We were back in Townsville for three nights. Before we left to head north, we realised we would be back in Townsville for the Wallabies-Argentina rugby union test, so we purchased tickets. Luckily, our hotel was only a ten-minute walk from Country Bank Stadium (where the Cowboys rugby league team is based) where we joined 20,000 other fans. Our seats were fantastic, offering us a wonderful view of the game, which we won!
We visited the Maritime Museum of Townsville, one of the best we've seen. The photos, videos and information about the Battle of the Coral Sea were fascinating, as were the display cases about the women of WW2. Jim, of course, was interested in the model ship gallery, and we enjoyed learning about various shipwrecks along the north Queensland coast.
Part of the Women in WW2 exhibition
Model Ship Gallery
Battle of the Coral Sea exhibition
We also called in to the Museum of Tropical Queensland, planning to spend an hour. Instead, we spent three! The James Cameron Challenging the Deep exhibition is a comprehensive exhibit of videos and artefacts from the work of Cameron, explorer and film maker, about deep ocean science, technology and exploration. Unfortunately, no photographs are allowed... Cameron was responsible for movies like Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), Titanic (1997) and Avatar (2009). He has fostered a passion for underwater diving since his school days and aside from his Hollywood blockbusters also produces underwater documentaries.
The regular exhibitions at the museum include a fascinating look at the journey of HMS Pandora which left the UK in 1790 to sail to the south Pacific and bring back the 'pirate' crew of the Bounty. She was unfortunately sunk on the Great Barrier Reef in 1791, and as a result Australians have been instrumental in locating the wreck and retrieving her various artefacts.
The wonderful interactive rainforest exhibition
And of course, there had to be prehistoric animals. Above is a life-sized replica of the Kronosaurus, an extinct marine reptile 9-10 metres in length, that lived in Australia during the Cretaceous 100-120 MYA.
Great 'kids' entertainment...
On to Magnetic Island by car ferry from Townsville. We stayed at the Peppers Blue on Blue Resort in Nelly Bay where we had booked a studio hotel room. However, upon arriving we were directed to a three-bedroom apartment (bigger than our own) right on the marina, with its own plunge pool! Not bad.
Our balcony
We spent a couple of days driving around the island, walking, eating, drinking and basically relaxing, ready for our next drive. And, fortunately, Penny discovered a Vinnies Op Shop, one of few shops on the island, and was able to buy some brand-new swimmers as she had inadvertently left hers at home. The resort pool was enormous, and absolutely divine!
A curlew at our dinner table at the Arcadia Village Hotel
West Point, the western most 'village' on the island where we had a picnic lunch
'Spot' the rock wallaby
Nelly Bay and the wharf for the ferries and car ferries
They are everywhere and are almost tame
Nelly Bay Heads
We left the beauty of Magnetic Island, took the car ferry back to Townsville and drove south to Bowen where we stayed a couple of nights and then continued on to Airlie Beach, a resort town from which passengers are ferried to the various islands including Hamilton, Daydream and Hayman.
Some of the 360-degree views from the Flagstaff Hill Lookout
On only two occasions during winter, the tide is low enough to allow people to make the 30-minute walk from the mainland to North Head Island and visit one of Queensland's oldest lighthouses.
One of two 'big mangoes' in Bowen
Beautiful 'Water Tank Art' in Bowen
Our motel's resident Peacock
Sunset from our room's balcony
On the Esplanade at Airlie Beach where we wandered through the lovely Saturday morning markets
At the famous Airlie Beach Hotel, watching South Africa beat NZ in the rugby union, and the Penrith Panthers beat NZ Warriors in the NRL. Not a good night for NZ, and the Kiwis at the next table weren't happy...
On to Rockhampton for a couple of nights where we enjoyed dinner at the modern Rockhampton Leagues Club. Next morning we drove out to Yeppoon where, in 1980, the Iwasaki Resort was being developed on 9,000 hectares owned by a Japanese company. However, not everyone was happy about the Japanese ownership and on 29 November of that year, the incomplete resort was bombed. Forty-five years later the site remains unfinished.
However, Yeppoon is now a lovely beachside town with lots of hotels, apartments and restaurants. To the south is the picturesque Emu Park, yet another charming beachside town. We stopped in at a headland to find 'The Singing Ship', a structure that was built to commemorate Captain James Cook who, in 1770, discovered and named Keppel Bay. The nautical looking structure actually 'sings' due to the breeze passing through several metal pipes.
Mount Morgan, 38kms south-west of Rockhampton, found fame from 1882 as one of the world's most successful mines. During its 99 years in operation, the mine produced 225 tons of gold, 50 tons of silver and 360,000 tons of copper. What remains is a charming historic town with a wonderful museum.
Views from the Frank Golding Lookout
The main street
Inside the Mount Morgan Museum
Interestingly, over 300 dinosaur footprints have been found in the vicinity of the mine, as well as a plesiosaur (swimming reptile) fossil, all from some 190 million years ago.
We continued south to Bundaberg where we spent a couple of nights. We enjoyed wandering through the Bundaberg Botanic Gardens which boasts over 10,000 trees and shrubs in different collections including both Chinese and Japanese Gardens. In the centre of the gardens are two enormous lakes that are home to 114 species of birds, as well as turtles, eels and water dragons.
The Australian Sugarcane Railway train being readied for school holidays - pity we couldn't go for a ride!
Beautiful wisteria gardens
Also in the gardens are the Hinkler Hall of Aviation, a museum dedicated to Bundaberg local Bert Hinkler, and his former home which was deconstructed in England, then transported to Australia and reconstructed by the Bundaberg Rotary Club.
Hinkler Hall of Aviation
We then drove out to the coast and through the seaside resorts of Bargara, Coral Cove and Elliott Heads, enjoying a lovely lunch at the Bargara Golf Club.
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