The only reason anyone goes to Townsville is to get the ferry over to Magnetic Island. Deciding to buck the trend I opted to stay in Townsville, and it was a delight. A run down town that is trying to redesign itself, there was a certain charm about it. A beautiful promenade ran along the beach, allowing me to enjoy the beauty of Magnetic Island from a distance whilst still having the joy of a town.

It turned out that this weekend there was a VB motorcar race- a very big deal for the town. Unfortunately tickets were ridicuously expensive and certainly out of my budget but it did give the town some life to the town and all day you could hear the roar of the engines going round the track.

True to my adventure so far, I again took a wallk up a very steep path at sunset. Castle Hill is 2 metres short of being a mountain and one of the steepest paths I have ever been on. As I started out I looked up and wondered how the I would ever reach the top. It seemingly loomed for miles! Even after twenty minutes walking straight up did not seem to make any difference and to make matters worse old people were running past me! Ridiculous. However, it was well worth it and as the path round wound I could see the motor race for free! Then, finally reaching the top, the view was stunning. You could see the coastline and different islands, sparkling in the setting sun. Life was pretty good.

In order to balance out the effect of a good walk, I spent the evening chilling out at the cinema and actually catching up on the films I have missed. True bliss and I was very glad to have stayed there.

Next stop Airlie Beach for the joy of sailing.