This  cute little town north of Brisbane is known as a  major gateway to the Great Barrier Reef , Wet Tropics and the Queensland out back.

We were invited to my daughters god daughter’s birthday and as I had never been to Townsville before it was a good excuse to gate crash the party. We arrived on Friday night and checked into Quest Townsville Hotel ( we booked a wotif mystery deals) The receptionist was super nice , offering local info, and more importantly a voucher for free ice cream at the nearby Ben and Jerry’s. The town itself is very pretty with lots of Federation-style architecture, alfresco dining, boutique shopping and beautiful Queenslander houses. The waterfront  cafes are great for snacks and cold drinks during a shopping trip, and later on a great place to watch the sunset, or have an evening picnic with local fish n chips  on the grass right on the water’s edge.

Saturday morning we stopped into JAM on Palmer street for fresh orange juice and lattes while we waited for our take-away breakfast rolls. At 8am it was already busy but the good news is it opens every day till evening serving delicious regional cuisine.

Townsville is also  Australia’s  largest garrison town for Australia Defence Force bases, and for anyone who likes military history there is lot’s to explore too.

All to soon we have to fly back to Brisbane, tired but happy after a wonderful party but promising to return again soon.