Magnetic Island

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Wed 6th Feb - We took a day trip to Magnetic Island, just off the coast from, and part of Townsville. It was named by Captian Cook in 1770 as his compass went awry and he erroneously attributed this to the island being formed of magnetic lodestone. In fact it is made of volcanic granite, formed several million years ago when a volcano exploded and the boulders landed here. The sea washed sand onto the fringes and birds brought seeds which covered the rocky outcrops with trees and vegetation.
It is a delightful island, gradually becoming less delightful. Currently the population is 3000 and it is forecast that in 10 years it will be 18,000. There is no local work, the original pineapple plantations have been removed for development, and tourism is the main industry.
We had a three-hour guided bus tour round the 50kms of roads that cover half the island (some parts are only accessible by bus or helicopter). We saw some beautiful bays, most deadly with stingers at this time of year and the guide drew our attention to points of interest like the windsock for the heli-pad, the bus depot, the new sewage treatment works and the loo on the beach that upset a whole street of residents because it obscures their view of the sea.
The driver sprinkled animal feed round some boulders at the end of a road and a colony of rock wallabies leapt and hopped over the rocks to feed. The bolder ones fed from my hand, the shyer ones hung back and the largest male kept order by whacking his comrades round the head, or showing his penis - surprisingly large for so small an animal. The colony is so used to being fed by the bus tours that they now spend longer awake in the daytime than is natural and their fur is being bleached by the sun.
There is a also a colony of koalas, but they don't like getting wet, so have disappeared for the duration of the rainy season. The driver told us that one of them has been named 'Angry' beacuse when crossing from one tre to another he attacked a backpacker who approached too near. The backpacker needed 15 stitches and the following day enquired if the injury looked anything like a crocodile or shark bite, as he was too embarrassed to go home and confess that he'd been attacked by a koala.
Thursday 7th - We took the camper van to a garage for a service and a few other minor problems (the handbrake doesn't work and the radiator warning light comes on intermittently). It has been diagnosed as having a blown head gasket, so we have to wait for another van to be brought down to us from Cairns.

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