Townsville

Townsville has grown enormously over the past 10 years.  I suspect it's because, like Darwin, the growth in military personnel has a lot to do with it.  The city is small and seems wedged between the Ross River and Castle Hill and therefore the suburbs have spread out with huge shopping centres acting like satellite cities and welding the whole area called Townsville together.  

Looking down across the city from atop Castle Hill, a striking anomaly on a flat landscape.

Visiting American soldiers used it as a lookout during WW2. The Townsville area was known as Base Section 2 to the Americans.

We were unable to take photos of the main street as there are major renovations going on there. They hope to be finished in time for Summer. On the South side of the river old Townsville still exists but also with a bit of updating and certainly all the trappings of a city such as jazz music outside the bistro where we had lunch.

looking across to Magnetic Island from Castle Hill

On the South Side. Typical old Queensland building.

The  upgrade of the Strand, a 2.2klm stretch of beachfront was opened in 1999 and is fabulous. 

The Strand

Activities on the Strand

The Rock Pool at the north end of The Strand

The fountain in Anzac Park on The Strand in one of it's colours.

  Known in Australia as the Banyan Fig. It's botanical name Ficus Benghalensis.  I've Google d this and find it is also called the Bengal fig, Indian Fig, east Indian fig, Indian banyan etc.  You will notice in my favourite books a book I picked up in the Cooktown museum called 1421.  The evidence being collected suggests the Chinese discovered and charted the world long before the  Europeans and while doing so move plenty flora and fauna around the globe.  This doesn't sound like an Aussie indigenous tree to me?!

A perfectly comfortable 50 minute trip to Magnetic Island in Bugalugs on the barge.

Townsville Culture Fest.

 The cultural fest was in full swing when we got here.  Just a taste of what we saw: Tai chi marshal arts from China. Traditional Fiji harmony and a Maori performance from New Zealand.
 Food stalls representing different nationalities made deciding what to eat difficult. The easiest way was to make up a tapas from a few stalls and then find a seat.  That's what we did.

More to come on Townsville!

Charters Towers

We loved it!!!!!!  interesting, friendly, good feeling place.  This town came into being in 1871 with the discovery of gold.  The city was first called Charters Tors after mining warden Charters and Tors for the hills in the vicinity of the the gold find.  It was at one time the 2nd largest city in Queensland and was known as 'The World'. The theatre now goes by this name.  Total gold production 1872-1911 was 6,800,000ozs.

This arcade was built in 1887-88 and called The Royal Arcade. In 1890 it became the Charters Towers Stock Exchange.When mining was at its peak this exchange had 3 calls a day.  I guess busy for its time!


There are 3 boarding schools here.  St Mary's opened in 1892.  the State High School opened in 1912 and the Mount Carmel College opened in 1902.
Education  is also delivered from here to children in the outback in the famous 'distance education' programs and international students who seek an Australian curriculum  certificate enrol as full fee paying students.

The entrance to the cinema/theatre.  Lovely auditorium.

We saw "Steaming" here. Very good.

Charters Towers was the birthplace of the ALP.  Bob Katter is the Independent for this seat of Kennedy which is huge!  His father left the Labor party when it lurched too far to the left.  It'll be interesting to see what happens in this election. I suspect Bob will hang on?

The US Army Airforce had their airfield on the site of the present airport.  During world war 2 15,000 US personnel were stationed here.

  street scenes

The bowlers have the weather under control with a retractable sun block "roof".

Arthur and Tony swapping Addresses in the bar at the Civic Club. He has promised to send us a box of mangoes.  This town has mango trees all over the place and most of the fruit just falls to the ground and rots!

At the Civic Club. The other side of this room was a mirror image. Both tables in beautiful playing condition.  Made round 1901. 

Hughenden

Don't know about this place.  The countryside around it consists of  Porcupine Gorge which would be more interesting in the "big wet" time of the year.  There's fossil fossicking in the area, but seeing we're both fossilizing in areas of our own anatomy we decided to get side tracked with the living in the park.

