Lucinda, Cardwell and Girraway National Park

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After driving back through Ingham and visiting the local charity shop (love op-shop shopping – but I miss doing it with you Nici!), we headed on to Lucinda (as recommended by the ladies in the op shop). This little seaside town, set in amongst all the sugarcane fields, is best known for the world’s longest bulk sugar-loading jetty. The jetty is actually 6km long, allowing enormous carrier ships to dock and be loaded up!



There isn’t much else to see in Lucinda (aside from a cool little open-air gym next to the beach) so we didn’t stay long before heading on to Cardwell.



We had stopped in Cardwell for fish & chips with Tracey and Jason a few weeks earlier as it lies at the half-way mark between Townsville and Mundoo Skydivers. It’s a quiet uncomplicated place spanning 3km along the Bruce Highway, with the beach running alongside it. Dean went back to Annie’s Kitchen for yummy fish & chips while I went to the gorgeous fruit and veg shop next door. Fresh local produce and ladyfinger bananas at $2.99 a kilo, yay :-) One of Cardwell’s residents was actually an athlete at this year’s London Olympics, as made known by the many handwritten signs and the bronze medal (made from cardboard) hanging in one of the cafés.



After Cardwell we drove on to the Girraway National Park and set up camp. Girraway is a very peaceful spot and its Murray Falls are just lovely. This is where had my latest ”I’m ready to stop and live in a house again” wobbly… I had always thought I was a free spirit but apparently I do like structure and routine! For now, time is of the essence as the weather is seriously heating up (to a degree that I permanently feel like a zombie between the hours of 11am and 5pm) so we need to keep moving and get across the top of the country before the height of summer. But perhaps after that we can find somewhere to stay put for a few months.

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