We were expecting a parcel of mail with some important 'stuff' to have arrived in Townsville, but alas it hadn't. So we spent an unplanned night in Townsville in the hope that the mail would arrive the next day (it didn't). Townsville doesn't have a lot to do or see so we just enjoyed a picnic on the waterfront and lots of swimming and sliding in the caravan park's pool.
In Bowen we tried to go snorkelling at Horseshoe Bay but the visibilty in the water was very poor due to the coral releasing their spawn- how inconsiderate! The next day was much better and Greg and I took turns with the older boys going slightly off shore. No crocs here but I did have in my mind the last time I went snorkelling around 100m out near Byron Bay, seeing a shark swimming a few metres below me. I was glad when a couple more snorkellers joined us, I figured it reduced the risk to me just a little! Arch and Jess had a very industrious time on the beach with buckets and spades.
We stopped in Sarina near the sugar mill to visit the Sarina Sugar Shed, a miniature version (as the larger mills don't take children under seven years old on tours). A retired sugar cane farmer took us through the old and new methods of growing, harvesting and refining sugar. We had a taste of molasses- ick!- as well as sugar cane, juice and then lurid blue fairy floss, given to the kids before mum could say no! The smell of sugar cane has been with us almost constantly since Mossman, and the cane trains cause lots of excitement for the kids. Greg has switched his mid life crisis plan from opal mining in Coober Pedy to sugar farming in Queensland. We stayed overnight just south of Sarina near the beach in a free campsite. There was an abundance of fresh coconuts which kept the kids busy for several hours and blunted my favourite kitchen knife. We walked out onto the mudflats in the morning as the tide had gone out a long way, possibly a kilometre or more. After bandaging Darcy's oyster-cut foot and releasing Archie's secreted hermit crab we were off to Rockhampton.
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