Magnetic Island (29 June - 5 July)

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We were met at the ferry by Andrew as he was also picking up his youngest brother Pete and his family who had arrived on the passenger ferry at the same time. We thought we'd first check in to our cottage in Arcadia near Alma Bay, but Andrew wouldn't have a bar of it and persuaded us to come and greet everyone at their holiday house (Te-Nikau). Even though the 40th birthday party for Anna wasn't until the following Sunday, there was already a large group of family and friends at their house. Like us, they were also making full use of the invitation to spend a week or so on the island.

People kept arriving during the course of the week, so the number gradually climbed. Despite this, lunch, dinner and even the occasional breakfast was all organised to perfection by Andrew (Anna's husband) during our week on the island, not to mention the copious amount of champagne, beer, wine and soft drinks. Here's a taste of what we had to eat: barramundi wrapped in banana leaves on the barbie one night and beer can chicken on another (google it if you're wondering). We had steak and vegies and a number of different salads and breads, lots of yummy dips and cheeses, while dessert usually consisted of a large platter of tropical fruits (pineapple, paw paw, rock melon and watermelon). Although the party was on the 4th July, we celebrated Anna's actual birthday (30th June) with her mother-in-law Heather who turned 75 on the same date by having a seafood extravaganza for lunch (oysters, king prawns, and Moreton Bay bugs) followed by gourmet sausages for dinner.

Apart from all this eating and drinking during the week, we managed to get in a few trips to the beach at Alma Bay and a sail in Andrew's Tasar in Horseshoe Bay one afternoon. Unfortunately the weather was not very kind to us during the week, with many cloudy days and even the odd shower or two. But it certainly didn't dampen the mood or spirit.

We had spent 5 days on the island just over a year ago (see Townsville and Magnetic Island (8 - 18 May)) when we had explored the island in some detail, so we didn't see the need to do the same on this trip. One thing that we did manage to do again was to visit the famous Cane Toad Races at the Arcadia Hotel. This proved most successful with Pete and the birthday girl Anna each winning one of the three races.

Most evenings were spent around the fire with several performances and games from the young and young at heart (otherwise known as the Silvertops). Andrew's sister Kate brought out the guitar for sing-a-longs while six of the children, including Annelies and Thomas, made up a play titled The Hotel. The play was about a hotel where the staff and guests were weird and wacky based on a game they had played at the beach. One of the party hits of the week was the 'chocolate game', which involved a group of players around a table with a block of chocolate, knife & fork and a dice, hat and scarf. When a '6' was rolled, that person had to don the hat and scarf and then could try to cut up and eat as much chocolate as they could, one piece at a time, using only the knife and fork (ie. no hands) until another '6' was rolled by another player. Alex loved this game!

The big party on Sunday lived up to expectations with sumptuous food and drinks and lots of dancing. It perfectly rounded out the “festival”, nicknamed the Festival of the Roses by Andrew.

We had another wonderful time on the island and the week-long celebrations were fantastic. It was great meeting everyone and being involved in the festivities. As always, catching up with Anna and Andrew and their girls was full of happy memories, lots of fun and laughter, not to mention the fine wine! Thanks again Johnomob.

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