"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 46 Townsville, Australia February 15, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 88 degrees Part #1 of 3 80 Pictures

Sent: Monday, February 15, 2016 12:28:08 PM
Subject: Report # 46 Townsville, Australia February 15, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 88 degrees Part #1 of 3 80 Pictures

Report # 46 Townsville, Australia February 15, 2016 Monday Partly cloudy & 88 degrees Part # 1 of 3 80 Pictures

The Amsterdam sailed into the port of Townsville, Australia around 7am. There was not a cloud in the sky, and upon going outside on the promenade deck, we realized the temperature today was going to exceed 88 degrees for sure. The level of humidity has increased as well, making the heat even more intolerable.

Gene finally announced that we were cleared by the local authorities, and free to leave the ship by 8:30am. But he had to announce several times not to remove food of any kind from the ship. The ladies had to be careful about the type of jewelry that was worn, such as earrings and necklaces made with seashells, beads, coral, seeds, and wood were not allowed to leave the vessel. One time a hand fan was in our bag, and it had some bamboo on the handle. Think the cute little beagle security dog had found that. They let it pass, but better not to bring it.

It was obvious that we were docked in a working container port and NOT allowed to walk out of the port area. It was mandatory to take the complimentary shuttle buses to the city center, which was fine with us. It was only a 10 minute ride. We had a nice breakfast in the dining room first, then headed off around 10ish. Figuring that most of the folks would have gone off by then, we found we were wrong. In fact a snake-like line had formed while waiting for the bus. Half of the people were in some shade, but most were out in the hot sun. It wasn't long before one elderly lady fainted, while waiting in the sun. Security fellows ran to help her, getting her into a chair, and eventully into the shade. Not sure what happened with her, because the buses were back from town, and we loaded up quickly.

Maps had been handed out last night, and they turned out to be better and more complete than what the local information center had. The plan was for the people to be dropped off in the center of town, then take another bus that went in a large rectangle drive, following the Strand, the waterfront road that runs for 2.5 km or 1.5 miles. There were a total of 8 stops along the way.

Or, you could walk. That's what we decided to do. We followed the map which took us to nearby Flinders Street, the historic area of the early Townsville, circa 1800's. On this strip, there are a total of 25 buildings or parks related to that period. Originally a developing seaport, and more so when gold was discovered in 1867. At one point, the city was the port for five major goldfields, and the major supply center for northern Australia. The sugar industry eventully replaced the gold business. Today, Townsville is the administrative center for North Queensland, but still preserving its heritage from its golden past.

The city has a population of around 200,000, and is the second largest in the state of Queensland. It is the commercial port for shipping cattle, timber, fish, boats and maybe still sugar. There are manufacturing facilities, agricultural outlets, and a base for the military. And because the city gets 300 days of sunshine a year, it's a popular vacation destination for the local Aussies, as well as international tourists. It is advertised that there are 3000 rooms for caravans, campers, backpackers, bed and breakfast vacationers, and resort hotel seekers.

As we walked towards the small boat marina, we did notice many restaurants that could be possible stops for us later. Most every place we checked out was closed, we assumed until dinner time. We would find out later that they were completely closed, as in gone out of business. Since we never did hear any rumors from the locals, we cannot comment on the employment in the region. We do know that the cattle shipping is good here, since we were docked across from a ship that transports them out of the area. Cattle trucks came one after the other, off-loading their trailers all day. Wonder what these cows think? Like are we going for a ride? Oh boy. Little do they know where they are headed. We're thinking McDonalds, Burger King, etc.

Our hike took us to the marina, where many boats were moored. There was a nice manicured strip of park with greens and trees, which housed the Anzac Memorial. Close together near here were the Museum of Tropical Queensland and the Reef HQ Aquarium. The museum housed the natural and cultural heritage of North Queensland. The cost to get in was a bargain today at 15% off, the fee was $11 Australian ($7.86 US). And the aquarium is described as the largest living coral reef aquarium in the world. They feature dive shows, a predator exhibit, and an interactive experience dealing with the Great Barrier Reef. The fee to get in for an adult was $28 Australian ($20 US). If you decided to explore both venues, it would take most of your time in port.

