Today I headed to Airlie in hopes of seeing the Whitsundays - some islands off the coast of Australia that are well-known for their silicone white sand. There was even a chance I could camp on Whitehaven or another beach around there. I stopped at an information station and learned that the rain and wind I’d seen 2 hours south was going to continue up to the Whitsundays area as well, so tours were cancelled. The rainy weather was going to continue for the next few days, and they were booked up on Monday, so there was no sense in waiting around for that. The lady mentioned that there was really nothing else to do in Airlie, so I decided to move to my next destination - Townsville - which would ease my driving situation the next few days. Being about 15 minutes from the Airlie Beach I decided to at least check it out. But after about 15 minutes of driving, realizing I would need to turn around and backtrack, and also realizing I would need to hit the Townsville information center before they closed, I started regretting the drive. I parked across from the police station, walked out to the water a little bit, took some pics, then returned and drove back to the main road wondering why I had bothered. I guess I figured if the Whitsundays were so amazing this area would be as well. But there really wasn’t anything amazing to see.
My GPS took me to Townsville where, I was told, the info center was already closed. I parked in a parking lot and got on Tripadvisor. The campgrounds in the area didn’t get good reviews, and the one on Magnetic Island got even worse ones. I had thought about taking a ferry over to it and camping there. I found a hotel in the center of town about 4 mins away where I got a great room for $99 AUD a night (maybe about $80 USD)! It was new, had a view of the mountains, and was very close to stuff.
I brought my stuff to the room, then plopped down. I’d planned to explore a little and grab a bite to eat, but after a while found that I didn’t want to leave. I was too comfortable. I ate my own food, which I need to eat anyway, and watched TV. Yes, I watched TV.
The wind was strong that night and blew my tent around. I turned on a headlamp that was hanging on the inside of the tent and took a short video of the movement. You can see how much the tent was being affected by the wind by how much the light is moving:
My GPS took me to Townsville where, I was told, the info center was already closed. I parked in a parking lot and got on Tripadvisor. The campgrounds in the area didn’t get good reviews, and the one on Magnetic Island got even worse ones. I had thought about taking a ferry over to it and camping there. I found a hotel in the center of town about 4 mins away where I got a great room for $99 AUD a night (maybe about $80 USD)! It was new, had a view of the mountains, and was very close to stuff.
I brought my stuff to the room, then plopped down. I’d planned to explore a little and grab a bite to eat, but after a while found that I didn’t want to leave. I was too comfortable. I ate my own food, which I need to eat anyway, and watched TV. Yes, I watched TV.
The wind was strong that night and blew my tent around. I turned on a headlamp that was hanging on the inside of the tent and took a short video of the movement. You can see how much the tent was being affected by the wind by how much the light is moving: