Townsville Boat Ramps - Althaus/Deep Creek
Althaus/Deep Creek is one of the many small creeks to the North of Townsville. Being a small creek with easy access off Saunders Beach it is prone to over fishing. As a result, while there are fish in there, most are quite small. However, if you are looking for somewhere a little different to Ross River of the Bohle, it might just be worth a drive.
There are a total of 3 ramps located on this creek. But I have only photographed 2 so far. Why there are so many ramps on this system I will never know! Two are directly across the creek from each other, and the third is only 2min up stream.
I guess the ramp you chose will depend on proximity to you home base. Maybe saving you an extra few minutes in the car. But as far as quality goes, the ramp off Saunders Beach is definitely the pick of the three. Its good quality concrete with reasonable low tide usage. The carpark is gravel and there is a short section of gravel road on the way in. But with a small boat its easily used by any standard car. There are no other amenities at the ramp, but the Saunders Beach community is not far away. At the park you will find public toilets as well as BBQ's and seating.
To assess the Saunders Beach ramp simply drive North out of Townsville and follow the signs. Just as you enter the township there is a left turn to take onto boat ramp road.
To access the Purono Ramp drive past the Saunders Beach turn off and only a short distance along is Purono Parkway Rd. Take this turn and follow the road to the end. It will turn to dirt part way along, but other than a bit of corrugation its ok. Again there is nothing here other than a gravel parking area. This ramp is again a good quality concrete ramp, but access at low tide is not as good as the Saunders Beach ramp.
The ramp opposite the Saunder Beach ramp is accessed from Bluewater. I have not been into this ramp for a long time, so I can't give clear directions. But google is your friend! This ramp does not appear to be in as good a condition as the other two, and its quite steep looking. But if you live in Bluewater its probably the ramp you would use, otherwise I would be avoiding this one.
