Day 8 – Charters Towers to Airlie Beach

I was up again at 6:30, showered and dressed and then had breakfast. A few of the overnight guests had already left, but we were not the last to leave when we had packed up and were on the road not long after 8. We passed through undulating country and soon saw evidence of the Great Dividing Range in the distance. The highway turned north to pass through a gap and eventually we arrived at the centre of Townsville. A quick visit to the Information Centre and a walk down past the city shops and then we drove along the foreshore and finally up Castle Hill. The views from the top were very good, showing off Townsville just like a map. Then we left, and as we were ahead of schedule because of the rain, we headed down to Bowen and Airlie Beach. On the way we stopped in at Ayr for a latish lunch and arrived at Bowen. After another quick trip to the Information Centre, we visited the lookout and I called in to thank the staff at the Bowen Independent (who gave me a number to ring about Catalinas there during WWII, although I haven’t followed it up yet). From there it was a good run down to Airlie Beach. We arrived at the YHA hostel at 4:55 – I was upset because I’d said we’d be there at 5 and were early, but Lynn reckoned it was good time. We settled in after looking at the rooms (I’m in a male share with en suite, Lynn’s in a female share with en suite). I messaged an ex-student and arranged to catch up with her in the morning for coffee (although I am becoming a convert to hot chocolate). Lynn was a little too late to book a cruise she would have liked, so was planning to look around. We walked down the street for tea and did some shopping at Woolworths on the way back. We chatted with some others in the hostel, especially to an older lady whose plans had gone awry because of the weather. Then we retired to our rooms, where I chatted to a young American from Georgia before dropping off to sleep.