After 3 blustery, rainy days on the bike, I finally came across a nice one. A night at the Airlie Waterfront Backpackers and I awoke to unusually nice weather. Arriving after nightfall the evening prior, I had missed the incredible scenery that dominates this part of Queensland.

The postcard worthy beach view from my 2nd story loft put me in high spirits, as did a collector car show on the boardwalk just across the street. Hundreds of people gathered to see Dodge Chargers, Ford Mustangs, and a few more exotic rides from generations past.

Needing to get north, I loaded the Green Hornet, fueled up, and was off again on National Highway A1. I set a liesurely pace through the rolling hills of Central Queensland, and arrived in Townsville  with plenty of time to look around. This rocky coastal metropolis was fairly quiet, being a Sunday afternoon, but the Civic Guest House was bustling with 50+ travelers from all over the world.

I chatted up the House manager, Anne from Switzerland, about her experience and how they kept the place so clean. This hostel was easily the tidiest operation I have visited in quite some time.

The bike is running much better now, and I should mention that the issues from the previous days would have happened to any carburated bike that sat in a shipping container for nearly 3 months. Many lessons have been learned about what type of fuel to use in foreign countries.