Townsville - My kind of town

By Gabrielle & William Beams

Townsville - My Kind of Town

The Bruce Highway winds up the Pacific Coast to Bowen, the sleepy Queensland town forever immortalized by Baz Luhrmann in his epic movie “Australia”.

With a little imagination, you can see Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman striding the bougainvillea‐lined streets and looking across Horseshoe Bay to Gloucester Island. The huge mango at the entrance to the town indicates the extent of the fruit and vegetable markets that has given Bowen the name “Salad Bowl of Queensland”.

The largest tropical city in Australia, Townsville lies on Cleveland Bay at the mouth of Ross Creek. Named after Sydney businessman, Robert Town, whose financial backing enabled the city to be established in the 1860’s it is now an international port and mecca for the numerous industries of sugar, cattle, meat and seafood processing, copper refining and tourism.

Townsville has also one of the largest Army bases in the country and it is not unusual to see a convoy of armored personnel carriers on low loaders making their way out of the city towards the south. Army personnel meld in with local population and the army barracks stretch for kilometers along the Bruce Highway giving the tourists an insight into army life.

Mt Stuart lies south west of the city and affords superb views across Bowling Green Bay National Park, Cape Cleveland to nearby Magnetic Island. The winding mountain is easily accessible for conventional vehicles.

Rugged Castle Hill dominates the city from its central location and a walking track to the top provides panoramic views of Townsville and its twin city of Thuringowa.

The Museum of Tropical Queensland on Flinders Street East, houses a science centre, natural history displays and indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander exhibits. It is also the home of the lifesize replica of the “Pandora”, this famous ship having been shipwrecked off the nearby coast. Its decks are awash with the artifacts from centuries long ago and demonstrate the difficult life endured by its courageous sailors.

Reef HQ, also on Flinders Street East, is a Marine Biologists dream. This large Aquarium has a cross section of sea life on the Great Barrier Reef. A huge walk through central tank contains colorful coral outcrops that are home to the tropical fish, sharks and rays that are found in the seas of the superb surrounding Reef that is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. You can spend a complete day immersing yourself in the wonderful marine life displays that is Reef HQ.

Magnetic Island is only 8 kilometres off Townsville and is serviced by both a passenger ferry and a car ferry. It is an ideal location for day trippers, holiday makers and has a permanent population of more than 2000 people. Half the Island is a National Park and it has the largest natural Koala sanctuary in Queensland. Other native animals that frequent this large island include Rock Wallabies, Bats and Brush Tail Possums. All passenger ferries dock at Nelly Bay where a large Marina, residential and shopping complex are being developed. The Magnetic Island Bus service meets all ferries and runs between Picnic Bay and Horseshoe Bay in the north. We took the ferry to
the Island and caught this bus service and went first to Picnic Bay from where an 8 kilometre track takes you to the secluded beach at West Point. This white sand swimming haven is on the edge of the National Park. From Picnic Bay, the bus stops back at Nelly Bay then proceeds onto Arcadia, where the car ferry berths and up to Horseshoe Bay on the north of the island, where bistros and cafes feed the hungry tourists. We spent a delightful day on idyllic Magnetic Island and recommend this holiday destination to everyone.

The next day we decided to visit the twin city of Thuringowa which completely surrounds Townsville. This 4121 square kilometre metropolis stretches from Crystal Creek in the north to the Haughton River in the south. Its commerce is centred on sugar cane, pineapple plantations, orchards, national parks, a mining site and a refinery. Home to over 40,000 residents, Thuringowa in now a city in its own right.

Our stay in Townsville would not be complete without a visit the Strand overlooking Cleveland Bay. This vibrant beachfront esplanade has superb apartments, Hotels, cafes and leads to the Entertainment Centre and Jupiters Casino. The later white building overlooks Ross Creek, the Townsville Sailing Club and Cleveland Bay and provides the entertainment for this busy tropical capital of far north Queensland.

Having enjoyed many glorious days in Townsville, we hitched up our caravan and headed north up the Bruce Highway towards Cardwell, Cairns and the Coral Sea.