Blogs from Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 5

Mit dem Premier-Bus geht unsere Reise weiter nach Townsville. Nachdem wir unseren Proviant bei Woolworth aufgefrischt haben nehmen wir die Fähre nach Magnetic Island. Die Fantasea-Fähre zahlt sich aus - in doppelter Hinsicht: Erstens zahlen wir als Studenten weniger und nehmen die 10 Minuten längere Fahrt gerne in Kauf und zweitens erkauften wir uns damit eine wunderbare einstündige Verschnaufpause am Busbahnhof, da der Bus leider nicht auf Passagiere unserer Fähre wartet, da es sich prinzipiell um ein Auto-Transportmittel handelt. Mit dem Bus geht es über Bergkuppen und scharfe Kurven und kommen schließlich in unserem Ressort an. Wir sind sofort angetan von der entspannten Atmosphäre. Unser Häuschen ist sehr schön und bis auf ein paar kleine Spinnen (diese sollen ja die Gefährlichsten sein, gibt es nichts auszusetzen, oder doch: wo verdammt noch mal ist das Geschirr? Anscheinend ... read more

We loved Magnetic island. Peaceful, laidback and slightly off the backpacker run from Sydney to Cairns. From Townsville it's an easy 30 minute crossing on the Sun Ferries catamaran and then, if you stay in the Arcadia Beach Guest House, there's a good chance that Pete will pick you up in the Roller! This turned us into Flashpackers apparently. We got a little tour round in it as well and ooh didn't people stare. Louise gave them a little wave. We spent three nights on the island. Alma bay, a short stroll, is picturesque and tranquil and great for a swim or a snorkel. There are a couple of great walks on the island, 'The Forts Walk' takes you up to the old WW2 installation (a hundred or so Aussie men and women were stationed here ... read more

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 ... read more

Magnetic Island Wednesday June 30th I had a particularly lazy day Tuesday watching football and movies: I watched and thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Lovely Bones’ despite the overwhelming weight of critical disdain cast on the movie from all and sundry. Some people think it’s just a morbid pile of trash, sordid and miserable, pretentious and ugly. I don’t care! I found the whole thing to be very thought-provoking. I particularly enjoyed the Brian Eno soundtrack. In fact, I ended up doing something I rarely do: watching the whole movie twice - this was a slight accident - I missed the beginning first time then watched it over to see that part and didn’t stop! Antony and I went out for a drink later at a couple of the bars after walking all around town. I wasn’t feeling ... read more

Hello to anyone still reading along! Our latest update is from Magnetic Island, just off the coast of Townsville. We bussed up from Airlie Beach, thankfully a short ride, and caught the ferry across to the island (called Maggie by locals). As soon as we sat down on the ferry the skies open and rain poured down like it was the end of the world... we were happy to be undercover! As our 20 minute voyage continued, it was rather choppy and we narrowly missed being soaked by ocean water, but we arrived successfully to sun! We took the city bus to our hostel, Base, and checked in after a long wait at reception (apparently the locals are all on Island Time). The hostel was quite impressive. It had mixed reviews online, mostly due to the ... read more