31st August – Monday
Tonight will be the 99th night since we left home! Time flies.
It was with deep regret that we left Crystal Cascades Caravan Park at Cairns this morning and headed for Townsville. After being in the one spot for so long, it does take a while to say goodbye.
Another hot day as we left the wet tropics behind and drove through sugar cane, and more sugar cane, on our way south. The road between Cairns and Townsville has always been known as one of the worst parts of the national highway, and it certainly hasn’t improved any. Although wide enough and with a generally good surface, it is very bumpy. Cat was obviously feeling quite carsick after all the bumps, because we discovered at our first stop, that Cat was no longer sitting up on the bed and was laying down having a sleep.
There was also lots of traffic with big trucks as well as caravans heading both ways. Cardwell is roughly half way between Cairns and Townsville and the highway travels for a couple of miles along the foreshore with plenty of parking available. Consequently, most caravans heading in either direction pull up in Cardwell for a lunch break. It was very nice, and very hot, having lunch sitting in the caravan beside the sea, with Hinchinbrook Island a short distance away and watching the salamanders playing in the mud.
We even passed a couple of bushfires today, one was actually burning quite close to the road and we could easily see the flames. The weather bureau has said that the winter season has finished a month early and we are well into the warm weather now.
The Big 4 Woodlands Holiday Park at Townsville was a bit of a disappointment after Cairns. A very depressing lady in reception whose first words were, “I hope you don’t want to use the money machine, it is broken.” We did, of course, and after returning later with cash, she told us it was now fixed. The park has a lot of permanents who have been allowed erect structures and generally the place looks a bit run down. The grass sites are very dry (probably due to water restrictions) and for some reason, the dump point (to empty the toilet cassette) can only be used for 15 minutes twice a day. Mmmm. Anyway, tomorrow night we will be in Charters Towers, heading inland again.
Tonight will be the 99th night since we left home! Time flies.
It was with deep regret that we left Crystal Cascades Caravan Park at Cairns this morning and headed for Townsville. After being in the one spot for so long, it does take a while to say goodbye.
Another hot day as we left the wet tropics behind and drove through sugar cane, and more sugar cane, on our way south. The road between Cairns and Townsville has always been known as one of the worst parts of the national highway, and it certainly hasn’t improved any. Although wide enough and with a generally good surface, it is very bumpy. Cat was obviously feeling quite carsick after all the bumps, because we discovered at our first stop, that Cat was no longer sitting up on the bed and was laying down having a sleep.
There was also lots of traffic with big trucks as well as caravans heading both ways. Cardwell is roughly half way between Cairns and Townsville and the highway travels for a couple of miles along the foreshore with plenty of parking available. Consequently, most caravans heading in either direction pull up in Cardwell for a lunch break. It was very nice, and very hot, having lunch sitting in the caravan beside the sea, with Hinchinbrook Island a short distance away and watching the salamanders playing in the mud.
We even passed a couple of bushfires today, one was actually burning quite close to the road and we could easily see the flames. The weather bureau has said that the winter season has finished a month early and we are well into the warm weather now.
The Big 4 Woodlands Holiday Park at Townsville was a bit of a disappointment after Cairns. A very depressing lady in reception whose first words were, “I hope you don’t want to use the money machine, it is broken.” We did, of course, and after returning later with cash, she told us it was now fixed. The park has a lot of permanents who have been allowed erect structures and generally the place looks a bit run down. The grass sites are very dry (probably due to water restrictions) and for some reason, the dump point (to empty the toilet cassette) can only be used for 15 minutes twice a day. Mmmm. Anyway, tomorrow night we will be in Charters Towers, heading inland again.
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