Meeting up with old friends.

Well unfortunately snorkelling never took place on Magnetic Island due to extremely bad algae in the entire area. We enjoyed a lovely pub dinner overlooking Horseshoe Bay and a most magnificent sunset. We returned to Townsville Saturday afternoon on the vehicle ferry, then on to Bluewater Caravan Park where we had left the caravan. Here we met up with Brian and Joan, caravanning friends for many years. Understandably the next 3 days were taken up with a lot of catching up over many cuppa's.
They are heading south, so we went our separate ways on Tuesday morning. We travelled north to Ingham, then out to Lucinda on the coast. Lucinda's main claim to fame is for the sugar loading facility. A sugar conveying jetty extends 5.7km (yes 5.7km) out to sea with an offshore loading facility. The conveying jetty follows the curvature of the earth and is the longest of its kind in the world. Good fishing is supposedly possible from the adjoining service jetty, but not for us. - say no more. However almost every camper in the caravan park has a boat of some sort and they seem to do very well in the Hinchenbrook channel and offshore. Tempting as it may have been, I resisted the urge to put the Zodiac inflatable in, having seen the signs posted at regular intervals along the beach and boat ramps in the many inlets, warning of the danger of crocodiles. Fish and chips from the corner store will have to suffice. Lucinda which is 27km from Ingham, boasts little more than the suga!
r loading facility, a small corner store which sells more fishing gear than anything else and the caravan park. The majority of caravanners here come from all over the country and spend 4 to 5 months here - hence the many tinnies and assorted small boats.
Lucinda is considered to be the southern gateway to Hinchenbrook Island and sits at the southern end of the Hinchenbrook Channel.
Tomorrow we move on after 3 delightful days here.
Kevin and Gail.