Not far down south of Cairns, lies the city of Townsville. The gateway to the wet tropics and the Great Barrier Reef. If you are travelling up north, Townsville is a great place to stop and explore. There are a few options, you can stroll along the Strand and explore the city; spend a day at Magnetic Island; or hike up Castle Hill to enjoy the great view to the whole of Townsville and its shoreline!
We arrived in Townsville late in the afternoon, so we decided to explore Castle Hill to catch the sunset. Normally, mountains tend to be far away from urban developments, but here it is minutes away from your door step, right in the city.
We hiked the Cudtheringa track which starts at the car park on Castle Hill Road. Once you entered Castle Hill Road going up, look out for the car park on the right side of the road, as it is very easy to travel passed it and the road is quite narrow to make a U turn. Cudtheringa track is a 2.5km return track with lots of stairs going up. There are not many tall trees along the track, so you will always have a great view. If you don't get along well with stairs, you can also walk along Castle Hill Road which is a 5.2 return track that also takes you the the top, which is the Castle Hill Lookout.
People in Townsville seems to be quite physically active, as you could see this sign everywhere along the track and in the city, also the track was filled with runners and joggers from when we started all the way to when we finished! Altough the track is pretty much going uphill all the way, we don't have much to complain as we were never short of awesome sceneries. Some sections of the track is quite sandy, so make sure you wear good gripping shoes. Once you finish walking up the final sets of stairs, you will join back onto Castle Hill Road for a last few meters before reaching the top.
We were greeted by a magnificent sunset and a 360 degree view at the top of Castle Hill Lookout. It was such a great way to finish the day after a very long drive. With a direct view to Magnetic Island across the water, The Strand underneath and the other half of Townsville city and the mountain further inland as the back drop, what more can one ask for? We spend about an hour walking along the top,before heading back down along the Castle Hill Road. It took a bit longer walking back down as it winds along the mountain, but it is bitumen road all the way back to the carpark. You do have a be careful though, as you are sharing the road with cars travelling up and down the mountain.
Overall, Townsville was a great city to explore. If you ever stop at Townsville, I hope you do enjoy your stay! Happy exploring!
