Thursday, 9 February 2012

Day 30 - Townsville... and a near-death experience

We checked out of the YHA and got on the bus that took us across the island to the ferry terminal. Here we boarded the ferry and let it take us to Townsville where we’d have to try and find some accommodation ASAP (lack of phone signal at the YHA and very poor hostels online.) As it happens we were in luck and found a place recommended to us by an American girl we’d met again. This hostel let us have: a cheap double room with TV and air-con etc, an hour’s Wi-Fi, and a discounted meal at a restaurant down the road - Needless to say, we were impressed.

We then walked to the Woolworths where we got a few bits n bats such as: sun cream, moisturiser, water, fruit, and Corrie’s favourite – conditioner!

On the way back from the shop we decided to have lunch at a cafĂ© which turned out to be a good move; the food here was cheap and filling. This helped prepare us for what was to come…

After a bit of lounging at the hostel we: shared a mango, packed our cool bag with water, sun cream and cameras and then set off to find Castle Hill. After about half an hour we arrived at the start of the walk, which mostly consisted of steps (all 1,315 of them.) This walk was horrible; the steps were a nightmare but there were also dirt tracks interspersed between these sets of steps which just prolonged the agony. We probably shouldn’t have worn our flip-flops for this walk then; something which Corrie later came to realise. After all the walking we’ve done we thought we’d breeze this hill… we didn’t, but to add to our shameful lack of fitness, there were loads of people jogging their way up this death walk! These Aussie’s are obsessed with fitness it would seem. After an age we made it to the top; well a car park area with water taps and: a mix of joggers, cyclists and just plain lazy people who drove up to the top. We then went to the summit (up more steps) where we could take in the views… Yes, once again they were worth it! You could see for miles; including Magnetic Island, all of Townsville and up and down the coast. After lots of picture taking we set off back down the, what should’ve been easy, 1,315 steps but this was not the case. Corrie’s now very sweaty feet were slipping on her flip-flops, causing her great difficulty when trying to go downhill so the walk down probably took longer than the walk up! We finally made it to the bottom; noticing now in our guide book that Castle Hill is a just few metres off being classed as a mountain!



What a relief it was to be at the bottom of that trek and on a 30 minute pleasant walk back to the hostel - This wasn’t to be… On our way to get more water from the shop there was a rustling from a bush and before Corrie new it, a bird flew out and attacked her! Yes, the devil bird went straight for the eyes but only managed to claw at Corrie’s forehead instead. Danny swears he has never heard a more powerful scream and Corrie was then on edge the rest of the way back, quietly plotting her mass extinction of all these birds.

We made it back in one piece and both had well-earned showers before heading down the street for our $20 large pizza and 2 beers. After her shower the fun was not over for Corrie as, when she went to use the hair-dryer, out shot a tiny salamander – who knows what Corrie has done to cause her to suffer the wrath of the animal kingdom! Anyway, we were not let down at Heritage bar; we started by getting our 2 drinks and ordering our large pizza. Danny tactically asked which would be the strongest drinks we could get in our deal, to which the bartender replied, “The whiskey beers.” This 7% tipple sounded good to Danny and so of he went back to Corrie with the drinks. These were going down well and it wasn’t long before the pizza, which we were expecting to be about an 11” at most, arrived. The pizza was HUGE, and covered in goodness which we took our time over, only speaking to say things like: “Damn this is good” or “Mmmmm, what a pizza” etc. Overall, we couldn’t believe what a good deal we’d gotten for just $20. Corrie had her last slice boxed up to eat later.



Finally, we set off back to relax and use the free hour of internet before going to bed; a very good day… minus Corrie nearly being blinded of course!

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