Mackay to Townsville

 Mackay to Townsville

On leaving our friends at Ilbilbie we promised to stop in at the Eimeo Hotel to take in the view of the bay on our way to the overnight free camp. 

On arriving there in the early afternoon, and not having had lunch ... and if you know me well you know I love sweet things ... I decided to forgo lunch and have scones, jam and cream with a milkshake Lol ! And what a beautiful view to sit and be decadent over.

While there we saw a whale out in the distance frolicking in the bay. A shame it was just a little too far out for decent photos to be taken.

We headed off to the Leap Hotel to a free camp for the night deciding to go the back way. The road turned to dirt so our ' little old caravan saw it's first dirt,' and arrived safely.  

The next day we headed off to explore the town of Bowen before stopping at a very good free camp at Home Hill. Bowen was to provide us with our first swim for the trip. We headed down around Queens Beach and up to Horseshoe Bay where I could not resist having a swim. Once I had convinced George it was too beautiful to pass up, and that it was definitely warm enough we parked and changed. What a beautiful spot with clear blue water and no waves ! Many beaches up this way, including Queens Beach have either black sandy beaches or rocky entries but not here.

Below are photos of George on Queens Beach and the bottom one is on the other end at Horseshoe Bay

We spent quite a time in the water before having lunch and heading off to our next free camp at Home Hill where we waited excitedly to head into Townsville the next day. 

Not only was Townsville a favourite place of ours to visit but it now held the added bonus of having relatives, who were new to us, living there.

By Lynne