Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Having landed The Visitors in downtown Bowen the obvious task for Day Two was to deliver a bit of orientation as to facilities and lifestyle. I wasn’t sure a predawn start on Hughesy’s morning walk was going to appeal, but indications the night before suggested it did, and instructions from The Supervisor meant that we weren’t going to do the whole thing in all its brisk walk entirety.
No, a leisurely stroll around an abbreviated version definitely seemed the way to go.
We weren’t out of the blocks as early as we might have been, but the designated leisurely stroll verged on the too leisurely as we returned to base around an hour and a half later to find The Supervisor on the verge of calling to establish our whereabouts. She had, after all, definite plans involving Zumba and didn’t want Visitors tired out by extended pursuit of Hughesy’s loping stride.
The perambulation up the hill, over the top past the Shell Servo and the Cenotaph and along Herbert Street was, however, conducted at a leisurely stroll, with frequent stops for photo opportunities in a townscape that has very little in common with what they’re familiar with. We looped around the bottom of the former movie set, stopped for an examination of the movie-related material behind the Sound Shell and wandered as far as the Catalina Memorial before heading back to the jetty.
We could, I suppose, have halted where the concrete runs out, or at the junction that provides access to the Bowen Towage tugs, but headed all the way out to the very end of the jetty for a panoramic view of the town, then headed back, turning back and venturing as far as the Skate Park before heading home.
A spot of breakfast, a visit to the Zumba class and relaxation after a change of clothes filled in the time until lunch, which was where the wheels temporarily fell off. We needed to book an excursion to Whitehaven through the local tourist information centre because they could use the commission. I had to call in to the post office as well, so dropping Hughesy there seemed the way to go. I figured by the time I’d hoofed it from the PO Box to the Front Beach the booking would be done and dusted, which would, in turn, mean we could head up to 360 on Flagstaff Hill before The Niece’s two o’clock appointment at the High School.
Things didn’t quite work out that way.
There was another option we’d failed to consider, and they’d waited for my opinion, the option we’d favoured wasn’t available and when we’d booked the alternative we headed off to 360 still confident we’d be finished lunch by, say, ten to two.
As things panned out, however, the kitchen ran out of something or other, the orders were slow getting through and while the responses to questions about progress seemed reassuring they weren’t followed by the actual appearance of meals, even after we’d been told they were plated up and ready to go.
As a result we ended up with takeaways for three-quarters of the party to consume after the visit to the High School.
Hughesy was never a starter for that side of things, and deposited the tucker on the counter in the kitchen servery after I’d been dropped off at the LHoC. Once I’d wolfed down my allocation of calamari and chips I headed to the cot on the presumption that repeated turning of the neck to look back and talk over the right shoulder had done something nasty to the neck muscles, and rest and recuperation was definitely indicated.
The High School visit, from what I gathered on the trio’s return, went well and was definitely interesting, particularly when it came to space and facilities for outdoor activities. Having sighted various schools on our travels around Japan that was much as expected, and was one of the reasons for slotting a school visit into the itinerary. After all the excitement and the late lunch it was a case of nibbles and a light snack rather than a substantial dinner. We were, after all, off to Montes for lunch in the morning…