Day 274-280: Mission Beach to Townsville
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2004
1
46
57
Trip End
Jan 05, 2006
Mission Beach > Townsville/Magnetic Island,
Australia
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Last night at the Woolshed I bumped into a guy from Norwich who I'd met a couple of times called Jamie, met him first at a party at Marc O's flat, and then in the loft a few times.....small world ey. Now today a public holiday for the Queen's Birthday, which is bizarre considering we don't even bother to have a day off for her birthday, any excuse for a day off ey. Of course every day's a public holiday for me. Packed up and went to the dingy and depressing bus station - more disheveled that Norwich's now demolished hole - ready to catch the bus down to Mission Beach. An uneventful 2 hour journey and arrived at 1pm, met by the hostel bus as it was a 10 min trip down the road to Mission Beach Backpackers Lodge. Had to close the windows on the way there as there was a dead pig on the road which apparently stank...nice!
The choice of room I got when I arrived was either a 4 bed dorm with a couple in it or a 9 bed all male dorm....well what a choice, ended up in the 9 bed, which only had 4 others in it at the mo. Place was a bit skanky to be honest, didn't feel that clean, tho not the worst place I've been in and no air con either. Dumped my stuff off and headed down to the beach. Sun was out and the afternoon was gorgeous, from the beach you can see Dunk Island not far offshore. Mission Beach is like collection of beach towns, the hostel is actually in Wongaling Beach so I walked down toward the main Mission Beach centre. Stopped off along the way, sat down and felt the need to have a nap so laid down with the sound of waves breaking.
Woke up and was bloody freezing as I was in the shade, walked the rest of the way to the main part of town, passed a sea kayak hire place so might do that tomorrow. Saw some bloke opening up coconuts on the beach, there's a 'spike' on the beach so you can collect em up and try and open one. Took me bloody ages, I broke the first one so all the milk spilled out, but the second attempt went much better and I ended up with a whole coconut which I picked and peeled with my own bare manly hands. The main bit of MB is just a small collections of shops, cafes and bars, all seems very chilled out and very very quiet. Got the hostel shuttle back. In the evening got chatting to a few people around the kitchen table; Tom and Adam, couple of English guys doing the east coast for 6 weeks then heading home. Also a couple of English girls, one of which is doing a sky dive tomorrow from 14000ft....mental!
Went over to the local bar with Tom & Adam for a couple of games of pool, actually part of a Comfort Hotel complex. Being a Monday it was pretty dead, just some locals busy watching the greyhound races on the TV. Got back to the dorm after midnight and by now it was pretty much full, windows all closed, stank and was stuffy....delightful. Had to cover my arms, feet and legs with mozzie stuff coz the hostel is surrounded by plants and water, don't think I've got a hope in hell of having a bite free night.
Tuesday 14/06/05:
Yep, a small bite near my ankle, not too bad considering. Didn't get up till 10, felt very lethargic. Weather wasn't as good as yesterday, a bit more cloud tho still a bit of blue. Went to a net cafe to book the next bus trip and sort out a hostel for Townsville. Whilst in there it totally clouded over and started to rain :O( By lunchtime tho it had passed over and the sun was back out. Went for a run along the beach up to the main town, took about half an hour and then jumped straight in the sea for a swim. Chilled on the beach for a bit before wandering back along the beach stopping off a couple of times for a dip. At one point I was walking into the sea and suddenly saw a stingray zoom off in front of me, that wouldn't have been fun if I stood on the bugger.
Got back to the hostel late afternoon, got chatting to a scottish bloke called Marc in my dorm, early 30s from Inverness, the accent was a bit impenetrable at times but it was good to chat to someone a similar age for a change. He's doing the year away but has only been here for a month or so and started in Brissy. We're pretty similar in that we've both lived in the same city all our lives before coming over here, he was too old to get a WHV tho so is just doing it as a tourist. Just killed some time in the afternoon reading my new book - Angels and Demons by the Da Vinci Code guy, watched The Simpsons and made some dinner. In the evening played cards with Mark and a German girl called Anka, managed to have an alocohol free night which is very good.
Wednesday 15/06/05:
Pack up and check out for 10, went over to the net cafe for a bit and the shuttle dropped us off at the bus pickup just before 11am. Bus journey took about 4 hours, we passed through a few small towns and stopped in a place called Cardwell for lunch where I had a nutritous bit of Quiche Lorraine from the small bakery. Finally dropped off in Townsville at around 3pm. Staying at the Base Backpackers which is right on top of the Bus Terminal so had about 20 metres to walk. Mardy old cow behind the reception desk couldn't even crack a smile. Room was good tho, 6 bed but only a couple of others it in it at the mo, clean and modern place but the tiniest kitchen in the world. Went for a wander into town to get my bearings and walked along the coastline along a path called the Strand. Good jogging spot too, even got exercise stations so might take advantage of that at some point.
