Day 72: Townsville to Bluewater

April 27, 2021

Start: 7:45am
Distance: 53kms
Ride time: 2:44hrs
Average: 19km/hr
Max: 36km/hr
Finish: 2:30pm

I woke to a clear sunny day. It's nice to see the sun again after a week of dreary weather although I'll probably be complaining it's too hot by the end of the day.

A clearer view of Magnetic Island or as the locals call it, Maggie Island.

I have a few tasks to do today before I depart Townsville.

My first destination was a cafe for a good breakfast.

This is where the Ross River Virus originated. It is a type of mosquito-borne non-lethal but debilitating tropical disease, known as Ross River Fever.

Then it was time to do another plasma donation.

They had a nice aquarium at the donation centre.

Amphiprion ocellaris.

Paracanthurus hepatus.

After my donation I rode into the CBD and got a new book.

Then I went to see Jarrod from Precision Phone Repairs. It took him about 10 minutes to fix my phone.

The problem was caused by the water warning sign not resetting. He said it was a common fault with this model phone.

He didn't charge me anything for his time. Very kind of him.

I was relieved to have my phone fixed. I carry a basic hard copy map with me but I rely on google maps for navigating around the towns and the Wikicamps App on where is the best place to camp.

It would have been a lot harder for people cycle touring before smart phones came along.

I had done 27 kms riding around Townsville today doing my jobs.

I then rode a further 26 kms north of Townsville to Bluewater Caravan Park.

$30. There were no other unpowered campers so I pitched my tent next to the camp kitchen.

There was a small pond filled with lotus flowers.

This is a female red-tailed black cockatoo.

The male red-tailed black cockatoo is prettier but I couldn't get a decent picture. The underside of their tail is a bright red colour.

Wiki says the birds can sell for $40,000 in America.

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 3,503 km (2,175 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	9
Comment on this entry	Comment	0