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Published: November 21st 2006
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Our trusty moke
Ingla, Christof and I November 14th and 15th I was on an Island called Magnetic Island. Apparently it's name dates back to the 1700's when Captain Cook was mapping the east coast of Australia. He named it Magnetic Island thinking it had magnetic properties because his compass wouldn't work in its vicinity. Later expeditions found the island was not magnetic, his compass was simply broken.
The island is actually quite big but the tourist area is surprisingly small. They have all sorts of scooters, Moke's and Barbie cars for rent (or hire as they say here). They are so small it literally feels like you are driving in one of those little electric cars that everyone wished they had as a kid. You know the ones that no one's parents would buy, except for one spoiled kid in the neighborhood who everyone was jealous of.
I rented a Moke with a German couple I've been running into since Rainbow Beach; they were even randomly on my Whitsundays boat. The Moke was such a cute little dinky car and very fun to use for the day on the the windy island roads. We did a lot of hikes to various lookouts and private beaches.
The heat in Australia has gotten almost unbearable, which made the hiking a lot more challenging than normal. My sweat glands were definitely working in over drive so I had to be really careful to drink enough water (3 liters!). We saw a lot of really nice views but it really surprised me at how much many of these places resembled places I've been to on Lake Superior and Lake Huron. I noticed the same thing on the Whitsundays (minus Tongue Bay), and it really makes you appreciate your own country.
The highlight of the day was seeing koalas and rock wallabies on the wild. We took a hike to an old fort and along the way you are apparently almost guaranteed to see koalas between 4-6pm if you look hard enough. We didn't see any on the way in but on the way out we spotted a lump way at the top of a Eucalyptus tree. We had seen many lumps that day but once we got closer we confirmed this was actually the lump we had been looking for all along. He was so cute and sleepy. A lot of people think Eucalyptus leaves have some sort
Sleeping Koala
This guy is clearly not in the wild but he really was fast asleep. of drug in them because koalas are so lazy and sleep for 16-20 hours per day. If you look at the breakdown of the leaf it is not very nutritious and does not provide koalas with very much energy. Only 5% of it is starches and sugars and as a result koalas spend most of their time sleeping in tree tops. Since the gum trees are extremely poisonous to most animals, koalas have very few predators to worry about. In fact most are likely to be killed by cars or dogs (~4000/yr). In the past koalas were hunted for their fur which was essentially used for the same purpose as bubble wrap in packaging. This hunting was so severe that the koala nearly became extinct. Since 1927 hunting and capturing koalas of any kind has been banned and the population is now healthy and strong. And that's my lesson for the day.
On our way back to the hostel we stopped at a place we knew we could see rock wallabies. I would say these animals are probably the raccoon of Australia. They were very tame and many gathered around garbage bins occasionally fighting over various scraps. The best
Base Backpackers
This was my tropical paradise home for two nights on Magnetic Island. definitely the best hostel so far. part was watching a baby as he poked his head out of his mothers pouch....sooo cute. After this last stop of the day, we returned to the hostel and spent the evening talking to more backpackers.
Over the past couple of weeks I have really started to enjoy traveling on my own. The feeling of freedom and independence while traveling is like no other. Despite what I went through at the beginning of my trip, I now know I would not want to be traveling any other way. The things that brought me down in the start, such as knowing I had no one to lean on, no one to even hug, are now the same things that lift me up. I am doing this all by myself with no one to lean on and I'm happy. That makes me feel strong and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Traveling and seeing new places and even more so meeting new people is the biggest high I've ever felt. It's a good thing I have a limited pot of gold to draw from because that's what will bring me home in the spring; as long as I don't meet a
Rock Wallabies
Check out little baby Wally. rainbown on the way. The other reason I'll be coming home though is that despite all the amazing people I've met here, I know that they still don't compare to my family and friends who know my history and will always be there for me. I know I will have many more ups and downs, especially when I reach Asia. But at least I now I am no longer telling myself I "will" do it, because now I know I "can" do it.
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