Gumboots in XXXXXXL ....

The alarm clock rang at 5:00 am because I wanted to see what the sunrise looks like here on the East Coast ... Unfortunately, clouds on the horizon prevented the classic sunrise that you imagine at the beach. But I don't want to feel like I woke up in vain, so here's one of the photos.

Today I drove about 230 kilometers from Mission Beach to Townsville. Along the way, I only made one stop to see an 8 meter high gumboot in the town of Tully ...

This is about the competition among the three rival cities Tully, Babinda, and Innisfall for the highest annual rainfall. Due to the monsoon-like rains and cyclones that occur here in the tropics, a considerable amount of water accumulates in the area over the year. Tully alone has around 150 rainy days per year. According to legend, the race between the three places became a race between two when the rain gauge in Innisfall was moved from the local toilet to another location and the 'rainfall' suddenly decreased noticeably ...

Tully won the race because in 1950 the rainfall amount was 7.93 meters. In response, the residents of the city donated the 8-meter-tall gumboot, which has been standing prominently in Tully since 2003.

That was the most exciting thing that happened on this day. I will be staying in Townsville for two days because I want to take a full-day trip to the nearby island of Magnetic Island. Tickets for the ferry and the bus shuttle on the island were quickly purchased, so I had some time to explore Townsville. I don't think it's a beautiful city, but in the middle of the city, there is a big granite rock from which you have a good view of the area. And from a distance, the town actually looks quite nice ...

In the background, you can see Magnetic Island, my day trip destination tomorrow.

Originally, I wanted to explore the island with my own car because there is also a car ferry, but it would have cost over 200 AUD, and it wasn't worth it to me. On the island, buses run between the attractions every 30-40 minutes, so I decided to go with that option and only pay 39 Australian dollars.