Bowen to Townsvile
Heaps of roadwork on our trip down so we left early to ensure we got the rental car back on-time. Amazing to see the hectares of tomatoes growing right up to the highway on the outskirts of Bowen. Plenty of traffic & massive number of max speed changes. Generally not a lot to be seen on this section of our trip. An easy top-up of fuel across the road from 1300Meteor and very quick service on our return. No hassle with the condition of the vehicle and within10 minutes we are being driven to our hotel at no charge-same service attitude we received last year.
Grand Chancellor Townsville & Around Townsville
We opted to use our Amex annual travel credit for our 1 night stay. Booked a King Suite and at an effective $20 a night over the Waters Edge on the Strand, this was a far superior room. Early check-in was available and the level 6 room facing Flinders St was fine despite the building showing it’s age. All room facilities worked although the lighting was pretty dismal. Thought the shower was the best we experienced during our holiday & the included Wi-Fi worked well.
We didn’t have any plans for the day in Townsville- just popped across the road to the Cowboys Club for a few drinks & lunch & dinner. The club was much quieter than the 1st night of our trip. Both meals were very good club food & the schooners at $4 during happy hour were excellent value.
Check-out was seamless & they ordered a cab for us. Sun morning markets meant pick-up was from Ogden St-had to wait 20 min for a cab to arrive (Uber was on surge pricing and around 2X cab fare with several flights leaving around the same time)
Miracles happen & we had no hassles using the Qantas app to print our bag tags. Only 3 groups in the line in front of us for the drop off. No wait through security and no need for laptop removal from carry-on with the “new” scanners in use. The airport was much busier than our 2021 experience.
Burdekin River Bridge
One arm of water visible in this shot
Grand Chancellor
Room view
Mornay dish for lunch
I am not usually a pork belly person but this dish was tasty for night meal