11 - Townsville Australia, Castle Hill, the Strand

 Townsville is a quaint town of about 200,000.  Our stay at port was 8am - 6pm.   Today we visited Castle lookout on Castle  Hill, the  13 kilometer long strand/walk along the waterfront, Kissing Point at the end of the strand.  The town warmly welcomed us with local crafters selling their wares (best part was meeting local crafters), a band playing Christmas carols, Ranger with a large snake - petting zoo like, and tastings of local gin, coffee and worchester sauce! 

Two follow ups from earlier posts:

>>Mary from Wisconsin enjoyed her ocean swim at the Great Barrier Reef.  Her transition from pool to ocean was just fine.  On the other hand, her husband was one of several people that needed a little help (rescue) while snorkling.  Life jackets were optional, he declined initially, that is until his little scare in the water. Phil and I both started with life jackets.  It was just too rough and windy.

>>The medical rescue with the helicopter must have been for two people, as there were two separate helicopters. We had another commitment and totally missed the 2nd copter.

Our tour was a late  tour so we had a very leisurely morning on board, with very few passengers.  It wasn't a quiet morning as we heard the weekly Crew Emergency drills (announcements and alarms).

                                    You can see the Castle Hill rising in the distance. It is made of pink granite.

                        View of Magnetic Island from Castile Hill lookout. You can also see the local football stadium (the Cowboys).  It holds 25,000 people.  Elton John was the first celebrity to perform there several years ago.

                                                  More views from the top.

Overlookiing the bay - do you see? there is one boat, a ferry. 

At the top of Castle Hill was the remains of a restaurant.  The building was removed after 'wild ants' (per our guide) or yellow crazy, acid slinging ants. (Per google) they are 1 of 100 of the world's most invasive species, they destroyed the structure.

Downtown is not so large @ 4 blocks by 4 blocks, but the artwork is impressive.

There is some crime problem in the city: juveniles 'pinching' cars.

As part of the tour we drove the 13 kilometer strand. Restaurants hotels and shops lined one side, the ocean/river on the other.

Note the swimming area blocked off with white border.  There are nets protecting the swim zone from box jelly fish.  Even so, there weren't many swimmers and many of those wore full body suits, to protect against the jelly fish.  Their stings are very dangerous (painful and sometimes fatal, cardiac arrest in a couple of minutes).  Most victims survive.  Maybe I'll stay ashore. And darn tomorrow is a full day at the whitesands beach.

This statue turns color based on temp of the water.

At the end of the strand is Kissing Point. 

                        Craft fair at the port, just ourside our cruise ship.  Viking Mars is the 3rd ship visiting the port this year.  Over the next 4 months they will have an additional 30 ships, with a craft fair set up for every one!  This is a glass artist, trained in Murano Italy. Her speciality is jewelry, making tiny replicas of coral, local flowers, and fish. 
                                             
                The petting zoo.  I gave up my turn so that this passanger could get a hug from the snake.

                                                Christmas music, local band.

Late in the day (two days ago) we sat on the grand staircase to watch the Viking singers sing their favorite Christmas carols, in an informal concert.  Such fun, they served mulled wine.