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Published: January 26th 2010
Croc Bites
It's true - a croc attack may cause injury!We left Cairns and were meant to stop at Mission Beach for a night before heading on down to Townsville and then the Whitsundays but, given the constant rain that we have had and it looking like another Cyclone (Olga) may be coming we decided to stop in Mission Beach for lunch, see what it was like and probably head down to Townsville the same day.
When we got to Mission Beach it was very overcast and stormy so didn’t look the greatest but I can only imagine how nice it must look on a good day. There is a big island offshore which creates a nice backdrop. As we finished lunch the heavens opened so we packed up and headed on to Townsville.
Our campground in Townsville was in a place called Rowes Bay and was really lovely. I can’t help but think though that it probably should have been called Mosquito HQ. It was incredible, the big bloodsuckers were everywhere. At this point Sandra would like to interject with the fact that it should have been called Gecko Central, due to the number and size of the Geckos this campsite housed. One Gecko had a collar and
was called Fred. You could have a good game of “spot the wall tiles” with the number of cute little critters there were on the walls. Other than the mozzies and geckos the place was fabulous. It was during this night that I realised that our tent must have come with it’s own in built rain sound, because that is all I hear when I get into it at night. Without fail it has rained heavily every night we have been in the tent. Fortunately it is very waterproof, unfortunately it is not a boat and when the water level starts to rise, the tent doesn’t float. An interesting notice we saw on the beach whilst taking a stroll after dinner was of the recent crocodile sighting in the immediate vicinity, thus ending Sandra’s romantic stroll after dinner and beginning Billy’s jog back to the camp site.
- Life Lesson #1 - When camping in tropical Australia in the middle of cyclone season you have 2 options at night. The first is to batten down the hatches, close all doors and get the tent water tight. This thus means sleeping in a tent that is dry but has no
Barron Falls
Soaked Sandra seeing slightly soggy sight. airflow where inner tent temperatures quickly exceed 40 degrees and humidity is in the high 80% to 90%. One of the beneficial side effects of taking this option is that it results in great weight loss due the amount you sweat. The second option is to keep your doors open and embrace the cyclonic wind and rain. Sandra doesn’t like getting windswept during the night so I am proud to tell you that I am now 50Kg’s.
The next day we left a soggy Townsville to head for the beautiful Whitsundays. When I say beautiful, I mean under normal circumstances. If you get the chance you should google it and look at the pictures. Once again the rain has followed us. We did have some sunny patches as we drove down and the odd sneak peak when we arrived. The sea around here is a light turquoise in colour and there are 74 islands dotted around the coast, the majority of them are uninhabited. We walked around the marina and lagoon here in Airlie Beach but have been told that none of the day cruises to the reef would be very good due to the weather but were told
4 Mile Beach
Long stretch of beach near Port Douglas - would have looked better on a good day. to think about going to one of the islands for a day. After spending yet another night listening to the pitter patter of rain on the tent we decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get out and see an island and stay over for the night. We chose an island called Long Island. It is really stunning. The weather isn’t the greatest but it has been dry most of the day. We have done a bit of snorkelling and some of the bush walks. We spotted a Wallaby on one of the walks. We leave the island tomorrow and I must say, as I sit here on a comfy bed, that I miss that little tent of ours. I can’t wait to get back to a damp smelling car tomorrow.
We have a few more days here in the Whitsundays and if the weather does get better we will try do a cruise somewhere. Otherwise we will just enjoy the scenery and try soak it all in.
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Mum
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Wetsundays
Shame hope the rain stops soon but even so you seem to be having a good time. Great pictures. I enjoy your story writing Billy I think you should write a book. Safe travels love mum