What was really sad about this place is that the old hotel built in 1860 and used as a stop over for Cobb and Co was all boarded up and then the really sad part was....... this notice..........

the notice advising that the matron's ball had been canceled 'till next year.

However we had a good time with....

Viv is presented with moon rock

Loved Ron's hat!

Judy, Rob from Canberra and Ron from Melbourne

Richmond

This is part of the dinosaur triangle. The largest fossil footprint is somewhere around Winton which is south of here.  We're heading east.  The weather here was 30C yesterday and overnight plummeted to, lord knows what, because it's only 13C today!  That's why we're heading East. 

What makes us think we've arrived in dinosaur fossil land???

                                                                                                                 This is also a place where round rocks are 2 a penny. The rocks are formed from leaking lime which attaches to an object and just keeps growing around it. Many bits of fossil are found in the lime stone rocks. 

                          Tone flanked on either side by round rocks wearing a halo?


 While I hold open the Kronosaurus' jaws!

http://www.abc.net.au/science/ozfossil/ageofreptiles/eromanga/kronosaurus.htm

Julia Creek

We are now working our way back to the coast slowly.  Were going to stop here for the the night but without hesitation decided to shoot through!!!!
The video makes the point

Cloncurry

Birth place of Qantas and the flying doctor service.   The shed is still used today and is part of the airport.

The Royal Flying Doctors service also had its beginnings here.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       


Then something of a different interest entered the park! 
The Isuzu rig has a 9 speed gearbox air assisted braking and transmission.  It was towing 17 tonne of mobile house!

This fifth wheeler has 2 bedrooms and the bathroom come complete with spa bath and laundry.

had a good time with........

We bumped into James and Ros at the rodeo.  new friends from Karumba.

and had a good night at Cloncurry with Judy and Kevin 

and Rob and Linda 

Mount Isa

We just had to drop in to Isa as the rodeo was on there and it was the national championships. $300,000 in prize money. The winner goes to Calgary in Canada to compete.  Apart from anything else as the sign says.....

  

I think the videos speak for themselves!!!

1st: bucking bulls  

2nd: cowgirls

3rd: side show of line dance

This art had a price tag of $6300!!!!?

Tone watching yet another cowboy come off a bucking bull

 and me as a cowgirl!

Quamby

A little way down from Burke and Wills Roadhouse is a "  one pub and that's all"   place.  Rather interesting. Two backpackers were working there one was from London.  Now here's a change of scenery if ever there was one!!!!!  From London to.....

This is all there is at Quamby!

This is Bindi Beach complete with lifesaver lookout (left)

We were told the pool will be ready in 2 months for summer and there was a vacancy for a chef!!!!!!!!!!!!!! pub-wise it was very well stocked.

en route to Burke and Wills roadhouse

Burke and Wills roadhouse is half way between Normanton and Cloncurry.  Something strange on the road ahead and rather small. It turned out to be a chap by name of Duncan who cycles for fun on this rather peculiar looking cycle.

We found that we were camped next to Duncan and a friend by name of Scott (also cycling for the fun of it).   Both these energetic gents are from Canberra. 

Well done!

                                                                                        

Tone giving the recumbent a try out with Scott holding onto the back.  It's different!

Normanton

It has history and a purple pub ......but we were scratching to look interested.

The station has been given a lot of TLC and has become a working museum.  It is the home of the Sunlander.

however I was able to make a contribution to the emergency services here by purchasing a share in

Gregory Peck!! 

Fishing and birds Karumba

I was stiff the next morning.  Didn't know I had muscles in my chest!

....and this is what I was hooking.....

  




Tony looked on the verge of giving up!

He was out fished on the day!!!!!!!


Now, what we were really looking for were these...........

Did you know that all Barramundi are born male and all become female at age 5? 

http://www.nativefish.asn.au/barramundi.html


The Barra Farm at Karumba is a non profit farm started by the fishermen.  From this farm the Norman River amongst others are re stocked. 

Then on the way back to town we were confronted with hundreds, no probably thousands of little Corilla's (of the cockatoo family)