8. The one with deep fried dinners and sunsets

Current weather: 24/20°C, sunny
Total distance travelled: 3451km (+346km)

In theory, the trip to Townsville should only have taken 3 hours, but the constant roadworks along the way ensured it took over 5! There was a brief stop for lunch in Bowen, a tired beachside town with a penchant for murals, but the only real excitement along the way was spotting eagles, and watching the thermometer hit 31°C!

When we eventually got settled into our site at the Big4 in Rowe's Bay (the process of levelling the van also taking far longer than usual that day), we decided to burn some pent up energy (frustration) and explore the coastal track. Much like Airlie Beach, this track was

bustling with runners, walkers, and a plethora of hired electric scooters. Very quickly we arrived at The Strand, Townsville's impressive foreshore area and immediately made plans to return.

Saturday morning started with a book hunt through op shops to replenish the kids' dwindling literary stocks. In the afternoon, we embarked on another ride down to The Strand, this time enjoying hot chips on the Rockpool point while watching the sunset.

On Sunday morning, we hiked The Goat Track up Castle Hill, the monolithic granite mountain behind the city. It certainly lived up to its "short and sharp" billing - over 1300 steps up the side of the hill, leading to a magnificent 360° view of the city and Magnetic Island. We could also see (and hear) the Supercars racing around the Reid Street circuit below.

Another afternoon, another ride into town, this time to enjoy The Strand Waterpark and some ice cream, although the onshore breeze had us all shivering and leaving earlier than expected. Before bed Josh realised a wobbly tooth that he'd finally prised-out earlier had been thrown away before the tooth fairy had a chance to visit. We

promised to pay instead ;-)

On Monday we took an early morning ferry across to Magnetic Island, then transferred straight onto an Aquascene Charters cruise. It was a fantastic experience, largely due to our hosts' passion for the island's community, history, wildlife and surrounding waters. We circum- navigated the island while stopping to snorkel amongst coral and schools of fish, visit hidden beaches and even wet a line.

Once back on land, we took the bus to explore inland. We started with the Forts walk, which takes you past sleepy koalas up to the remnants of a WW2 gun battery and command post that was installed in 1942 in anticipation of Japanese invasion. Onto the bus once more; this time down to Horseshoe Bay for another deep fried dinner with another stunning sunset view.