Early evening was chore time, got the laundry done and had some dinner then watched a bit of telly. Met up with a net guy called Steve for a couple of drinks. Took me to the homo bar here, didn't even know there was one. It was absolutely rammed.....not. About 4 others in the bar, tho apparently on Saturday night it 'goes off'.....hmmmm. Should be back in Townsville on Sat so we'll see what it's like. When I booked into Base I also booked a 2 night deal at Base on Magnetic Island. For $79 I get 2 nights, ferry crossing, one evening meal, 1 hour internet, cocktail jug and 1 hour sea kayaking, so I'm heading off tomorrow to Maggie. Was in bed not long after midnight ready for check out tomorrow.
Thursday 16/06/05:
On the move again, had to wait till 11.20am for the bus which took me to the ferry terminal. Ferry left at 12pm and only took 20 mins, Magnetic Island is only 8km off the coast so doesn't take long to get to. From the city it looks pretty small but as you get closer you realise how big it is and how much stuff there actually is on it. There was a courtesy bus at the terminal waiting for us, the driver - Captain Daniel Daniel as he introduced himself - was a mental 50 something bloke, captains hat, obscenely short cut off jeans, a million bead necklaces around is neck and an expert gurner. Clearly spending so much time on a smallish island can send you off balance. The backpackers was only a 5 min drive from the terminal but it would have been a long walk. The place is right on the beach, literally. The bar faces the sea and there's a pool and chillout area. Then there's a warren of pathways which lead to various cabins which house the dorms and stuff. Again the kitchen was small, must be something about Base places, and one of the fridges wasn't working so everything was crammed into the one fridge, stuff piled on top of other stuff - spillages inevitable.
You only get an option of an 8 bed dorm with the deal but there was only 3 other guys in there by late afternoon. Once I'd gotten myself sorted I took advantage of the free kayaking and managed to eek an hour and a half out of it. Didn't really go very far but it took me ages. Went to the next bay along called Rocky Bay which is the official nudist beach and unofficial homo beach - as nudist beaches often are. Stopped off for a look at the scenery, tho there wasn't much to see, and went for a quick swim. Then slowly meandered back along the coast toward the opposite end of Nelly Bay (which is what the backpackers is on). Found myself singing out loud as I made the most of the fact that no one could hear me. There's reef not far off the shore of Nelly Bay so will go for a snorkel tomorrow morning.
Chilled in a hammock for a bit after the kayaking, girl called Haze from Dorset came over and had a brief conversation, she struck me as the new age type, dreds and things, then she buggered off for a walk, actually thinking about it she didn't have dreds, but you know what I mean. The sun sets on the opposite side of the island so unfortunately we don't get to see it set but once it had disappeared from our side it felt a bit chillier with the breeze. Took a walk over to the nearest supermarche about 15 mins away, bought some BBQ peanuts which just tasted of peanuts sans BBQ, very disappointing so chucked them away. Happy hour from 5-7pm so had a couple of lovely $2.50 voddies to end the day with. It was Ladies Night in the bar so plenty of women around and blokes looking for women. Got chatting briefly to a cockney bloke but the music was so loud that we could hardly hear each other even when we were shouting into each other's ears, so gave up in the end and went to bed.
Friday 17/06/05:
The Curse of the East Coast strikes again. It rained over night and this morning it was windy, dull and cloudy. The ultimate irony being that this area advertises itself as having over 300 days of sunshine a year, I appear to have arrived on one of the other 65...really should have done that snorkelling yesterday afternoon. Got a bike out for the day for a bit of exercise and to get round the island and see the other bays. Started on a flat track which runs for 12km down the western side of the island, however about 8km of it is just dirt road and after 10 mins on that I'd had enough of bumping up and down on my arse so turned back and headed down the eastern side of the island. This route is definately not flat, 10% and 14% gradient hill, think I must have been moving at about 0.8mph but at least I was moving. The route took me past a few of the bays, some nice views from the top of the hills and ended up on the other side of the island at Horseshoe Bay.
Horseshoe Bay is pretty quiet, just a small row of shops and cafes, just chilled for a bit before heading back, stopped off at a real nice lookout by the side of the road, sat up on top of a rock and watched the ships bobbing along the bay. The hills were good exercise, sweaty bastard by the end of it. Got back to Base early afternoon for lunch. Weather still hadn't improved so no snorkelling today. Later in the afternoon went for a walk over to the next bay, Rocky Bay, and just sat and watched the world go by again, not another soul on the beach at all. Thought for one minute I was going to stumble into someone's back garden as I took a different route back and got lost, luckily no illegal trespass was necessary.
