Mount Isa to Townsville

We left Mount Isa towards Townsville early at dawn. Driving 900km+ with a seven month old child takes a long time, particularly if you are not allowed to go faster than 100km/h and speeding fines are draconian. We planned our first feeding stop in Cloncurry. This time our little one decided differently however. She strongly demanded food in the middle of nowhere. So we pulled to a parking bay and satisfied her demand.

Our next stop was Hughenden around lunch time. It was so hot on that day, we had to seek some airconditioned shelter. I only recall the roadhouse where we we stopped for fish and chips. Not very memorable food, but it had cool air.

A few dozen kilometers, the landscape and particularly the color of the soil changed significantly as we cut through the White Mountains National Park.

Charters Towers

As an old mining town Charters Towers is the first larger city on your way from the Outback to Townsville. A number of old buildings have survived the growth of the town and form a city center worth stopping by – especially when you have been traveling the outback for some time. Perfect for feeding our little one again, have a bit of play time and stretch our legs.

We continued our journey early evening and dusk set in. We arrived at the outskirts of Townsville around 8pm. Gladly we checked into our accommodation and decided to have a very easy next day. Our sprint from Alice Springs to Townsville has taken its toll. Everyone in the family needed a rest.

Townsville

The look in the mirror the next day confirmed a shave wouldn’t be enough today. I needed to find a hairdresser. After a short walk in the morning, I had my appointment for the afternoon. We spent the day replenishing our supplies, strolling along ‘The Strand’ and dozing in the pool.

The next day we visited ‘Reef HQ’, the local aquarium. It was amusing to see how our little one observed and interacted with the larger fish. Particularly a few large groupers seemed to interest and amuse her.

Magnetic Island is one of the main attractions of Townsville. However, we decided to skip it. We felt we had seen enough rock wallabies, beaches and sand so far – and Fraser Island was also still ahead of us.

Hence the next day, we were going up Castle Hill. The exceptional views have just been limited by occasional rain showers in the distance. From top of the hill you get stunning views of Townsville and its surroundings.

The next day, we left Townville northbound to Cairns.