My plan for Townsville was to get a haircut and visit the Aquarium, which was advertised as the largest aquarium in the southern hemisphere. I LOVE aquariums so was very excited.
I got up and ready early to get off the ship but surprise! It was raining. So I opted to give it some time before walking to the port terminal and taking the shuttle bus to town.
The rain did stop, leaving the weather very hot and humid. Think NOLA in August. It was a fairly short walk to the cruise port and that's when I started to be impressed.
As we walked into the small, new terminal, we were greeted by volunteers wearing pink shirts. Most appeared to be retirees and they all seemed very excited to have us visit. Screw the Corona Virus, they are trying to convince ships to dock in Townsville rather than the larger, more popular Cairns (which is closer to the Barrier Reef). They rolled out the red carpet, literally.
The terminal was filled with comfortable chairs to use while using the free WIFI, along with more than a dozen artists and vendors selling their wares. Everyone was friendly and cheerful and prices were good. But, I just looked and headed to the shuttle bus. The bus was great and easy to get on and off which means a lot when almost half the passengers use a cane, walker or scooter.
After a short drive to the center of the downtown area I hopped off and looked for a "pink shirt lady" but didn't see any. Instead I saw Michael - a guy wearing a blue shirt and a name tag. I asked about the ladies since I'd been told they'd be meeting our bus to give directions. Michael laughed and said "Oh, they forget about us Blue Shirt Boys!" And sure enough, as I looked around I realized that the male counterparts of the ladies at the port were here to help.
Michael pointed to a place where I could join the line waiting for another shuttle bus to the aquarium. After a brief wait I snagged the last seat on the small free bus. On the way to the aquarium the driver gave us information about the town of 200,000 people. A town who relies on mining, cattle and a large military base and to a smaller extent, tourism.
Most of us got off at the aquarium. Some opted to head back downtown. It actually was walkable, just a couple of miles but given the heat I was happy for the bus.
The aquarium was lovely. Older and not as large as many I've been to (Atlanta comes to mind) but it wasn't too crowded, had a lot of volunteers and staff members to answer questions. The best part, from my perspective, was that there were a lot of places to just sit and watch the fish. Most of the other visitors were from the ship so it was a bit like a private tour.
I spent a couple of hours alternating wandering around and reading about the different fish and just sitting and watching the fish.
I went out to catch the shuttle to the shuttle and waited. A bus pulled up and I was hopeful but it was a HAL shore excursion arriving. I timed my trip perfectly.
After about 15 minutes the driver of the bus walked up and said hello. I told him I was considering hijacking his bus to get a ride back to the ship. By then there were about a dozen of us waiting. He stepped away and pulled out his phone. A minute later he came back, apologized for our wait and said a bus was on it's way. A few minutes later the small bus arrived to take us back downtown to catch the large bus back to the ship.
I really wanted a haircut but I know hard it can be to get a seat on the last few shuttles back to the ship and didn't want to risk it. Instead, I went back and did a bit of window shopping in the port terminal. I ended up paying $20 AUS for a reversible hat. I even got to take a photo of the lovely woman who made it.
Bottom line, Townsville wins the prize for nicest, easiest to navigate port and friendliest locals. Everyone I spoke with was friendly and helpful and seemed genuinely pleased to have us there. It was a lovely little town and the views as we sailed away were stunning. This is someplace I'd like to come back and spend some time. Plus, I checked housing prices and it looks affordable to live there. Always looking for options for places to spend a few months.
And now, here is where the photos should be. Yes, they had WIFI in the port but all seats were taken by other passengers and crew. And it's way more important for crew to be able to catch up with family when we're in port. Patience is a virtue. I'm not so virtuous.
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