We must be suckers for punishment, but we were awoken by the alarm at an hour that for us is considered early and headed into town to visit another market. Much to the dogs disgust, they were harnessed in, and are coming along for the ride today.

With no prior knowledge of what to expect, and given our recent fortunes in relation to the magnitude or lack thereof of the markets we’ve attended, we were excited to see that this one was of generous dimensions. It took up a good sized chunk of car park at one of the shopping malls, and featured a little bit of everything that you would expect of a market, all set up in orderly lines of canopy covered stalls. It was worth the early morning wake up call after all.

Traipsing up and down the aisles, we stopped to purchase a range of fresh produce. There’s nothing quite like buying fruit and vegetables direct from the farmer, with sweet smelling pineapples, huge hands of bananas, bright ruby red capsicums, giant watermelons among the huge range of produce available.

As the fruit and vegetable stalls made way for stalls full of bric-a-brac, and in turn cheap toys and then clothing, Bec found a stall selling some gorgeous tops. There was no fitting room at the stall however, and in an incredible display of what could be considered either good old fashioned country trustworthiness, or just plain stupidity, Bec was told to take as many tops as she wanted into the shopping centre bathrooms to try them on.

We could have just walked away with them, but as it turned out, Bec didn’t like one of the tops, so we had to go back to return that one anyway. We therefore figured we’d better pay for the one that she did like.

On our way again, there was another market that we had circled in the guidebook, but we never made it. Instead, passing a small park, we saw another series of market gazebos set up. We hadn’t read about any special events, so decided to stop for a gander and came across the Townsville Heritage Day. Spread out across a few sites, all within walking distance of each other, there was a park full of displays detailing the history of Townsville, with all of the local museums and historical clubs featuring their own stands. We arrived in just enough time to partake in a fascinating guided tour of the nearby cemetery. We learned about the custom for using red wax on the tomb stones to colour the lettering, the controversy that surrounded the mass burial of orphan (and therefore most likely bastard) children in the Christian section of the graveyard, not to mention seeing the resting place that belongs to one of the ringleaders of the great Townsville jetty conflict. Riveting. No really, it actually was quite interesting.

Tour of the graveyard.

In another park area, a short walk away, the National Trust Heritage precinct was holding an open day, whereby we got complementary entry into the two examples of early local homes they have on display. One would have been a veritable mansion in its day, and even now would make a comfortable, albeit compact family home. The other started life as a one room miners cottage, and has been extended over the years to feature 3 rooms, in which to house a family of four. Even when the family who lived here was eventually able to afford a wood burning stove to replace an open fire for cooking over, the stove had to remain outdoors, to lessen the fire risk inside the wooden structure.

Also in the grounds of the heritage centre was several stalls trading antiques and old wares, whilst down the street in the grounds of the church was a small fete. By the time we had browsed through all of the fun, it was too late for the second market that we had originally been heading for. Instead, we took a drive down the Strand, which is a waterfront area, looking across to Magnetic Island, and lined with cafes, restaurants and holiday apartments. As we drove along, it was the case that we nearly broke our necks as we cruised past a hitherto unknown about gelateria. Gelato is our newly acquired love, and we will be sure to return to try the delights that await us here. We wanted to take the dogs for a bit of a walk first though.

Promenading with the babies.

Being overcast today, the whole area probably wasn’t at its prettiest, but it was still nice to take a promenade along the foreshore with the dogs. They weren’t allowed on the beach, and due to the occurrence of stingers in the area, we wouldn’t have entered the chilly looking water anyway. There was a nice wide expanse of grass between the beach and the road for them to have a comfortable wander along instead.

With them exercised, it was time for us to return to the previously located gelateria to indulge ourselves in our new found passion. Treats of icy goodness, in the form of fresh made gelato. Produced here, on site every day, it was indelibly and unanimously declared to be the best we’ve had the pleasure of trying thus far.

New found passion. This is the life.

Enjoying our cups of gelato as we lounged by the foreshore, watching as passers by ambled their own paths, we considered that this is how life really ought to be. No need to rush. No need to complain. Just a serene series of interesting and ever changing vignettes of fun, day after day.

Back at the van, our relaxation continued, as we perused the weekend tabloids and caught up on the news of the wider world. In my relaxed, reflective state, I didn’t even allow myself to get frustrated at the fickle, unreliable Internet signal which caused all manner of technical issues as we tried to make a couple of Skype video calls to the folks back home. Although by that stage, a liberal dose of rum may have been partly responsible for helping me keep my cool.

Just a reminder too, if you want to see more photos of me, Bec, the dogs or just the places we’ve been, head on over to Flikr and check us out. Click here, or on the photo that appears at the bottom of our home page.

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.