With Penny having to work today we set out to explore what Townsville had to offer. Walking down ‘this hill into town we soon came across the stand which is the main road running along side the sea. We walked a large stretch for this which was lovely. Australia has always amazed us on how many amenities are provided by the local council such as public BBQs, water parks, life guards etc.
We stopped for lunch at the watermark which is a restaurant facing the sea. After a nice lunch we were packing up to go when out of the blue we heard a band playing in the distance. As they got closer we realised it was a military band playing hits such as sweet child of mine etc. They were very good. Not quite sure who they were raising money for, as they disappeared after a couple of tunes into a minibus onto their next destination.
Continuing down the strand we ended up at the aquarium. The aquarium wasn’t the largest I’ve been to but was filled with information and a number of talks etc about fish and sea life.
We watched the fish being fed along with a small crocodile. (Not in the same tank).but overall we found the most interesting part was the visit to the turtle hospital next door. Basically if any resident reports a hurt turtle in this area they end up here and the aquarium do their best to sort them out.
The two patients at the hospital were in big green tanks where they were being looked after. The first was a large turtle about one meter across in size was in for potentially eating plastic bags and therefore not being able to dive properly. It was on a diet of laxatives to try to help pass the plastic. The other much smaller turtle was in just for preservation of its kind. They both will be hopefully be released back into the wild soon.
We left aquarium and headed back along the strand. Stopped for a cheeky drink at C-Bar before heading back up the large hill home.
