Townsville …

With the Eungella Honeyeater ticked off, the next step of the journey was to pick up young Mark at Townsville Airport.

Once again, our campsite was chosen for its convenient location and not given the attention it deserved. Alligator Creek is 25km south of Townsville in the Mount Elliot section of Bowling Green Bay National Park. The park covers just under 58,000 hectares ranging from mangroves on the coast to rainforest on the mountain tops. It includes some significant wetlands. It is home to some very interesting creatures including the Estuarine Crocodile although it might be better to encounter an Allied Rock Wallaby or a  Rufous Bettong. An overnight stay just doesn’t do it justice. Camping needs to be booked online. Facilities include showers and toilets and a picnic shelter or two, very pleasant.

As we arrived we discovered that there is a gate some ways from the camp site that is closed from 6.30 pm until 6am. We were picking Mark up at 7.30 pm. This raised two obvious considerations. Firstly the car would have to be out of the area prior to 6.30. Secondly, Mark’s camping gear and food were in the vehicle and weighed a ton and therefore a moral dilemma. Should I take his gear out in the camp site and bask in the awareness of my great kindness or would it be more amusing to watch him carry it?

We set up tent. I took out Mark’s gear. And then we explored. One of the highlights was a pair of White-browed Robins occupying a territory near the campsite …

Then into town we went, the flight was on time and we were soon back at the gate. It was wide open, presumably the closure occurs only at busy times. On this occasion we were the only campers in the place.