Townsville

We camped at the Ross Dam in Townsville for 5 days to attend the Dam Fine Rally.  There were about 240.  motorhomes.  We ended up camped next to Christine & Max, from Mt. Dandenong Vic. who were next to Ron & Kerry from Brisbane.   Best buddies.   Ron & Kerrie are friends we met in 2011 in WA and they have also stayed with us in Melton.   Ros & Tony on our other side.    We also had some of our Motorhome Chapter friends at the Rally.   It was a nice relaxed time.   The Ross River that leads to the dam is a beautiful precinct full of parks and playgrounds. The weather has been warm, sunny, with cool nights.  Perfect for travelling.    Townsville is massive.   Did not expect such a big City.   Took in Reef HQ.   A reasonably old aquarium but has the worlds largest collection of living corals which made it fascinating.  The variety and color of the fish were pretty amazing but the corals were the best. Took in the turtle hospital as well.   One turtle recovering for the last 12 months from a boat propeller strike and a tangle with a croc.  60 y.o.   weighs in 110kgs.   Needs to put on more weight before being released again.    The Strand is a waterfront street, 2.2km of palms, lawns, safe swimming beach and a waterpark for the kids.    Absolutely beautiful.  Hugely popular anytime of the day for families and just relaxing with a meal and a drink.  We took a drive up to Castle Hill where you can look down on Townsville virtually 360o .  This is a giant pink granite "mountain" in the middle of the Town.    This is apparently a good spot to watch the V8s that are racing the streets of Townsville this Friday.     The Townsville Show is also on, its school holidays,  plus the Offshore Power Boat Races were on.    Its all happening this week.   We also did a day trip over to Magnetic Island, just 8kms off shore.   23 beaches, apparently, within protected bays.   Ideal for swimming and snorkelling    You can participate in coconut bowling or watch the toad races.     We did a typical beachside market, ate some thai food on the beach and used the all day, cheap,  hop on hop off bus to get around.    You can take your car over on the ferry or hire a little topless car or motorscooter.    We werent overly impressed with this Island.    Maybe we might have felt a little different if we had been in a car and not the bus, to get to more places, but really, the bays we saw didnt look any different/better/nicer than any others we had seen before.   Food was expensive and whilst, we had planned to eat on the Island, we ended up back at the bus at 3 in the afternoon and ate lunch then.

Rock Wallabys at the dam wall by the dozens

Recovering turtle