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| Nara Inlet, Bowen and Townsville |
| Very disappointed we didn't get better photos in the Whitsundays, but honestly, it was blowing so hard, there were only a handfull of anchorages protected enough to trust the ground tackle [anchoring system] This one at Nara Inlet is stunning, and as we had it to ourselves, went right up the end, next to the waterfall. Here we are looking down on Destiny from the lookout near the aboriginal cave paintings! Don't know how I persuaded Duck to make the climb after the little hike on Fraser Island, but he only complained 50 times, took a "short" cut and got stuck in the undergrowth, but cheered up by abusing a fat backpacker who was holding us up! We enjoyed our weeks stay in Bowen on this pile opposite the yacht club [seen in the background] We'd be confident holed up here in any winds, including a cyclone, which was a real possibility at the time. Bowen is a well organised, clean town, with some lovely little beaches, and some horrors! Eventually the weather pattern cleared, and no big blow was forecast, so we poked our nose out, and headed for Townsville via Cape Upstart, which we re-christened Cape Up-yours as it turned out to be a rotten anchorage, with bullets racing down the mountain sending us dancing all over the place! |
| Spent the first night in Townsville at the Motor Yacht Club in the city centre. Scrubbed up and went to the casino where we WON, a modest amount, which we decided to invest in new fishing tackle! Duck was convinced the seas between Sydney and Townsville had been fished out, due to all the trawler activity we saw, but friends at Laguna Quays showed us their fishing tackle, and boy did they use BIG HOOKS! The man in the fishing tackle shop guaranteed we'd catch something by Broome, or he'd come over personally and replace it! The saga of Duck's fishing antics is documented in a link of its own, be sure to check it out! Townsville, we loved it. They've cleaned it up, the people are VERY friendly, it's flat for bike riding, and TV reception is good. We hated the marina though, very run down, and after the first night, we contacted the Port Authority, and they let us hang off a pile mooring in the Ross River, FREE! With the bikes we don't care where we are. It turned out great, only 5 mins to the city, with some local flavour at the pub on the corner, The Victoria Park Hotel, adding to the fun. We didn't want to outstay our welcome, so after 5 days, left for Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island, dragging our new lure behind us........... |