July 7th: Townsville to Alligator Creek – 22.2 km
Day 267
After staying in Townsville for almost a week, we were both sad to leave and eager to get on the road again. We will definitely miss the quality conversations with our friends in Townsville, since most likely the conversations with fellow travelers on the road tend to be quick, basic and repetitive.
The weekend long ride left me longing for our good old-fashioned slow travel. A free rest area called Alligator Creek 22 km away looked perfect from the comments on WikiCamps – a free hot shower and a grassy camp site are all we need. At a leisurely pace we reached the destination and squeezed in between caravans to set up camp.
I was anxious about riding on the notorious Bruce Highway, but it turned out to be another false rumor to deter cyclists. Getting out of Townsville was a bit hairy since there were constructions on the road, but as soon as we were out of the city gravity it was smooth roads through glorious scenery. The traffic wasn’t exactly light but there was always a shoulder.
We were invited by our neighbors, a young couple from New Caledonia, to coffee. They managed to fit work into their traveling lifestyle, the girl being a teacher and writer and the guy being a cartoonist. As we chatted, Chopper got his first cartoon portrait done. Our neighbor on the other side was a true professional traveler who has been traveling and working around Australia since 16 years old. Chopper went over to check out his swag, and later we learned from him that a comet is passing by Mars and it is visible from the earth at midnight. It was normal that we get astronomical news from cowboys these days.