Townsville

Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Similar vehicle to the rollover

 

Cane train

Part of the Burdekin River

Another warm night followed by a rather humid start to the morning – so humid it was called misty rain.  At least the wind had abated somewhat.  We were ready to hitch up a bit earlier than normal, but needed to wait until the caravan next to us moved off site so that we could then get out much easier.

Shortly after leaving Bowen, we were halted by an army sergeant and quickly realised that while there were a large number of army vehicles stopped on the right side of the road, there was also another very large carrier thingy which had fallen over and was on the left side, surrounded by army personnel, fire engine, ambulance and police.  The army were doing a wonderful job directing traffic and the sergeant told us that the vehicle had clipped the bridge and rolled; fortunately there we no injuries.

The traffic was very heavy today in both directions, with many army convoys travelling south to a major training exercise – let’s hope that Townsville isn’t invaded in the next few days, because Lavarack Barracks must be nearly empty!  Although we did encounter a few showers, the tail wind helped once again with fuel consumption.  Apart from the accident, we were also held up for some time owing to roadworks on the Burdekin River bridge at Home Hill.

When we arrived in Townsville, we discovered that major roadworks were happening in the region of the Walkabout Palms Caravan Park, our overnight stop.  After making a left turn off the highway, we suddenly discovered that we couldn’t turn right into the caravan park, so made a quick phone call to the caravan park for directions.  (I am sure our call was not the first nor the last!)  The service station attached to the caravan park must have lost so much business due to the roadworks, as cars can no longer simply pull off the highway for fuel.  Once again, being an overnighter, we seem to have drawn the short straw with sight allocation.  Having checked in well before lunch, I was surprised to receive an email this afternoon acknowledging my cancellation!  Perhaps I will get a refund ...

After setting up, our first visit was to Jayco for a new screw knob thingy for the awning, then it was Stocklands Shopping Centre for some lunch and a new watch battery, before returning to the caravan and undertaking the awning repairs.

The weather has been much warmer today, about 27 degrees, quite humid and not much wind after arriving at Townsville.