Since we wanted to see more of the city, we continued on to the Strand, a grassy waterfront promenade with a long stretch of beach, BBQ facilities, freshwater showers and restrooms, pools, and views of the ocean to die for.

The beach was beautiful, but there not lone soul on it. Signs were posted that it was not safe to go in the water due to box jellyfish infestation in the water. They are here from November through May. The only safe places to swim are the designated net-proof places along the waterfront. Then there is the Tobruk Memorial Baths with a 50 meter eight lane freshwater pool. The price to swim there was $5 for adults and $3 for kids under 12. There was also a neat water park along the way, suitable for the little ones. In between the fountains that sprayed water, there was a huge bucket that filled to half full, then dumped lots of water that spread out overhead. Finally, there was the rock pool, a tidal swimming area with stinger resistant netting. It is filtered even though it is saltwater. It appeared to be free, opened to the general public.

Along this long stretch of beach, there were some cafes and places to serve lunch and beer. We were hoping for pizza, in particular, margherita pizza, but we could not find that on the menus. We decided to check out the restaurants around the bus stop later.

Leaving the beachfront, we headed towards the Queens Garden, located below Castle Hill. This monolith is a 945 foot mountain made out of pink granite. We have read that the views from the top are spectacular, and there were trails to hike it. We considered it for a nano second, and came to the conclusion that with the ridiculous heat today, we would be crazy to climb it. We did go to the gardens however. Finding the gate to the Queens Garden, we walked in the most needed shade in the gardens that had been created in 1870. Benches placed under the largest fig trees gave us a chance to cool down. The oldest botanic garden in Townsville, the park consists of 4 hectares ( almost 10 acres). We saw many flowers planted under the shade of frangipani, palms, bamboo, and fig trees.

Quite by accident, we stumbled upon a series of cages full of native birds. There were sulfur-crested cockatoos, galahs, Indian runner ducks, peacocks, and bush hens, all in snake-proof cages. They were well-kept, but hidden from sight. Next to the Queens Gardens, we located the Queens Park. Bordering that park, were large trees with giant seed pods that were drying up and falling by the tons. Obviously, nothing eats these huge seeds, so they littered the ground. Being heavy, no cars would park under these trees either.

There was little or no breeze in this park, so we headed back down to the waterfront. At least the wind was blowing there. We ran into our tablemates Bonnie and Paul, who were doing the same walk as us, except in reverse. Seems we think in similar ways, having a lot of the same interests. Outdoors, birds, animals, and water sports are common grounds with all of us. They sent us down to the palm trees by the beach to see the red-tailed black cockatoos. The trees were full of these pretty birds, eating the nuts in the branches. Some rainbow lorikeets were among the tree nut diners. They were more interested in the palm tree blooms.

Eight kilometers (5 miles) from the shoreline was Magnetic Island, a 20 minute ferry ride from the marina. The fee was $32 Australian ($23 US) for a round trip ticket. We found out later that the Captain and his wife Karen and the Kruses had gone over there for the day. There are 23 beaches there, most of them netted for the jellies. There are also koalas and wallaby living wild there. The island has a lot of history, because it had been a fort that defended Townsville during World War ll. You can rent a car or a scooter for the day on this island.

By the time we hiked to the rock pool at the end of the Strand, we realized that the walk back would have been too far on such a hot, hot day. Our water supply was gone, and so was a lot of our time. All aboard was 4:30pm, and it was already 1:30pm. We really wanted to find a place to get some ice cold beers, but it was not to be.

