The first week in any unknown location is an adventure. The first thing that my friends and I did was go to the beach. The beach in Townsville is called The Strand. The Strand is a man made beach and is currently unswimmable. The reason The Strand is unswimmable is because there was currently major flooding in Townsville and the water is contaminated. This means there is most likely human shit in the water. As if that wasn't enough to deter swimmers from the water, Australia, especially Townsville, is known for deathly jellyfish. It is currently stinger season in Australia and there is two deadly jellyfish in the water, the box jelly and Irukandji. Although Australia usually has nets up to protect from the box jellies, the Irukandji is so small, the nets do little to prevent them from floating into the swimming area. The synthetic beach is not much better than the deadly waters. The sand was imported from another area in Australia and is extremely dirty. You walk away from the beach with a layer of sand dirt stuck to your skin. The bus system in Townsville is not much better than the beaches. To many times, the bus just doesn't show up. The bus is unreliable, over priced and not very convenient. The ride from JCU to the Strand should be about 20 min. On the bus is an easy 3 hours. Mot days, when my friends and I were not on the first beaches, we were at the clubs downtown. The clubs are all congregated on one street called Flinders. The clubs in Townsville are similar to all the other clubs in the world. However, there are a few differences between clubs in America and Australia. For one there are the men. In America, men will literally grab you and pull you towards them. They have no qualms nor do they hesitate to make a move. The men in Australia are much different. They approach you slowly and then they gingerly touch you with heir hand and it feels like a bug you can't get rid of. Then they continue to follow you around for the rest of the night despite your rejection. Honestly, when some dude came up to me for the first time, I thought he was trying to steal my shit. On top of this, men in Townsville currently believe the pornstache is attractive. The men in Australia wear their wispy pornstaches like the men in America wear their man buns. I'm also convinced the clubs here water down their liquor. Every drink I get at the club sobers me up rather than adds to my buzz. I shortly learned that Townsville has a reputation in Australia for being know as behind the times and boring.
Despite all of negative qualities Townsville has, Townsville is next to one of the prettiest islands I have ever been on. This island is called Magnetic Island. Magnetic Island is a short 20 minute ferry ride from Townsville and has some of the most secluded and prettiest beaches in North Queensland. Sabrina, Emory, and I all took a day trip to Magnetic Island and we had the best time. We ate fish and chips on the beac, got a toasty tan, was buzzed for most of the day, and took some bomb ass pictures.
Despite my complaining, Australia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I am planning multiple trips down the coast. I want to take a week off and visit Brisbane, The Gold Coast, Bondi Beach, Sydney, and Melbourne. Luckily, the Greyhound bus tickets are extremely cheap and are very convenient. Also they are not as sketchy as the Greyhound in America. I also plan to go up to Cairns and take a day trip scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reefs. Australia is beautiful and I can't wait to explore it.