We all ride into Townsville which had a charming colonial feel about it, and in no better location than by the sea. When we arrived at our first set of lights where there was a huge group of woman on bikes and i would have guessed they were butch lesbians.
I however recently got called a dyke by a group of young boys driving past me in Airlie Beach. It wasnt the fact, they thought i liked girls that bothered me, it was that they thought i looked manly.
They were right. Something has changed in me . When you are riding a bike, camping 24/7, eating only food available and not showering daily, only when you can, it makes you stronger, dirtier and rougher. More manly. On top of that ive cut my hair for convenience, stopped wearing make up for weeks at a time and am use to having one small bag of clothes and toilettries. Im a different woman to the one that started the journey wanting to take stilettos. Yes…i know, seriously stilettos.
So i guess i now know better than to make assumptions about the woman at the lights. They were probably just strong, independent woman on bikes, go them.
Tropical weather in what seemed to be a very neat and well maintained town. We rode up the windy road as the sun glistened off the sweat on the fit weekend walkers hiking up to Castle Hill. When we arrived in the carpark at the top we were greeted by a chatty motorbike enthusiast who gave Rob the questionnaire on his KTM and my BMW. Any chance to talk about motor bikes Rob will take and enjoy. Zorah and i slowly found a way to sneak to the viewing area and absorb the incredible 360° view over Townsville.
We spotted some lagoons and beaches and decided that will be our next destination after lunch.
We stopped into a nice seafood resturant ready for some fish and chips. By the time i returned from the bathroom Zohar and Rob had realised that we could order the same menu item, but it would be much cheaper if we got take away. Ridiculously both menus were insight in the same resturant.
So off we went with our family pack of fish and chips and gave the copious amounts of food a great crack. The view from our picnic table was one to remember with the lagoon in front, the ocean behind and the haze of many islands in the background. We walked around to the swimming area of the beach and sun baked for a little while until Zohar departed us to venture onto her next destination.
We hugged and said our goodbyes until our next encounter where ever that may be. Rob and i walked along the path soaking in the tranquil atmosphere. There was slight wind in the air which didnt seem like much until we spotted a bride walking down the grassy isle to her groom. They stood on the edge of the small cliff looking out to the ocean as the wind blew her dress and the decorations. It would have looked great for the photos and im sure they apprecitive as the day would have been very hot without the breeze.
We stopped and had an acai juice at a health food shop near the end of the path and anticipated our plans for the next day. There was a festival on called groove to the moove the next day but unfortunately tickets were over $100 each not including any food or drinks we would buy at the event. Thats an expensive day for 2 travellers so we decided on a comedy show that night instead which was hilarious.
The next day did a slow pack up of our tent, sleeping and cooking gear and head into town. Went shopping for some groceries and whilst there i checked the location of the ferry terminal to head over to Magnetic Island. I had checked the previous day for times and they ran until 7pm. Today however whilst checking the location, it stated that ferries only ran until 4.15pm, as it was Sunday. I must have looked at the wrong day. I calmly showed Rob the location and said ‘there is a ferry at 4.15 lets get it’ It was 4pm and a 7min ride so we swiftly took off and followed the sign that said ferry terminal. Unfortunatly there were two, one on either side of the river.
One catered for passengers and the other for vehcles as well. Rob got off his bike and said ‘ill just check if this is it.’ My heart was racing as i knew it was the last ferry and tomorrow was a public holiday, no ferries tomorrow. If we didnt get on.. we would be riding to the next camping spot 1 1/2 hours north and setting up camp in the dark. Missing out on Magnetic Island. Rob would not be a happy camper.
He comes back out and says its on the other side of the river and points. We look out and can see the boat coming so we quickly speed off to the nearest bridge and get to the terminal just in time to buy a ticket and ride on. Thank goodness.
We take a seat upstairs looking out towards Magnetic Island. I say to Rob, ‘that was lucky, this was the last ferry of the day’. He looked confused, i thought they ran until 7?’ ‘I made a mistake and just realised looking at the location, not on Sundays’ He laughs, ‘that is lucky’. He shakes his head, tucks me under his arm and we look out at the horizon. Magnetic Island here we come.
2souls2wheels 