The Shopping Bus Tour

Kay has been busy planning a unique shopping experience for the SCQ Retreat Townsville 2012 Monday 2^nd July 2012. The Shopping Bus Trip will take in, not only FNQ patchwork shops, but the gorgeous vista of outback Queensland.

Last year's SCQ Expedition through the highlands!

How can we manage this?  Kay resides in nearby Charters Towers, where we will rest up from our retail extravaganza, for lunch. After lunch Kay has organised for us to be treated to a tour extraordinaire of this fascinating town by an amazing local tour guide.

Charters Towers is a montage of Australian heritage, and once the second largest city in Queensland, it is as rich in history as it is in gold.

Charters Towers  promises gold, greed, ghosts and grandeur.  Indeed this is a destination that deserves more than a day.

And to recover from all this action there will be further opportunity for patchwork related retail on the return trip to Townsville.

Kay relaxing after all that hard work organising the tour!

What else can I do in Townsville?

‘What can I do in the city precincts?’  

We mentioned stuff to do if you are making a holiday of your time in FNQ (that's Tropical Speak for Far North Queensland) and want to visit the regional precincts.  But what if you are flying in and flying out of Townsville for a quick, fabulous laid back, relaxing retreat weekend?  The question you are probably asking yourself is: ‘What can I do in the city precincts?’ Heaps!

www.freedigitalphotos.net

Flinders Street Central is the traditional heart of Townsville, with a variety of retail shops and especially hosts the award winning Cotters Markets, every Sunday morning.

Flinders Street East is a mix of restaurants, nightclubs, pubs and wine bars if this is what you are seeking.

Palmer Street is located on the South Bank of the Ross River, and is the premium eat street with award winning international cuisine: Indian; Asian; Italian; Greek; French; Mexican; modern Australian and of course locally-caught seafood. It also offers gorgeous views across the Ross Marina.

The Strand is a spectacular waterfront promenade, perfect for those wanting to soak up the laid back tropical atmosphere. This 2.2km palm tree studded stretch is adorned with bike and walkway paths, safe swimming beaches, picturesque picnic spots, a water park and chic restaurants and bars with breath taking views, great way to start your day for breakfast.  Here's a list of 10 Things To Do On The Strand

Gregory Street adjoins The Strand and offers a cosmopolitan village atmosphere with boutique shopping, open air cafe dining great for coffee. I had the best ice-cream ever here, while there in May scoping this retreat!

These were mentioned before as city sights and are not to be missed:

Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium

Museum of Tropical Queensland

Castle Hill

If you are really fit and want a good workout this walk is for you.  Alternatively, hire a cab and take in the gorgeous views from the top of Castle Hill at your leisure. It is not to be missed!

Thursday night dinner

Thursday night Dinner

Aqua Restaurant

http://www.jupiterstownsville.com.au/Dining-Aqua.htm

You are invited to join us for dinner Thursday 28^th June 2012 at Aqua. This is on the ground floor of Jupiters and is renowned for seafood. A full menu is available including scrumptious desserts.

We will gather bookings from you closer to the date.

More about our venue.....

Lots of retreaters have been asking about the venue so here is a little précis of our current plans. Things can change due to unforeseeable circumstances and we will keep you posted as needed.

Retreat Registration will be Friday afternoon at Jupiters Townsville Hotel. We have access to the ballroom from 2pm to gather, plan and play together. We will dine there that night.

This luxurious hotel offers modern accommodation and a lagoon-style pool along with views of Coral Sea and Magnetic Island in Townsville. It is less than 10 minutes’ walk to Reef Aquarium a wonderful venue to visit.

Jupiter's Townsville

On Saturday and Sunday we will stroll through Jupiter’s lagoon garden to the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre (seen to the right in the above photo) for our workshops, sit and sew, lunch and relaxation.

We will be using only a small part of the TECC; the Palm Room located overlooking the palms seen to the right in the photo below. We will access workshop rooms as required.

We will take Refreshment breaks in the Queensland Foyer

The Queensland Foyer overlooks the expansive Palm Lawn and out over the Coral Sea. It is the main entry and exit point for guests.

Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre

Tropical flexible functional

…the answer in one stunning location

Saturday night dinner is still in the planning. A surprise, so watch this space for what we hope will be something very special.

