Driving North from Airie Beach

After our adventure at sea around the Whitsunday Islands and a good night's sleep, we picked up our rental car and headed north.  The drive was very rural.  We stopped in at Bowen for a picnic lunch and a walk on the wharf.   This town was "Darwin" for the movie Australia.    We went out to one of the lovely little beaches for a few pictures before hitting the road again. There lots of roadworks so our progress was very, very slow!   We passed sugar cane fields and cane trains galore - something new for us!  We are staying right on the Strand in Townsville.  We went for a nice long walk along it and dinner at a little Indian restaurant in the evening.

In the morning we sent ecards off to the birthday girls, then we drove up to Castle Hill (just metres shy of being a mountain) for views over the town and the islands. After leaving Townsville we drove up to Mission Beach, stopping at dozens of roadworks and at the Frosty Mango for a mango smoothie and ice cream cone. Saw a cassowary by the side of the road on our way to Sanctuary Resort!!!! 


Sugar cane fields. The crush is in progress. (harvesting and crushing the cane to get the juice to make sugar from)

The jetty at Bowen

Townsville - pop 174,000 - from the top of Castle Hill

Nancy atop Castle Rock

Mango trees

Little cane train cars filled with harvested cane on its way to the sugar mill