Townsville

When we booked our 8 night stay in the Townsville suburb of Rangewood, I had thought it would be a good base to explore the area. In reality, we only ventured out of the house on two occasions. We were simply glad to enjoy the comforts of a home, get jobs done and put our feet up. The kids had a room full of great toys and books courtesy of our host's 9 year old son. They had a big yard to run around in, a trampoline, and a swimming pool, which was too cold in "winter" for our hosts but was utilised with gusto every day by the kids and Matthias.

We had two beautiful labrador dogs, Henry and Lucy, in our care and some fish to feed. Henry was possibly the biggest lab I've ever encountered. Both he and Lucy were entirely low maintenance, requiring nothing more than to be fed and loved each day.

The new kitchen on the other hand was a cause of constant stress. Brand new and spotless, I was paranoid about leaving marks on the white stain-prone bench tops.

Hugh came down with a mild vomiting bug soon after we arrived, which lasted 48h and Claire suffered a general malaise in solidarity. Matthias had a 12h bout of body aches and shivers and my tummy didn’t feel right for a few days. All good reasons to stay at home.

We were reminded of our proximity to Townsville's military base by regular flyovers from jets and military helicopters; something that kept the kids on alert.

Our first outing was a day trip to Magnetic Island. The kids loved the short ferry ride but their mojo for exploring was short lived, perhaps on account of their recent sickness. Matthias and I got in a spot of snorkeling at Geoffrey Bay. The kids didn't even have energy for the playground, so we lay on the grass while Matthias explored a bit further before we took the evening ferry home.

Saturday parkrun drew us out for our second outing. We joined the small North Shore parkrun, then spent the day exploring Townsville. The Castle Hill Lookout gave us a good sense of place, though a big smoke haze (presumably from cane burning) obscured the view. We went to the Strand Rockpool for a quick swim and then wandered through the Palmetum (botanic gardens). My thoughts often turned to my uncle Pete who spent his last years in Townsville. I would love to have visited him.

As luck would have it, it stated raining on our last day in the house, leading us to believe that we could be facing a wet journey home to Adelaide.