Aquarium. The highlight was visiting the newly established Turtle Hospital where they rehabilitate injured and sick turtles brought in by fisheries rangers. There were 5 green sea turtles we were able to view up close. Six of the seven marine turtle species occur in Australian waters including the green, flat back, hawksbill, loggerhead, leatherback and olive ridley. The most common in the Townsville region is the green turtle which is quite different to the other species as it mainly feeds on sea weed and sea grasses. In recent times there has been an increase in the number of sick turtles which they have attributed to the recent floods destroying their main food sources. We walked back to the info centre and organised ferry tickets and accommodation to go across to Magnetic Island. We had a bite to eat with the sound of the brick saw close by and headed back to The Strand. The kids got their bathers on and had a play at the water park. It was a little overcast and the wind had picked up so they didn't last too long before turning blue. We went for a drive up Castle Hill for a view of the city and it's surrounds. Following that we did some grocery shopping and went back to the van. I made spaghetti bolignase for dinner.

Townsville

We decided to take advantage of the Big 4 kids club which was from 9.30am - 12.00 - awesome 2 1/2 hours kid free! After breakfast we started packing up. Rick had to run a couple of errands for Chris so he took off at 8.30am. I dropped Caitlin & Cooper off at kids club and Rick returned. We had a big downpour but it didn't last too long. We went into Airlie for a wander around the market on the foreshore. Rick gave the car and van a quick wash then we picked the kids up and grabbed some lunch at the bakery before heading north towards Bowen. The drive was slow going as we got stuck behind a number of Army trucks. We knew we were nearly there when we passed the Big Mango. Bowen is the second largest vegetable producer in Queensland, mainly mangoes and tomatoes. We drove to the info centre on the front beach and the newly developed foreshore. The info centre was closed but there was a large display about Bowen's involvement in the filming of Australia in 2008 where it was a stand in location for 1930s Darwin. In World War 2, Catalinas were maintained and serviced here. We were planning to stay here as there were meant to be beautiful beaches but we were all happy to keep driving so we continued on to Townsville - another 2 hours. We arrived in Townsville around 4.30pm and found our way to Rowes Bay Caravan Park which seemed to be one of the closest to the city centre. It was strange driving into a large city with multi story buildings - we have been avoiding most of them. The caravan park was full but we were offered an unpowered site and warned to keep everything locked as there had been problems with thieves raiding vans left unlocked - great!
I made a risotto in the thermomix for dinner.

Airlie Beach

The wind had died out but it was still a little overcast. After breakfast we headed out of Nara Inlet to where Chris had Internet coverage. Our food supply was getting low as we were originally only going to do two nights. We went out on the dinghy and found a small beach to explore. Back on board we set sail for Abel Point Marina across the Whitsunday Passage. It was a great sail - a constant 20-25 knots of breeze and a broad reach and pretty flat seas. Caitlin showed no signs of sea sickness and kept herself busy practising her knots. We were on the lookout for whales but to no avail. Back in the marina we bought some lunch and Rick went to pick up the car with the kids while I gave Chris a hand to do a quick clean of the boat and unload our gear. Rick was pleased with the car which had new coil springs and shocks installed - however Cooper was not happy because he was expecting airbag suspension like Andys! We went back to the caravan park and collected our van and set up. I did some washing, the kids had a play at the park and jumping pillow then we got ready to go out for dinner. We went to the bistro across the road.

Sailing the Whitsundays

It had rained overnight and was still quite overcast this morning. We were keen to find another good dive spot but when we left the shelter of Cid Harbour the wind was quite strong- about 30 knots. We decided to take shelter in Nara Inlet. We had reception for a little while so we made a few calls. The kids did some schoolwork then the boys went fishing in the dinghy. Caitlin and I played card games and I got stuck into my book. In the afternoon we went for a walk to the Ngaro Cultural site on Hook Island. A steep track leads to a boardwalk, interpretive display and viewing area of a rock shelter containing Ngaro art motifs. Back on the boat I taught Caitlin how to tie some different knots which she picked up really quickly. In the late afternoon Rona and Allan came over and Chris made some cocktails. We cooked a BBQ for dinner.

Sailing the Whitsundays

This really is a magical place - beautiful sparkling aqua water, secluded beaches and rugged islands covered in towering hoop pine forests. After breakfast I sat down with the kids to do some journal writing. We had decided first thing in the morning was the best time to do some schoolwork as trying to pin Cooper down at any other time was proving quite difficult. The wind was on the nose so we motored over to Cid Harbour which is a great spot for sighting turtles. We went exploring in the dinghy intent on finding turtles and maybe the elusive dugong. We caught a glimpse of a couple of loggerhead turtles but that was it. We went up on to Sawmill beach and the kids went exploring. The boys went out in the dinghy to do a spot of fishing and came back with a bucket load of garfish which Chris cooked up for lunch. In the afternoon we did the walk through the forest from Sawmill Beach across to Dugong beach. We had sundowner drinks with Rona and Allan (friends of Chris) and then cooked pasta for dinner.

Sailing the Whitsundays

We were leaving the van in storage at the caravan park while we went out sailing. We packed up the van as much as we needed to so as to be able drive it around the corner knowing we would be back in three days to set it up again. Rick dropped us off at the marina with all our gear and he drove the car up the road to where he had booked it in to get the springs done. We headed out of Airlie at about 11.00am and sailed under headsail across to Blue Pearl Bay off Hayman Island. There was about 20-25 knots of breeze and Caitlin was feeling a little queasy but held up well. We attached to a mooring and had some lunch. After lunch the kids and I suited up in our wetsuits and Rick took us out in the dinghy to do some snorkeling. We got out on the beach and while I was trying to help Cooper with his goggles I stood on a rock which was super slippery and I fell straight onto the rock landing on my coccyx - ouch! The water was quite shallow so the coral was bright and colorful and there was heaps of pretty fish including parrotfish. There seemed to be an array of different types of coral - stag horn, brain, branch coral -it was very impressive. We motored over to Nara Inlet (Hook Island) where we anchored for the night - it was after 6 by this stage. We had a BBQ for dinner.

Airlie Beach

Not much going on today. Rick gave Chris a hand to move the boat into the marina and the kids went along for the ride. I did a bit of shopping and picked up our mail. I picked Rick, Chris and the kids up from the marina and we went back to the van for lunch. Rick did some shopping with Chris including some lifejackets for the kids which we forgot to bring from home. Caitlin & Cooper were happy just hanging out. I took them for a swim in the pool in the afternoon.