Townsville is where I began my east coast adventures and what a perfect place to begin.

It started with my 17 hour bus journey from Barkly that got me in to Townsville early Wednesday morning. Instantly I was so happy to see civilisation. It felt like I’d been locked away from reality and I was only at the roadhouse for a week, imagine if I’d have lasted 3 months!

I headed straight for my hostel where they allowed me to check in early which was good. The hostel was nice, a very fancy place and almost like a hotel. Loved seeing a rooftop pool to chill at.

I wasn’t sure what was in Townsville so I had no expectations on what to do there but of what I saw when coming in to the place I knew I would like it. The first thing I noticed was how much the place looked like LA with the fancy houses and the hills. I noticed the big hill right in the centre of the town and it was hard to miss! Later that day I found out that this is actually a few feet short of a mountain and anyone can climb it!

So I wandered the streets for a few hours, stocked up on stamps, sorted out my bank account and then prepared to begin the Castle Hill walk. I’d been told it would take an hour and that I should tackle the goat trail. So I set off just before sunset in order to catch that when I hit the top and I’m so glad I put on my walking shoes and brought my water bottle! There was times I didn’t think i would make it to the top! It was still walm that late in the day, around 28 degrees and the heat really took it out of me. There were a fair few people doing the walk with me and they were all out of breath too so I’m glad I wasn’t the only one. It was so much harder than I was prepared for but also completely worth it. The views from the top were epic! I got to see the sunset and the beautiful skyline.

This is one of the best things I’ve done in Australia and even now a few days later I’m thinking about how pleased I am that I made it up the mini mountain. It was the hardest walk I’ve ever done and definitely a hidden gem that I didn’t expect.