Tuesday, March 29, 2011

First Impressions of Townsville

The Coral Bay Lodge at 22 Mead Street, Townsville - Great. My GPS only speaks German, and the rental car is yelling at my “passenger” to put on its seatbelt. Too bad it can’t see that my “passenger” is a 40lb suitcase.
GPS set to English [American]: check. Suitcase relocated to the trunk: check. Driving on the left side of the road: check. And it’s not nearly as hard as I expected – left-hand turn lanes, off-ramps on the other side. Traffic circles which aren’t that far off from bike circles in Davis… (I never went the right way on them anyway) but parallel parking BACKWARDS on the other side of the street? Yeah, this is going to be a problem.
By the grace of God and GPS, I arrived safely to my hotel in what the map says is the middle of the city: a crooked street enveloped in palm trees and ferns, sitting at the bottom of a giant red monolith. Hmm. A 3-legged cat hobbled up to welcome me as I walked in, along with a very friendly and welcoming man who remembered my name from when I called in and asked for a room last night.
“Ay, G’day, yew must be Michelle!”

he said, shaking my hand. His accent was the strongest I’ve heard so far, and he was wearing hiking boots, short cargo shorts and a button-up flannel shirt with a flat straw sunhat. Australian stereotype: confirmed.

 
He showed me down the wood steps and around to the lower level of the house and to the guest rooms – mine is #5, and is everything basic that I need: a king bed with pastel sheets, a mini-fridge with cold water, a desk with pleather chairs, and a nice view of the palm garden out my window. The “Barbie” and a clothes line are both out back and accessible for me to use. I asked him if I needed a rental car this week, and he scoffed at me.

“Nah, jus’ about everything’s walkin’ distance from here, an the Uni’s just a bus ride away.”  
For some reason, I'm skeptical about that.
The air conditioning in my room is heaven – at 32C degrees outside (about 83F) and 85% humidity, I can feel the sweat begin to develop on the palms of my hands and bottom of my feet as soon as I walk outside. I want so badly to explore this cute little city… but it’s soooo niccceee in here.
Okay, time to suck it up and go back outside.
Tropical Queensland: Butterflies, Palm Trees and Thunderclouds
To my surprise, I actually am right in the middle of the city – I walked a few blocks down the hill, and hit Flanders Street, the main shopping area with dozens of little restaurants, pubs, and pokie booths. (Pokies = slot machines.) People watching, I noticed a man with a metal studded bracelet  pushing a stroller with two kids. His shirt said “I am brilliant and have good ideas, I just don’t give a shit.” I chuckled.  A couple minutes later, I saw a similar woman (also with two kids) wearing a shirt that said “if you don’t like me, then piss off.” I wonder if that’s a common theme around here?

 About ½ mile later, I found the harbor, followed by the Northern Queensland Museum, the Aboriginal Culture Center, the Reef Aquarium and The Strand – a long path along the beach with all the nice restaurants and hotels.
As I turned the corner from the harbor, I was shocked – 5 minutes before,  it felt like I was in a jungle – now, here is the perfect postcard picture of a red sandy tropical beach framed in palm trees, with a dark silhouette of Magnetic Island off in the distance.
I grabbed a Chai Tea frappe, and noticed a gathering of butterflies – bright blue and yellow – fluttering down towards the beach. I follow suit - dropped my stuff, and dove in to the netted (jellyfish-proofed) area. I couldn’t believe it… the water was 30 degrees (so in the 80s F) and felt like bath water. Colorful parrots in the trees, bright colored flowers and palm trees all along the beach, and a dramatic sunset obscured by thunderclouds. Townsville, I’m beginning to think that I seriously underestimated you.


1 comment:

  1. If our ocean was 80 degrees I might find it worthwhile to go in...

    ReplyDelete