Townsville & Maggie: let’s do the lap!
(Blog curated my Mardi Speakman )
After our great experience in the chillaxed town of Airlie Beach, we were keen to journey on to Townsville to enjoy some more of that natural beauty North Queensland had on offer.
Prior to arriving, Ben had locked in nine days of school holiday incursion bookings for twelve schools. A few days after we arrived, I started to miss painting, so I decided to run a small free ad on Facebook Marketplace. The response was good and I was contacted by a few potential clients to discuss their commissions.
Lovely Belinda & Steve from Alligators Creek were my first clients. Their brief was to create an Anzac memorial mural on a 12m-long shipping container. By the time we left, they were affectionately known as “Uncle Steve & Aunty Belinda” purely because of their open-hearted hospitality and generosity.
When we arrived for a site inspection, there was a big group of burly blokes drinking beers on the verandah with their Harley-Davidsons parked out front. Now you know the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”, well…I learnt this lesson pretty quickly as all the guys couldn’t have been nicer, welcoming us with genuine hospitality and kindness over a few coldies and captivating us with their personal stories.
Turns out they were all veterans, deeply connected to each other by their past experiences. Not all of them resided there but without fail, they gathered together as a daily source of collective emotional support and commaradary. Sadly, most of them suffered such extreme PTSD they tended to avoid crowded places and felt more comfortable inside the house. The house was also filled with animals, at least 5 dogs, 4 parrots ( macaws, in two separate, very large inclusions), lizards and a large turtle (the last two in a tank). They made us feel so at home and despite my reluctance to paint on corrugated surfaces, I accepted the job.
My design included a soldier, a military helicopter and a husky assistance dog. It was explained to me that red poppies commemorate soldiers lost at war and purple poppies are to remember their dogs. I managed to incorporate both into the design and was able to transform the lifeless shipping container to one of a bright and meaningful story. A story that will hopefully last a lifetime and they can continue to enjoy together, as mates.
After a day’s struggle attempting to prime the surface with my temperamental spray gun, what should have taken an hour took the whole day. And then there was the rain. These little delays are gentle reminders that along with my paint and brushes, patience is also an essential tool in every artist’s tool kit. You just gotta go with the flow sometimes, especially on the road and painting under Mother Nature’s daily rain & wind schedule.
We took advantage of the unexpected rainfall and bonded with the group of residents who had spent most of the afternoon watching us struggle and felt sorry for us.
I felt an ethical dilemma by drinking and bonding this much with a client, little did I know most clients on this journey would turn into amazing friends. That was the first time I had questioned myself whether to draw a line or just go with the flow. And with the flow we went!
The guys shared their pets, their stories..and their amazing food (two of the veterans were chefs by trade). They generously invited us to stay longer as we could park and camp on their property - which we did for a couple of days.
One of the veterans was responsible for the local wildlife rescue service. He gifted me a bag full of parrot feathers after I had mentioned I’d like a feather belonging to a black cockatoo. So unexpected! I’ve now got a gorgeous collection of 15, what a gift! Another lovely gift was a vintage book explaining colour terminology, so precious, it nearly made me cry to receive such a thoughtful rare read.
On the final day of the shipping container job, another veteran rocked up with his 4WD and caravan. He had a little assistant dog, Chuckles, and asked me to paint him on his caravan. I explained that I didn’t have much experience but we eventually decided to give it a go. The painting came out well but then he decided to put clear vinyl over it. When the people that provided the service came, they needed to put some soap over the painting to be able to position the vinyl well. Unfortunately it affected my painting to the point that the final solution was to take a good photo and do a vinyl copy of the painting instead. You might just spot this caravan travelling around Australia, as Kim travels with his faithful companion Chuckles, both loving life on the road.
The beauty of living a nomadic lifestyle is meeting folks along the way who quickly transition to lifelong friends. Some clients, some not. I’m friends on Facebook with most of my Townsville connections including lovely Belinda.
Belinda was suffering a terrible foot injury and awaiting surgery while we were there. In spite of that, she was really lovely and welcoming and continues to regularly support our journey via social media. Her generosity continued via a donation to the Black Dog Charity when she heard about my collaboration with the charity. Steve and Belinda are like human pillars to the veterans, comforting with their nurturing nature and words of wisdom.
By now, Ben’s school bookings were done and dusted and my two murals complete so it was time to head over to “Maggie” (Magnetic Island) for a well-earned break. Once aboard the ferry, I finally received a response from the Xbase backpackers who I had tried to contact a week prior to see if they wanted a mural exchange, like we did in Airlie Beach. “Island-time” took them a little time to respond :)
They wanted a mural situated across from their main desk. The wall was rusted corrugated iron and desperately needed transformation. I noticed some colourful pineapples in their posters around the venue so I used that as inspiration. They seriously own the most beautiful backpackers accommodation in the most stunning location in Australia! Zen had a blast meeting all the backpackers and training them to throw things for him. He’s really into blonde girls and there wasn’t a shortage there. The management covered all fees from our ferry transport to all property amenities and half priced food and drinks. Not a bad deal at all!
“Maggie” was really busy and it was nearly impossible to get a table anywhere without a booking. Situated on the beach of the backpackers, we tried to take some family photos together to share the news to our friends and family that we were committed to the whole lap of Australia. At this point we didn’t have much of a plan other than to work with those schools, visit Cairns and go back to the east coast for some guaranteed work, if needed. The idea was in our heads for days, but the relaxation on Magnetic Island sparked the dream to see many more new places like that.. we discussed it and couldn’t find a downside. Plus if we don’t do it now, when? It was a no-brainer.
The natural beauty of Magnetic Island cannot be put into words. We loved the bush hikes and enjoyed the water that wasn’t too cold. To indulge a little longer, we extended our ticket by two days in what finally felt like a proper holiday since we left Brissie.
Some friends we met in Brisbane through the circus community, Shaz & Jack moved to Townsville for work and had a baby not long before we arrived. When they saw on social media that we were nearby, they messaged us to catch up. We hung out with them for a couple of dinners at their home in Townsville and insisted they join us on “Maggie”. This was their first family outing since the bub arrived and they happily accepted our offer. For two days we had an amazing time on the island together and it was nice their parents also came along for some family fun. Baby Arlo’s first time on the sand was very special.
A little broken hearted, we rode the ferry back to the mainland. We really wished we could stay longer but we knew more adventures awaited us. I couldn’t wait to see Cairns and our first crocodile.. and excited about experiencing more of Australia’s natural splendour.
Our next stop I had in mind was Mission Beach. Not sure why it ended up on my list but we were keen to find out. FINALLY, the weather was hot and humid and it was so nice to feel that warmth on the skin. Mission Beach has a lovely street full of cafes, art galleries and a nice beach full of cloud-touching palm trees. A stunning view across the coast where you can see the rainforest meeting the ocean. We explored a few swimming holes and beaches in complete awe of the area. Next to Cairns through to the Tablelands, I didn’t know there would be so much more tropical beauty between Townsville and Cairns.
One thing’s for sure, this journey continues to inspire me. From the colourful landscape to the colourful characters and sweet souls who cross our paths.
Our Fav’s in Townsville:
Daily strolls along the esplanade
Check out the delicious Watermark Hotel - if your a fan of creme brulee, you’ll thank me 😉
Cool day trip to Litte Crystal Creek, a beautiful swimming hole near town
Free van accommodation - check out the rest area near the petrol station
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