After staying our first night in Townsville it was time to catch up on a bit of shopping and the plan was to end our day at the top of Castle Hill.
Townsville is the last place we are staying at for our Outback Queensland Road Trip.
Castle Hill has the Castle Hill Lookout and the whole area is heritage listed as well.
Castle Hill can be seen pretty much from anywhere in the city and it is pink granite monolith which makes it pretty unique and special too.
The views you get from the top are amazing, and at sunset Castle Hill didn’t disappoint us at all.
You can read more about Castle Hill and see more of he views from the lookout below.
The day started later than usual with the kids sleeping in until 8am, which was great!
As I said above today was a shopping day, so the plan was this morning for two of us to head to a local barber while the rest of the family is at Stockland Townsville.
As we live in the country it is good to see a big shopping centre every now and then.
Find a Barber in Townsville
I had planned a little before we left for our outback trip looking at barbers around Townsville.
My first look was at The Bearded Chap website first to see who stocks their products up here for a start.
I settled on Gentleman Jones and sent a text through to see if we need an appointment as per their website, no reply.
No wonder as they were busy!
So I dropped off the family at Stockland Townsville for the morning and headed off for a haircut and a beard trim.
Gentleman Jones Barber Shop & Whiskey Bar as the name suggests is a barber shop where you can get a haircut and a drink if you want as well.
First impressions are good and the staff are cheerful too.
There is plenty to look at if you are waiting and there are lots of old toys for the kids too if they are getting a haircut with you.
The barber chairs are over 100 years old, there is a pool table out the back, and there is plenty of good music too.
So I’d recommend heading into Gentleman Jones if you are holidaying in Townsville, and even if you live here too.
So after getting our ears lowered we headed back to meet up with the rest of the family in Stockland.
Off to Stockland and Castle Town!
Stockland is the biggest shopping centre in Townsville.
Also, from the last time I was here for work they own the smaller shopping centre across the road now too with Kmart and Coles in it.
I also caught up with one of my old customers / friends in the Healthy Life Townsville store in Stockland too.
So if you need to stock up on health food, protein powders or supplements , Paul and Jo in Healthy Life Townsville are the people to see!
After shopping it was time to head back to Rowes Caravan Park for a late lunch.
Then we headed to Castle Town Shopping Centre for the rest of the afternoon.
Castle Hill Lookout
After being shopped out it was time to head up to Castle Hill Lookout to catch the famous Townsville sunset.
The road to the top is not wide at all, so if you have another car coming the other way you have to slow down and pull over hard to the left.
There are plenty of car parks up there too, it wasn’t a problem getting one.
Are there walking tracks to do on Castle Hill?
Yes there are a few walking track as you can see above on the sign.
We only had time to do a few after sunset, luck we had taken torches!
You lookout over Townsville and the Hervey Ranges, and on the other side is the views of the Port, The Ville Casino, the beaches, the Strand, our caravan park, and of course, Magnetic Island.
The views up there are amazing as you can in the below Youtube Video I took.
There are old WW2 bunkers up on Castle Hill too, these were installed in the early 1940s.
If you are up on Castle Hill Lookout on dusk, make sure you have some insect spray handy.
The mosquitoes were ruthless for about 20 minutes or so!
We were up there until it was well after dark and walked a few more of the tracks which included one out to a WW2 bunker.
The drive down from Castle Hill Lookout wasn’t too bad in the dark either, just in case you end up there after sunset.
You have to watch out for people walking up and down Castle Hill as well.
This just adds to the experience of the skinny road and cars heading both ways.
The walkers aren’t shy in walking two or more abreast too so you have to go around them.
If you are holidaying in Townsville make sure to check out Castle Hill and the lookout too!
Drive By The Strand and Kissing Point
We did a quick drive through The Strand on the way back to the caravan park and the night markets were on there too.
There were plenty of cars cruising at night.
We passed Kissing Point on the way back to Rowes Bay Beachfront Holiday Park.
The renovations they have done to the whole of Kissing Point look amazing!
We are already looking forward to exploring this area tomorrow.
We finally made it back to the caravan park and had a quick dinner, showered, and hit the sack ready for walking and exploring more of Townsville tomorrow.
Liked reading this?
Head to Day 14 here, Outback Queensland Road Trip Day 14.
Or you can head back to the start of our trip here, Outback Queensland Road Trip.
What did we do or see today?
Gentlemen Jones Barber for a haircut and beard trim
Gentlemen Jones Barber
Shop 2 / 275 Charters Towers Rd
Townsville City Qld 4812
P 0448 878 953
Stockland Townsville
310-330 Ross River Rd,
Aitkenvale Qld 4814
P 07 4779 6033
Castle Hill Shopping Centre
Woolcock St & Kings Rd
Hyde Park Qld 4812
Castle Hill Lookout
Castle Hill Qld 4810
Where did we stay in Townsville?
Rowes Bay Beachfront Holiday Park
46 Heatleys Parade
Belgian Gardens Qld 4810
P 1800 751 845
Liked reading this?
Head to Day 14 here, Outback Queensland Road Trip Day 14.
Or you can head back to the start of our trip here, Outback Queensland Road Trip.
