Oct 16 - Walking Through Townsville

Woke up this morning to sunshine and heat. Hallelujah! Tossed on shorts, sunblock, hat and sunglasses and hit the road. Our hostel is a ways from the center of town and so we had to walk a couple KMs to get to the area with attractions in it. There is a museum and aquarium, but both had outrageous admission prices, so we went further up the road to the beach. It's bizarre to see a 30 degree sunny Saturday with beaches nearly empty. It's getting close to stinger season, plus there are only a couple designated swim areas along the several sections of the Townsville beach, so there weren't many swimmers. Along the route we passed a dance/martial arts hybrid display, a volleyball game and little black kids doing roundoff twisting back layouts into the ocean. The area looks and feels like Venice beach, both from the interesting and sketchy people, the people fishing off the piers, the hot sand and murky water and the palms and vegetation surrounding the area. In the hot sun and humid air it's easy to become thirsty quickly, and then thirsty within minutes of finishing that drink until you're full but still really wanting water. The heat does strange things to the mind for sure. We headed back to the hostel, picking up pasta and sausages for what turned out to be a delicious and overly filling dinner. It's much nicer at night here, and more bearable - with the temperature still in the 20s, but with a breeze and without the baking rays of the sun. Tomorrow we venture across to Magnetic Island on the ferry to stay at the resort-esque Base hostel there for 3 nights of relaxation.