The curlews weren't too bad although they wander around the park along with some busy mobs of whistling ducks. A day exploring the local shopping centres where we get a few supplies for the van. We find a water park at one of the town beaches and we just had to try it out didn't we.

As we head south along the coast we reach Airlie Beach which has many shops and a wide range of accommodation centred on the harbour and marina. It's a key location to access the Whitsundays and we saw many people with suitcases, backpacks and luggage walking around. We counted over 20 bush stone curlews in the caravan park so it might be a noisy night!

Bowen claims to be the Mural Capital of Australia, and has many buildings with murals featuring local history and attractions. Some are painted by famous artists but sadly the often wild weather associated with cyclones has not been very mural friendly, with some ruined and replaced over the years.

After an exciting fuel stop in Ayr (diesel $1.16 per litre) we arrived in Bowen, home of the Big Mango. Bowen is at the northern end of the Whitsundays and despite strong winds the coastal views from the town lookout were good.

No visit to Townsville is complete without a day trip to Magnetic Island, known to the locals as Maggie. After a short ferry trip to the island we picked up our spacious hire car which featured manual gears, no doors, no windows and no roof. It was fun to drive around the island in, as we enjoyed swims at both Horseshoe Bay and Alma Bay. For dinner we dined outdoors at Ribs and Rumps on Palmer Street.