Another longer drive today for the boys along the coast of the Great barrier Reef towards the northern city of Cairns via Townsville.
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. Townsville is Australia’s largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a population of 173,815 as of the 2016 Australian census.[1] Considered the unofficial capital of North Queensland by locals, Townsville hosts a significant number of governmental, community and major business administrative offices for the northern half of the state.
It is in the dry tropics region of Queensland, adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef.
The city is also a major industrial centre, home to one of the world’s largest zinc refineries, a nickel refinery and many other similar activities. The Port of Townsville is also being expanded to allow much larger cargo ships from Asia and the world’s largest passenger ships to visit. It is an increasingly important port due to its proximity to Asia and major trading partners such as China.
Townsville made news in February 2019 when heavy rain caused major flood damage to Townsville
The coastline along to Townsville is called Whitsundays and this coastline is in an area of sub-tropical rainforests on the land side with the Great barrier reef and many coral islands on the seaside.
On arrival in Cairns the boys were greeted by the one and only Captain Cook…
who landed here for the first time in 1770 and went ashore to have a good look at this area.
(Andre thought Captain Cook has a rather strange german way of greeting visitors…)
Cairns is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia.
It is on the east coast of Far North Queensland. The city is the 5th-most-populous in Queensland and ranks 14th overall in Australia.
Cairns was founded in 1876 and named after William Wellington Cairns, Governor of Queensland from 1875 to 1877.
It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but declined when an easier route was discovered from Port Douglas.
It later developed into a railhead and major port for exporting sugar cane, gold and other metals, minerals and agricultural products from surrounding coastal areas and the Atherton Tableland region.
The population of the Cairns urban area at the 2016 Census was 144,787. Cairns is a popular tourist destination because of its tropical climateand access to both nearby tropical rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
The boys found a good motel to rest and had a great meal on the esplanade in Cairns.
