Bowen, Townsville & Magnetic Island 26.04.2016 - 08.05.2016

Bowen

We left Finch Hatton Gorge on the 26^th of April and made our way to Bowen, driving past Proserpine and Airlie beach.  We did not stop at any of those destinations as we had already experienced going through these towns when we did a boat trip to the Whitsunday. We arrived at the caravan park in Bowen, which were recommended to us by our friends and caretakers of the caravan park at Sarina and settled in for a week stay. We were blown away by the beauty of this little town.  It is known as the Mural town because of all the murals that are painted on the side of the building.  The town is among the prettiest that I have seen and boasts some of the finest beaches in Queensland.

 

The first beach that we got to was Horse shoe bay, which had a spectacular look out to the left of it on top of a huge granite boulder

 The walk to the top of the boulder looks out past some pretty spectacular granite boulders

The view from the top of the boulder of Horse shoe bay

There are four to five main bays which are ideal for snorkeling or just relaxing on the beach.  The beaches have sand that squeak under your feet and the water is crystal clear.  There is not much, not to like about this little town and one can understand why it has become a popular destination for retirees.

This is the beach closest to our caravan park

   

The small fishing boat with the islands of the Whitsundays in the background says it all.  Whiskey and Brandy had an absolute ball in the sea chasing sea gulls and rolling in the sand.  We had to wash both dogs down before they were allowed in the car.

We spent our days discovering new bays and snorkeling, wondering what the working world was up to and enjoying every minute of it.  Having had the experiences that we have had so far, it will be a bit difficult getting back into a nine to five job.

 

This spot has to be one of my all-time favourite, it is called Queens beach and has a good snorkeling spot to the right of the picture by the rocks.

This is a view to the left and you can see the beach where Whiskey and Brandy were swimming in the back ground.

 

Townsville

We arrived in Townsville on the 1st of May and booked in to the Coral Coast caravan park and we were surprised how hot it was for this time of the year.  The heat and humidity was so intense that you could almost cut the air with a knife. The caravan park was situated next to the Royal Australian Air Force base and Townsville airport which was not too noisy, however we both felt that it was not one of our favourite parks, as the humidity was very uncomfortable and the mozzies were eating us alive, even the dogs did not want to sit outside the caravan. 

Having said that, Townsville is a beautiful town that is very well laid out with a strong army presence. I am told that it is also the beef export capital of Queensland.  We were told to go up to Castle Hill lookout and we were not disappointed, the view was magnificent.

The view from Castle Hill overlooking Magnetic Island and part of Townsville 

We took the time to walk along the beach front which we found to be very clean and well presented.  The photos below show a panoramic view of the beach front.

  

View of the harbour

View to the left of the main beach

 A park area behind the main beach area

The enclosed swimming area

Along our walk we came across this old bicycle which I thought was worthy of a photo shot.

We met up with Deon Field who used to live across the road from us in Coubray place Auckland, and had dinner that night with him and his wife Jody.  It was great to catch up and chew the fat and talk of our experiences at Hydraulink and Auckland.

The following day we went for a walk to Kissing Point in the sweltering heat. The walk was great with a lot to see.

Here I am on my own not able to kiss at the Kissing point because Shirley is taking the photo.

A board walk along the coast at Kissing point

We found the walk very interesting and the art work on display made the walk enjoyable.

The highlight of the visit to Townsville was the trip to Magnetic Island, which we thoroughly enjoyed.  We rented a 4 wheel drive Ute and saw most of the scenic spots on the island.

Magnetic Island

Here is one of the beaches that we visited.  This would be close to the best beaches of Thailand or Bali.

The view from a look out of another pristine beach, same again for the photo below

 

These pictures below are of a beach on the opposite site of the harbour, pure blue sea and white sand.  This would have to be one of the best beaches that I have seen.

Same goose same beach

We came across this old piano on a beach and Shirley thought for a second that she was Elton John, we had a good laugh

I was hoping that a snake would come out of the wood work to see how long this rendition would go on.

Here is the old faithful that got us around the island, a real rattle trap I might add.

The photos below is of the main beach which has a few café and bars on the main road.

The goose once again with the ferry that brought us to the island in the back ground

 

 More spectacular views of the crystal blue ocean from a jetty

I would highly recommend that every one that visits Townsville goes on the half hour ferry trip to Magnetic Island.  It should be on everyone’s bucket list.

Map view of our travels this trip.

Our next point of adventure was Kurrimine beach, Ravenshoe and the Atherton Table land.