Saunders Beach

Loading a cane train.

Wed 6^th – Thurs 7^th Aug 

We took a chance and went towards the coast near Townsville and ended up on a dead end road with a tiny camping area with toilets and an outdoor shower. It didn’t take long for Mick and the bloke next door long to commandeer a rake from a council truck that was working in the area and they raked up all the leaves that were around or sites. We backed into a space with thick bush and vines behind us. In front was a small clear area and up a slight slope from that were a couple of picnic shelters with tables and a barbecue in each. Beside them was a sea wall and a huge expansive beach with a river feeding in from one side. It was a lovely spot, with the slight rise to the sea wall and the she oaks and other trees along the edge blocking the stiff breeze from our camp site.  At the end of the area was a lawn area and dotted on that were lots of native food bushes that have been planted there and labelled. Like Taylors Beach, there were lots of sand bars going out into the bay and people fishing from them. The sun shone brightly all day and recharged our batteries fully.

The next morning a few vans went out, but there was a queue of new vans waiting to come in. You have to be there bright and early if you want to go in the free camps along the beaches. I can’t believe that in our capitalist society that they still exist. They are certainly popular. Nevertheless, when you go past commercial caravan parks at this time of year there are plenty of campers in them too. For the two days we stayed I spent a lot of time reading and sewing and Mick met everybody and checked out their vans. We took advantage of the driftwood on the beach and lit the pig to cook our dinner. We also burnt some of the coconut husks in it and they caused clouds of black smoke to come out of the chimney and straight into the back window of the van beside us. I think it was a good thing that we left early the next day.