SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER   MOUNT SURPRISE TO TOWNSVILLE   550kms

Today was a really long and hot day of driving. We continued east to the Kennedy Development Road, then south east to Charters Towers, then east again to Townsville. Back in ’98, we’d spent time at Charters Towers, so didn’t feel the need to stop there again.

Refuelled at the Lynd Junction Roadhouse – 97cpl.

The Kennedy Development Road was still a single strip of bitumen, but being Sunday we did not meet much oncoming traffic on it.

Booked into the Rowes Bay Caravan Park, in Townsville – chosen because it was across a road from the beach. It was $20 a night, but with the 7th night free.

The park was a mix of tourist and permanent sites, which were all fairly small. There was quite a backpacker presence there, but it was adequate for our needs.