We missed the sunrise this morning, but managed to get away around 8:15, on our way to Bowen.
It was an easy drive down to Townsville, and we made our way out to the suburb of Gulliver to see if we could see the house I used to live in about 54 years ago!!! We found the Mormon Church where I burnt my feet “Fire Walking” as a 3 year old, wich was sort of across the road from where we used to live but I wasn’t 100% sure which house was ours. Lol But I was sure that the church complex was much bigger back then!! 🙂
We called into a local park and did an Ingress Mission before getting back on the road. Next stop was Ayr, for a pit stop and a bit of leg stretching.
The roads we have been traveling on since we hit the coast have been, in general very good. I have been surprised! We have been driving through cane fields, pineapple farms, market gardens and dairy farms. The land is very flat, with the Great Dividing Range to the west and the coast to the east, with the occasional rocky outcrop. We had a bit of a hold-up for road/bridge works as we crossed the Burdekin River, I was glad we were travelling south, the traffic heading north was banked up a very long way!
We cruised into Bowen at around midday, and found our caravan park without too much effort. Once set up we met up with an “old”friend of Debs, Val and her partner Berend. At the moment they are living on his boat. We met them near the Yacht Club and then drove up to Flagstaff Hill for a coffee and just to catch up. Deb and Val have been friends for a long time, but don’t get to catch up very often. Val and Berend live an interesting life, mixing it up between travel in Val’s 5th Wheeler and on Berend’s boat, to family visits and sometimes a little work. They both looked great, life is treating them well.
After coffee we took in the sights of Bowen from the Flagstaff Hill. It was a bit windy, but the views from on top of the hill were amazing. Long white beaches, numerous islands off the coast and an extensive marina and a working port in town. Then we drove around town to get our bearings. Bowen is a seaport and seems to have a significant fishing fleet based here, along with lots of leisure boats moored at the marina.
Number of Views :1986
