Enjoying Townsville

After one night staying in the caravan park we moved to stay in the home that we are house sitting for the next five weeks.  The young couple and their two boys who own the home are off to the USA on holiday and we will care for their Dalmation, Jessie and provide security for their home. 

We met the owners on Saturday afternoon and explained that we had the three boys for us for a few days more and received their consent for the boys to stay in the home - alternatively one of us would have stayed in the caravan park with the boys and the other at the home.

We arrived at the house prior to mid-day and soon had everything unpacked off the car and in the car into the garage.  The next step was to ensure that each of the boys took home all their gear but that waited a couple of days. 

The homeowners have two boys similar in age to Jake and Tim so there were plenty of boys toys to enjoy.  The family had placed a mini pool table in the family room which became a very popular activity.  With bikes, scooters, pool table, balls etc and three televisions including a huge one in the family room there was plenty to keep the boys entertained but a little disappointment that there was no swimming pool.

We had a quiet afternoon - everyone was really tired from our travels and it was good to just relax.  However Monday we decided it was time to get out and about a little.  After a relaxing morning we made our way down to The Strand which is a 2.2 km beachfront promenade.  It has been built with enjoyment in mind with bike and walkway paths, swimming beaches, picnic spots and BBQ's, a water park, pool and cafes etc.  We took our lunch and enjoyed a great picnic beside the water park.  As it was a public holiday (Queen's Birthday celebration) there were lots of people about but unfortunately it wasn't that warm - around 23 degrees but with lots of high cloud.  Jake and Tim enjoyed playing in the water park but at 13 Connor was just a little old for it.  He did check out the pool but there were not many people in it either so gave it a miss too.

The beaches in Townsville have tropical marine stingers in them and there are specific instructions for swimming in the warm waters.  These include swimming in enclosures where there are stinger nets in place, the use of a full body length lycra swimming suit or wetsuit to avoid being stung by any jellyfish, and no swimming at night.  The nets are only in place during the peak jellyfish season from around November to May and they have recently been removed in the Townsville area although later than normal due to the large number of Irukandji jellyfish still being seen.  Because of the risk of stingers we did not allow any of the boys to swim in the beach.

From The Strand we made a short visit to the Townsville Information Centre and then home again.  The boys were more than happy playing pool and entertaining themselves.