Evening was pretty quiet, started speaking to a German bloke who I recognised from my dorm in Townsville, chatted for a bit whilst enjoying some happy hour vodkas, then he buggered off to play pool. Made me dinner then layed on the bed listening to some tunes on the Megapod. Thought I'd make the effort to go to the bar and see what was happening, it was Retro night and as there were no cheap drinks for the ladies it was much quieter. Had another case of overwhelming shyness again, completely losing the abillity to talk to people....at one point I was sitting on a table on my own which felt a bit shite. A guy I spoke to briefly at the ferry terminal invited me to join their group which I did, but they all soon moved off so I went to bed.
Saturday 18/06/05:
Set the alarm for 8 so I could check the weather and if things had improved I could go for a quick snorkel before checking out. Unfortunately no change in the weather, still windy and overcast and didn't really feel like trying to swim to the reef in the choppy weather. Checked out and caught the ferry at 11.15 finally checking back into Base in Townsville around lunchtime. Noticed that they're looking for a couple of people to hand out flyers for a couple of hours tonight in return for 1 free night and 2 hours internet....so signed up for that to save a bit of cash. Gotta wander the streets from 9.30-11.30pm...then I'll bugger off out to the homo bar. Got 3 Canadians staying in my dorm, said hi and asked them a few questions, not very chatty, the bloke never even spoke - mardy bastard.
As the weather continued to be shite I got the bus to the nearest shopping centre and killed the afternoon there. Made just the one purchase - needed some new Speedos after my current ones had lost their elasticity and were beginning to look rather loose - luckily I don't offend anyone by wearing them on their own, just need them to wear under the boardshorts. Back to the hostel late afternoon where I picked up the flyers which I'm handing out, was warned not to hand them out close to club/pub doors in case I piss them off - great, might get a smack in the face as well as a free night. Went across the road to the irish pub for dinner, $6.90 for fish, chips and salad, wasn't too bad either and joy of joys it started raining whilst I was in the pub, just marvellous as I'm walking the streets for a couple of hours.
Met up with the other person handing out the flyers, pommie girl called Charlotte. Headed out at 9.30, the block of flyers we had didn't look that many and we thought we might get through them pretty quickly. However it wasn't as easy we thought and it did end up taking about 2 hours to get rid of them all. The weather wasn't too bad, just a couple of short showers but the street we were handing out on had some awnings so didn't get wet. Didn't get a smack in the face tho one doorman did warn Charlotte when she gave a couple of people flyers near the entrance so we made sure we were no where near the bars when we were handing stuff out. So finished up around half 11, i got a taxi to The Sovereign - the homo bar, shared it with a couple who were going in the same direction tho not the same place. So A N Other Gay Bar and A N Other Drag Show - this one was a Cher tribute, not a bad little show considering where we are. But all a little quiet and a little local, lasted till about half 1 and walked back to the hostel.
Sunday 19/06/05:
Another overcast day, some very dark clouds threatening rain. Still went out to walk up Castle Hill, which as you'd expect is a hill which overlooks Townsville and gives great views of the city and the area. Passed through Flinders Mall where there was a Sunday Market which I wandered round for a bit and succumbed to a tiny amount of chocolate fudge...I know! :O( However the walk up to the top of the hill certainly burnt all of that off, so so so many steps and so steep in places, definately a good workout for the legs and lungs. Started drizzling on the way up and not long after reaching the top it started pissing down. Took shelter for a little while until it had passed, great views from the top, probably would have been able to see further on a better day but still worth the walk.
Went down the same way I came up, desperately trying not to fall on my arse on the now wet steps. Walked down to the Strand and took a power walk to the far end which I hadn't visited yet. The Strand is an excellent place, really well laid out with parks, sports facilities, cafes, bbqs, exercise stations and at the end a rock pool. After the walk I ran back toward the city all the way along the Strand, took 15 mins, then done some press ups and sit ups and by the end of all that I was knackered so headed back to the hostel for a shower and a rest. Two new blokes in the room, same guys I chatted to briefly over on Magnetic, one of them real friendly, the other appears to be a miserable mute.
Didn't do much else for the rest of the day, the cable was broken on the TV so only had the normal channels to watch and someone had stuck footy on...yawn! Simpsons were on later tho, had some dinner, done some net stuff and that was about it. Heading south again tomorrow, next stop Airlie Beach ready to go sailing on the Whitsundays.
