We make a dash for the coast on week 21 of our lap around Australia hoping to find a cool breeze after nearly a month in the scorching Northern Territory. We take the only road east, the narrow, bumpy, road train strewn Flinders Highway and discover the focus here is on the dinosaurs that used to roam the inland sea 100 million years ago. Townsville greets us with a gutsy breeze, some delicious food and a weekend getaway on Magnetic Island. See more in our OzLap Week 21 video.

Monday 30^th – Tuesday 31^st August Hughenden-Porcupine Gorge – Torrens Creek

After a Monday morning run and hardware stop for Allen keys to secure Jamie’s wayward bike pedal, we head off to Hughenden via Julia Creek. JC is a super cute town with a beautifully presented Visitor Info Centre which we briefly stopped at before checking in to our Hughenden van park and setting off on foot to find the lake for sunset.  It was only 1km away and we packed a raincoat as the sky looked stormy. Lucky, as we arrived at the picnic shelter as the heavens opened and we were caught in our second rainstorm in 4 months! We made it back in between the storms, enjoyed a nice dinner at the van with a lightning show as entertainment and were almost finished when bang there was the biggest downpour we had ever seen and poor Jamie got soaked rolling in the awning.

Tuesday morning We drove 1hr north up to Porcupine Gorge for a beautiful walk down in to the gorge and the waterholes around Pyramid rock. It was hot and a steep walk and we wished we’d packed our bathers! We drove another few hours east and stopped at the Torrens Creek Tavern for the night.  This stretch of road is very narrow, very poorly sealed with tonnes of bumps, sharp edges and so many huge 50m + road trains that 3-4 hours driving a day is enough! The deal at Torrens Creek is that you get cheap ($15) camping in their back paddock and use their facilities in return for your patronage in the pub. We obliged and had a good dinner with all the high vis vest workers in the area as well as the ubiquitous Spanish backpackers.

Three things to tick on this stretch from Hughenden to Torrens Creek are:  1. Hughenden lake for sunset, running, picnics or BBQ 2. Porcupine Gorge for the great hike down to Pyramid rock and 3. The Australian Dinosaur trail (ADT) with its museums, sculptures and fossil exhibits in Richmond, Hughenden and further south in Winton.

Wednesday 1^st – Friday 3^rd September Townsville Treats

We drove east from Torrens Creek through the big cattle/rodeo town of Charter’s Towers and into Townsville on Wednesday afternoon and were surprised to discover such a big town  – 4^th largest in Qld, with 200,000 people and sprawling suburbs. We were happy to find our Caravan Park was on the beach at Rowes Bay a little out of the sprawl and across the road from the beach, which like so many beaches in Australia, was heavily eroded. We spent the next couple of days exploring Townsville, going up to Castle Hill for sunset, riding along the foreshore to The Strand, past Jezzine Barracks, Kissing Point and the cultural Botanical Gardens, did laps at the Tobruk pool, cooked dinner in the van, caught up with people we’d met in WA, had a brilliant dinner at JAM restaurant, got the Duke 4 new tyres and found a gourmet grocer, Otto’s,  to stack up on goodies for Magnetic Island.

Three things to tick on a trip to Townsville are: 1. Ride/walk along the foreshore through Jezzine Barracks, Kissing Point and around to the Strand. 2. Sunset at Castle Hill (walk or drive up). 3. Dinner at Jam and gourmet shopping at Otto’s.

Friday 3^rd  – Sunday 5^th September  Magnificent Maggie!

Friday morning we ran, swam and stocked up on gourmet goodies at Otto’s the grocer in Townsville then caught the barge across to Magnetic Island. The Duke was a little longer than the 5.5m and we had to pay extra to get him on the barge but no drama (except the rough seas had him tilting dangerously!). Safely on the island we explored the western most point around Picnic Bay then drove through Nelly Bay and Arcadia to our Horseshoe Bay campground out the back of Bungalow Bay Koala Park resort. What a delightful spot with tall shady palms and gum trees, loads of wildlife (kookaburras, kangaroos, koalas, possums etc.) a pool, a bar and café and only 500m to the beach. We soon discovered it was backpacker style with very generous happy hours from 4-7pm $3 spilling-over the top glasses of wine or sparkling and $20 jugs of beer!

Saturday morning we got up early for a hike around to Radical Bay which said 3.2 km return but was 1.6 straight up and 1.6 straight down and in the humidity was quite a challenge. Beautiful beach at Radical Bay but with the winds the water around the island was quite muddy. After breakfast and some trip planning we walked down to Horseshoe Bay for an afternoon read and swim then enjoyed sunset drinks on the sand and a jazz dinner as Sandi’s restaurant. Very average food but great atmosphere.

Sunday, Father’s Day was a delight with an early morning run through the butterfly forest, 1 hour FaceTime chat with the girls while I cooked banana pancakes for Jamie then we both called to our respective Fathers. We decided, foolishly, to hike 5km up and over to Arcadia, too steep in the heat, but worth it for the amazing Sphinx lookout at the half way point! We cooled off at Arcadia beach then caught the bus back. It was locals night down at horseshoe Bay and we enjoyed a great local musician playing at sunset before dinner at the van

Three things to tick on a trip to Magnetic Island are:  1. The hikes to the beaches – Horseshoe Bay to Radical Bay 4km return but straight up and straight down! And Horseshoe Bay to Arcadia 4km one way, once again steep and hot but the highlight is the Sphinx Lookout over Arcadia beach – glorious! 2. Sunset at Horseshoe Bay 3. The amazing wildlife – Koalas, Kangaroos, Parrots and Kookaburras everywhere

Next week we head North up to Mission Beach, Cairns and Cooktown.