Saturday 23rd October 2021
Today we explored a little bit of Townsville.

After our swim at the historic Tobruk Memorial Baths we went for a drive to Mt Stuart which overlooks the city of Townsville. Its elevation is 584m above sea level giving a great view of the city. The temperature was hot, hot, hot and I am struggling.

We then went to Palmetum – a botanical garden for palm trees. It was a lovely walk arounf the gardens but still hot, hot, hot.

After this we drove to the western suburbs to Riverview Art and Entertainment Centre which had an amazing free swimming pool or 3 really. It was located right on the Ross River and was heavily populated with families enjoying the facility on this hot, hot, hot day.

We then headed home for a rest before heading out for dinner at a lovely restaurant we found last week. Wild Rice Thai and Laos Restaurant. We walked to the restaurant which is located in the city centre and then after dinner we went for a long walk along the waterfront. We have decided that 8pm is the perfect time to exercise in this hot, hot, hot city in late October.

‘Townsville is a city located on the north-eastern coast of Queensland. Townsville is Australia’s largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a population over 185,000. Townsville is famous for an average of 320 days of sunshine per year and adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef.’

‘The Tobruk Memorial Baths is a heritage-listed complex of outdoor swimming pools on The Strand, Townsville CBD, City of Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It was built from 1941 to 1950 by Townsville City Council as a World War II memorial. The baths were added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 13 January 1995.’

‘The Palmetum is a unique tropical experience covering over 17 hectares. It is a botanical garden featuring one family of plants – the palms. Approximately 60 species of palms are native to Australia and most are represented in the Palmetum. The collection contains around 300 species, many rare and threatened in their natural habitat.’