Townsville

The sea water pool on the Strand - stingers filtered.

Day 2: the bus takes us everywhere which is a nice way to see the place. There are appartment blocks going up here and there. They are 1,2 and 3 bedrooms: probably for visiting uni students? An overnight train into here with a bike wagon.

Transport is pretty good. There are a lot of Prius hybrid taxis. You can map your bus trip on www.sunbus.com.au. The nextThere app on the phone lists all the buses at the nearest bus stop.

The boys been wating for the bus all day.

The Strand is a wide shared path, popular with walkers, bikers and swimmers. BBQs, kids playgrounds, trees with vines to swing on, a water park and a sea water pool are all inviting. The place has been done very well.

Shame the skyline was deflowered by appartment blocks. These block the view to the mountain, a natural object that adds beauty to the place. Not sure how to fight developers by saying that it's a nice view.

Tip for the wise: Molly Malones for a good value lunch, and you can teach the kids how to play pool. The servings are big.

Molly Malone's pub for lunch.

The mountain dominates the city. To get to town, you must go around it using a couple of main roads.

A spot of pool before lunch

Ollie the pool shark

Molly Malone's Irish pub - a pretty building.