Ingham was our next destination. The Italian connection in the town is reflected in the business names, street signs and the two cemeteries. The new cemetery has hundreds of ornate headstones and mausoleums.
Several days were spent visiting beaches and small towns in the district in the continuing hope that we might also see a cassowary or two. Lucinda, a small seaside town has the longest service jetty in the southern hemisphere. At a length of 5.76km it follows the curved contour of the earth. It is the largest bulk sugar loading facility in the world.
A lovely day trip was taken to Wallaman Falls via Trebonne where we stopped to photograph what we thought was a disused Post Office. We were greeted by the postmistress who was sorting the mail ready for the one hour a day opening. She told us that she has been running the Post Office for something like 32 years and her grandmother did for 57 years before her. Wallaman Falls, Australia’s largest single drop waterfall was a great place for a picnic lunch with a breathtakingly beautiful view. Much of Ingham was devastated by cyclone “Yasi” in February 2011 and evidence of this could be seen as we drove to Broadwater Park. The rainforest, camp grounds and picnic areas bear the scars but are recovering well.
Our next base was at Townsville. This is a sprawling city with a very large army, RAAF and university population.
The most dominant feature of the city is Castle Hill which provides a 360o view from the coast to the mountains and hills of the Great Dividing Range to the west. The hill is very popular with fitness enthusiasts who run up and down the steep tracks.
The Strand is a great area to spend a day. The 2.5km esplanade area has gardens for picnics, playgrounds and water playground for children, a rock pool for safe swimming, beach areas and many eating establishments within a short walk. We spent much of the day wandering along the shady area viewing the interesting and creative sculptures and designs of a beach art competition.
The Strand is also close to many of the old buildings which date back to the era when Townsville was a thriving shipping port. Jupiter’s Casino can be seen from The Strand and The Museum of Tropical Queensland with its tropical fish aquarium and coral reef display is close by.
We also visited the Military Museum which is being enlarged to accommodate the huge collection of memorabilia from the city’s involvement in several wars, especially World War II.
