Day 201 What a small world it is. This morning while packing up a car pulls up "hey, how's it going? Remember me?". Yep, while in Eungella we got talking to a couple in the parking lot about Platypus and snakes. I busted out the laptop so I could show them pics and vids right there and everything, lol. The guy is an actual professional snake catcher. They noticed the maple leaf on the van then and the Paul seen it now driving by as he is moving from Mackay to Cairns. What are the odds, and how cool of him to stop. He gave us his number so we could go for beers when we reach Cairns. Sweet deal.
Just a few minutes later Townsville was in our midst. We did not waste any time heading straight for The Strand. The Strand runs right along the ocean for a good 7 or so kilometers. It is mainly eateries and buildings with old architecture on ones side, with Castle Hill towering over the buildings from behind and a very well designed and up kept walkway on the other. Along this walkway you can find multiple playgrounds for kids a few beach side cafes, lots of picnic tables with BBQs, a swimming pool and a pier for fishing. One end of the Strand is the marina and an entertainment complex and the other ends at a lagoon. The lagoon is man made but the water is straight from the ocean through holes built into the pool walls. Lush grass, more BBQs and palm trees dot the landscape. There is also a second fishing station set up with rod holders, tables and a fish cleaning station all set and ready for use, just like the main pier. All this with the ocean waves crashing on the rocks mere meters away and the majestic Magnetic Island as the backdrop a few hundred meters off shore. We had lunch and lazed around the lagoon till mid afternoon.
We had enough sun for a while and it was time to check out a little more of the downtown. This being a relatively old city there were more old buildings with stellar architecture down the main street they coined Finley District. This is we were hanging out when we got word on a market that runs every Friday night from 5-9 pm. We went back to the Strand where it was held in one of the bigger parks and were not let down as the market was bumping! The sights and sounds were loud and colourful down to the live entertainment of "Sax And The Single Lady".