Hanging Out in Townsville

Townsville isn't quite as touristy as I expected and despite being a more populated city, it feels much smaller and sleepier than nearby Cairns.  (By 'nearby' I mean a four hour drive).  You can find the usual tropical activities but they're not offered to the same extent as I found in Cairns.  Nonetheless, it's a city which is ideal for those who like lying around on the beach and the slow pace in life.

The first thing to tick of my Townsville list was to visit the Cotters Market in Flinders Mall.

Unfortunately, the mall is undergoing a bit of a revamp and construction sites took a bit away from the atmosphere of the markets but overall I'm not one who buys a lot of craft goods anyway. 

What I did buy were some persimmons from a 50+ year old, grey-haired, crusty eyed, tanned leathery-skinned, male persimmon seller.

Beauty is relative and I guess I would be relatively "good-looking" to the 50+ year old, grey-haired, crusty eyed, tanned leathery-skinned male persimmon seller.  I had selected three persimmons to buy and placed them on the scale, waiting for the price.

"It's $3.40 but for a girl as good looking as you, it'll be $3".  Yay, a 40 cent discount!  After bagging my three persimmons, he then picked out an extra one and put it into my bag.  Yay, a free persimmon!  I didn't have the heart to tell him that I really didn't want another one but thanked him and went on my merry way.  I've always wondered how much my beauty was worth - 40 cents and a persimmon! 

Next on my list was to climb up Townsville's icon, Castle Hill.  'Climb' is probably not the correct word.  I more or less drove a car up to the peak of Castle Hill.

There was a small climb up some stairs to get a better vantage point. 

Yep, here I am at the lookout. 

The view from the top of Castle Hill with Magnetic Island in the background.  

There's only so much you can do at the top of a hill so off I headed to the ReefHQ Aquarium.

Oh hello Mr. Dinosaur.  He guards the museum situated next door. 

Now, I haven't been to an aquarium in about 20 years but I was taken aback by the $25 entry price.  Maybe I'm a bit out of touch of exhibition costs, but given that I only spent an hour there...... hmmmm..

Photographs of fish are pretty boring, so I'm gonna treat you to some videos instead.

Baby shark feeding time.  Look at their cute little mouths.  They look like sock puppets!

Tropical fish in a tank doing fishy things.  Watch for the super-exciting chase sequence! 

Hehehe.  The cleaning prawn Jacques from Finding Nemo. 

The fish getting antsy moments before feeding time.

Seeing all that fish tickled the Asians-eat-everything inside of me and so off I went to the Strand to enjoy some fish and chips.

I ordered a fishermans basket which included calamari, scallops, fish nuggets and a sea shanty.  I had no idea what a sea shanty but realised later it was leftover veggies made into a veggie rissole.  Ugh! 

When in Rome, do as the Romans do - eat some gelati.  Blood orange and turkish delight for me thanks!

The sun started to set, signalling that it was time for me to head back to my temporary home.