A shuttle finally appeared at the pickup point, and we headed back to the drop-off in town. The restaurants we thought would be opened by now, were not. The only option was McDonalds and we chose not to go there. Getting off of the bus, we were directed to stay there and wait for the bus back to the ship. The second bus came, and a group of us filed on it. Instead of turning and going back to the port, this bus headed back to where we just came from. Oh well, guess lunch is out, as we were going backwards. The driver picked up a few more people, then we did head back towards the Ross Creek bridge and the road back to the port.

Hot and thirsty, we went back to the coolness of our room, and had a few sodas. Lunch was in the Lido, where many other folks had the same idea. Since we still have some good ice cream in our freezer, we got two ice cream cones, and enjoyed our treat in the room. The ice cream girl got her laugh for the day, since we don't think she believes us when we say we have ice cream in our room. Actually, it will be gone with four more cones. May have to look for more either in Cairns or Darwin.

The sail away began after 4:30pm. Leaving the coolness of our room, we were surprised to find that it had not gotten cooler by now. It was still muggy and in the 90's we bet. Very few people were at the aft deck….it was sizzling out there. We could still see some of the larger jellyfish swimming around the aft of the ship. Odd creatures, they are. We also watched more cattle trucks delivering cows to the waiting ship across from us. Surprisingly, there was no odor coming from that vessel as the Captain had warned this morning.

Tempting egg rolls were offered at the sail away, but we knew dinner was at 7pm, and did not want to fill up here. The ship was away from the shore with the pilot boat following closely behind us. Once past most of the outlying islands, some local fellows got off on the pilot boat, but we suspect we still have one while sailing through the barrier reef islands on the way towards Cairns.

As long as the day was, it wasn't over yet. We had an invite to a President's Club Dinner from Orlando Ashford and his wife, Samantha. Other special guests were Captain Mercer and wife Karen, Arnold Donald and his wife Hazel, Stein Kruse and wife Linda, and Gerald Bernhoft, our friend and Director of the Mariner Society. Henk Mensink took the final spot at the long table in the King's Room. There was a total of 10 members at this dinner, most of whom we know. Lucky for us, we were seated with Linda Kruse, and friends Don and Barb. Across from us was Orlando and his wife.

As soon as we were seated at our pre-assigned places, a gift was presented to us, announced by Gerald. It was a nickel-plated silver tray, reminiscent of the first world cruise gift given back in 1948 on the old Statendam. Our tray has the Amsterdam's image stamped on it with the 2016 World Cruise printed under the ship. Nice momentum of this special evening.

The menu was interesting. Everyone but one of us had a fish with spinach starter, a tiny morsel of food. One of us had a cheesy substitute, which was better. Mary Ann is not a fish lover, nor can she eat any shellfish….allergies. The next course was a caviar tower with apple slices and a half of a quail egg. The substitute for this was little green eggs (gelatin) with apple slices and egg. A shrimp plate with roasted artichoke with curry oil was next. Little slices of a suspicious hot pepper was placed on the artichoke. Better to not eat it, than be sorry if it turned out to be habineros (SP?). My substitute was a delicious veggie eggroll. The main was a piece of roasted rack of veal, broiled lobster (carrots and cabbage) with a mushroom puree, buttered leeks, and forbidden rice. Don't remember seeing the rice. Each course was announced by Master Chef, Rudi Sodamin, who has joined the ship while the CEO's are visiting.

Red and white wines were served until it was time for dessert. This was a basket of chocolate treats, a candy basket full of pudding, and surrounded with fresh berries. Really good. Coffee served in Versace cups and saucers ended the meal with a plate of chocolate truffles on the side. This was as good as it gets, in our opinion. The evening ended at 9:30pm, which was still close to our regular time.

Showtime was a singer by the name of Patrick Mc Mahon, with songs from Kenny Rodgers, Neil Diamond, and Johnny Cash. Gosh, right up our alley, but we were so tired and hot, dressed in our formal clothes, we called it a night.

Looking forward to our next port of Cairns, which happens to be tomorrow. Sure hope it is slightly cooler tomorrow………

Bill & Mary Ann

Castle Hill in Townsville