Townsville Tourism

There is so much to see and do around Townsville - start planning your trip now.  We have added a Page Tab above with links to everything Tourism, so you can come back later.  In the meantime - pull up a chair, grab a cuppa and go on a tropical journey....

http://townsvilleenterprise.com.au/Visit.aspx
CITY SIGHTS TO VISIT:

Castle Hill is a red rock monolith in the heart of Townsville offering panoramic views and a slice of military history.  A must to drive or walk up.

Billabong Sanctuary 









Reef HQ Great Barrier Reef Aquarium

Museum of Tropical Queensland

Townsville Fishing Charters

Barrier Reef Dive & Cruise

Botanical Gardens

Hervey's Range Heritage Tea Rooms 

Galleries of Townsville  :
www.townsville-artists.com
www.sunzine.com.au/townsville


REGIONAL PRECINCTS:

The majestic rainforest township of Paluma is located approximately 70km north of Townsville, nestled in the Paluma Range National Park at the southernmost end of the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Paluma is famous for its lush tropical rainforest, scenic lake, walking tracks, spectacular lookouts, creeks and swimming holes. An abundance of native flora and fauna, cool mountain climate and convenient lack of mobile phone coverage makes the Paluma region the perfect weekend escape. Travelling past Paluma through the Eucalyptus Grandis forest will take you to the small community of Hidden Valley, which by contrast to Paluma is set in a charming rustic bush setting.

Magnetic Island is a world heritage listed tropical island paradise.   It is separated from the mainland by an 8km stretch of water across Cleveland Bay.  Magnetic Island, better known as ‘Maggie’ to the locals, offers superb walking tracks for visitors and residents which weave through lush bushland with magnificent views of the coast. It is nestled in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and is two-thirds protected national park.

The Northern Beaches stretch 60 km north of the city. Bushland, Saunders, Toolakea, Toomulla and Balgal beaches, estuaries and adjacent seas are an angler’s paradise. There is accommodation to suit every budget from high quality caravan parks to units and camping.

FURTHER AFIELD:

The Burdekin - Ayr

Ravenswood

Hinchinbrook

Mission Beach 

Great Tropical Drive

Accommodation Options - Caravan Parks

Our Research Department has come up with some accommodation options:

Heading to Queensland

Beachfront:

Central  Rowes Bay  07 4771 3576   www.rowesbaycp.com.au

South:

Magnetic Gateway Holiday Village 07 4778 2412

North:

Big 4 Townsville Woodlands Holiday Park - 548 Bruce HWY 07 4751 6955

Coconut Glen Van Village - 910 Ingham Rd   www.coconutglen.com  07 4774 5101

Coral Coast Tourist Park -  547 Ingham Rd Garbutt  07 4774 5205

West:

Range Caravan Park 07 4773 2419 Herveys Range Rd. e: rangevanpark@bigpond.com  

[Quilters shop onsite]

Central:

The Lakes Holiday Park - Cnr Hugh and Woolcock Sts Currajong 07 4725 1577

Walkabout Palms – 6 University Rd  07 4778 2480

Welcome!

Welcome to our Blog: Southern Cross Quilters Retreat Townsville 2012 in the beautiful tropics of North Queensland.  Winter is when we know why we live in North Queensland. We would like to invite you to join us to experience it too.  Come along, enjoy your favourite obsession, catch up with old friends, make new ones, relax and just take it easy enjoying our tropical lifestyle.

Townsville is the largest city in North Queensland and is one of the fastest growing cities in the state with a population of more than 185,000.  It is characterized by its relaxed tropical lifestyle which is enhanced by the beauty and charms of the city’s surrounds. These include a myriad of experiences from the awe-inspiring Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage Wet Tropics to the dirt and dust of the Australian outback.  We hope to you give you a taste of some of these experiences during the retreat…. but more about that later.

What do you need to do right now? Click on the tab above for your EOI form.  Print it and send it off with your $15 deposit.

Wanting to book your accommodation?  Click on the Accommodation tab above for details on the venue and how to book

What will the retreat offer?   All the usual good things:  workshops;  challenges;  Angels & Mortals, siggy squares;  dinners;  trips and entertainment.  We will post about these over the next few weeks.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to winter warmth in June/July 2012.


SCQ Townsville 2012 Committee