Bowen, Queensland, Australia
We started the day with an early morning get together over breakfast at a local cafe in Townsville while we waited for Helen to come back and pick us up. She arrived just on 8am and we decided we couldn’t leave Townsville without a visit to the iconic Castle Hill Lookout. We’re very glad we did. It gave us a chance to get an overall impression of Townsville and a bird’s eye view of the new Rugby League stadium. The view from the top is quite spectacular.
We didn’t have far to go today, supposedly only a couple of hours drive to Bowen, but as usual we managed to fill most of the day getting there. We had hoped for an afternoon spent on the beach enjoying the sun and surf but as the weather had turned cooled and very windy that plan went out the window and we didn’t mind whiling away some time on the drive to Bowen.
We enjoyed the drive down the coast past the sugar cane fields, the orchards of mango trees and the fields of growing corn. Joc and I have lovely memories as children of sitting on our grandparents back stairs munching on mangoes from the orchard next door, with the juice dripping down to our elbows.
Still can’t wait for mango season to start every year! Our first stop was in Ayr. The coffee drinkers were in need of a fix. None of us could resist the yumminess in the bakery cabinet so that coffee stop ended up being a bit longer than expected. Ayr looks like a well kept little community.
Not far out of Ayr we crossed the Burdekin River. It’s crossed by quite an impressive steel bridge, so we pulled off the road to get a better look at it. Some of the girls climbed the stairs up to the roadway but the trucks whizzing by were a little too close for comfort and they soon changed their minds about that. I was glad I decided to stay in the car.
We past through Ayr’s twin town, Home Hill very quickly after the river. We were finding the miles of roadworks all along the highway very tedious going though. Helen, as the day’s designated driver, had to keep a wary eye on the speed limit as it was changing constantly up and down.
Our next stop was at Inkerman Lookout south of Bowen. A very steep climb up a narrow road brings you to the lookout.
We were very glad not to meet any other traffic on the way up. The view at the top is superb. A green patchwork quilt of farm paddocks spread across a 360 degree view with the ocean in the distance. The Burdekin River was visible and the mouth of the river exiting into the sea was very easily seen. Going down the mountain didn’t seem as scary as going up for some reason but we were still glad that the only car we met was at the bottom before the road narrowed.
Arriving in Bowen about 3 o’clock we took Jan, our Victorian friend up to another lookout, hoping that the sun would come out and show her the beautiful turquoise waters the Whitsundays are famous for. Bowen had been on her must do list since seeing a friend’s photos from the area. Thankfully we were given some moments of sunshine and the coastline put on a brief show for her. Not quite what she was hoping for but not bad either. The fact that we were wearing cardigans for the wind chill factor was not part of the dream either!
We are staying at a caravan park tonight. We’ve booked a couple of family cabins which are very comfortable. Each one has two bedrooms with a queen bed in one and two singles in the other. Helen and I are lucky enough to have a bedroom each today. The other girls are sharing the other cabin. The caravan park is right on the ocean front. We took our champagne down to a picnic table on the beach front to watch the sun go down tonight. It did put on a lovely display for us and the wind stopped a bit to let us enjoy it.
You can’t pass up an opportunity to have fresh seafood when you’re at the beach. We found a seafood outlet and bought ourselves some lovely fresh prawns for dinner. With a lovely avocado and mango salad and some crusty bread it was delicious. We ate it in the comfort of our cabins though away from the wind!
Suzanne
2021-09-08
Another great day of travelling. The prawns look yummy. You may need those cardigans again as you travel south.
Jenny
2021-09-08
Seems the wind is all along coastal Qld….safe travels on your return trip.
Beth
2021-09-12
My brother's travelling north at the moment, Leanne, and has had drizzly and windy weather. I'm thrilled that you girls seem to have had pretty good weather along the way.