We got up early on Thursday so we would make it to Townsville by lunchtime. We jump-started the day with - what else? - two iced coffees before saying goodbye to Cairns and hitting the road.
Our drive down the east coast of Australia is primarily on Route A1, which connects all of the scenic beach towns we are passing through. So far, being in the middle of nowhere in Australia still seems pretty scenic.
The eastern coast of Australia contains so many small beach towns with views just like this.
Alex and I (like millions of others!) have recently discovered Serial and have blazed through the podcast episodes over the past few weeks. We were in the middle of listening to Episode 11 when we passed a fortuitous billboard advertising Murdering Point Vineyard, open at 9:30am. It was 9:27am so obviously we decided to stop and pick up a bottle to take with us. I was a little embarrassed that we arrived so early but 1. We were not the only customers and 2. We were offered free tastings anyway!
Seems like a pretty ominous name for a winery, no?
The grounds of the Murdering Point Vineyard were pretty beautiful - definitely goes with the "tropical fruit wine" feel!
After grabbing a bottle of "North Queensland's best wine" (is that like saying the best cheesecake on 57th street?") we finished the drive to Townsville and grabbed lunch in town. We checked in to our guesthouse and headed to The Strand, a strip on the water with restaurants, parks and swimming areas free of "stingers."
Hard to complain about the beachside views here.
The weather was really pleasant so we just laid around under the palm trees for a while, enjoying the breeze. Just like Cairns, we felt like Townsville was generally pretty quiet; however, Townsville is clearly less of a tourist destination and there were a lot more locals out and about.
We cleaned up early and left in search of Internet access - which is absolutely essential when backpacking. Australia's available WiFi has been lacking (I know, first-world problems, right?) and we've been perpetually behind on emails, trip planning and blog posting. After trying three different spots we gave up and walked to our dinner spot: Guzman y Gomez. The Australian-version-of-Chipotle was actually having its grand opening in Townsville so we had burritos for free - can't beat that when traveling on a budget! (Also they were delicious!
Before leaving for Airlie Beach on Friday we managed to get in a quick hike up Castle Hill for a view of downtown Townsville. We got up pretty early to beat the heat and ran across many local hikers, walkers and runners who were getting their daily exercise. The scene reminded us of Runyon Canyon in Los Angeles (minus the celebrities of course).
Even though it was cloudy the view was still worth the trek!
We were - again - drenched after this brief hike but glad we got to take in the views and fit in a little workout. Now it's time for me to try driving on the wrong side of the road - wish me luck!