Short days

After what seemed like the longest pack up in history, including discovering one of our caravan blinker bulbs was out, we moved on from Airlie Beach with a parting shower of rain and drifted North picking up a few caravan supplies and a spare bulb on the way. A pleasant drive through sugarcane fields being harvested and more train crossing than Kai (our train buff) could keep up with along with steep mountains raising high (in the Australian thinking of mountains) out of the flat plains. We headed for a campground 15kms off the highway along a dirt road, which we expected to be fairly empty. What a surprise when we found the place full. Half the people there looked like it was there home, or at least they were there for the winter. It was on a beach and chatting to a few people the fishing was good there. Some of the others had the same thought as us and were equally surprised.


We got a reasonably early start in the morning after bacon and eggs for breakfast to celebrate my birthday and made the short drive to Townsville were we did a spot of shopping and research at the tourist information centre. We only made it 20 or so kilometers out of town and pulled in to a rest area (Bluewater Park) for a late lunch and our overnight stop. This was a very busy rest area with about 30 rigs already here and we squeezed into one of the last spots. Many more people arrived after us, most of whom found a spot, but mostly in areas marked as no overnight camping. This is an excellent rest area with a fantastic playground for the kids right across from our van. Having plenty of time we went for a wander around and chatted to a few people, including a fellow Bushtracker owner who had two dogs that the kids love to pat and play with. I think they are missing Sophie.

Thea spoiled us with roast pork and pavlova for dinner. It is certainly worth having a birthday.


It has been very nice not traveling very far and getting into camp early, however while Cairns is not far away now there is a lot to see between Townsville and Cairns so it will be a few days off yet.

Till next time.
Tig