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Published: January 5th 2009
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Entry by Jules
Friday 02/01/09 Our last morning in Sydney for this part of the trip and we both felt a little sad to be leaving our hotel room and that view - you really could just stare at it all day. But we would be back to a different part of Sydney in six days and there was plenty of things to do in Queensland in between.
After a short flight up to Townville we hopped on a ferry to Magnetic Island, named by Captain Cook after he sailed past it and his compass behaved strangely. On the approach to the jetty we had again a feel of entering Jurassic Park as the island is covered in sheer rocks and boulders surrounded by rainforest-like trees.
We were lucky to be able to walk straight off the ferry jetty and into the hotel reception as where we were staying directly overlooks the bay and the marina. We had agreed that by this point in the trip we would be fed up with hostel life so had opted for hotels from now on - I am so glad of that decision, not only because staying in the hostels
made us feel old and they weren’t always the cleanest, but because we would have missed out on some wonderful views and great locations (and of course a lot of comfort!).
That evening we took a stroll through the village in search of food. As the island is small, restaurants prove very popular and it would seem that booking is essential. We were lucky, therefore, to be able to get a table at the second place we tried, albeit outside (this is a problem in Queensland as storms are commonplace during the humid heat of the summer). It drizzled slightly during the meal but this didn’t damper (?!) our enjoyment of the gorgeous French cuisine. Sitting outside we were also treated to the various bird noises in the area as it got dark along with the glow of lightning a short way offshore.
Saturday 03/01/09
The island is only small, approximately 25kms across, so we decided to hire a mini moke to get us around. Rich was very pleased about this. However, after driving 1km in it he decided it probably wasn’t the best thing to have in the hot, humid weather as the roof was
permanent and made of plastic. We could both just imagine how sweaty it would be! So, we swopped it for a ‘topless car’ with a colourful orange and yellow go-faster stripe.
Our first stop on the island was Picnic Bay with its heritage listed pier. There didn’t seem to be anything in particular outstanding about the pier, other than it was old.
Sharks are not necessarily the issue in the waters here but stingers - a type of box jellyfish - is prevalent in the area. As a result swimming is restricted to areas defined by nets and the wearing of stinger suits is recommended. Neither of us fancied swimming, despite the extremely warm waters.
Next we headed for part of the island which is home to a series of derelict forts, originally built in the WWII in order to defend off any attacks from Japan. This area is also where you are apparently guaranteed to see koalas in the wild. The walk through the forts takes 1.5 hours which, normally wouldn’t be an issue for us, but in the hot and sticky heat was like walking through a steam room. Without being too crude, I don’t
think Rich and I had ever sweated that much. To cap it all, we reached the summit having not seen any koalas at all (probably all being sensible and getting out of the heat) before retracing our steps back to the car. We were both saying that perhaps it wasn’t such a good idea to have gone on the walk after all when we turned a corner in the path and came across an amazing sight of two koalas right next to the track; a mother with her baby. It was incredible to get be so close to both of them and needless to say the baby koala was so cute. They both looked like cuddly teddy bears.
From the forts we headed to Horseshoe Bay, a small town named after the shape of the bay it is located upon. I was booked on a horse ride that afternoon in the town so we grabbed some lunch, relaxed in the shade for a bit before heading to the ranch.
I went on a 2 hour ride, on a lovely horse called Popeye, which took us through the woods on the island, spotting wallabies and various bird life as
we went, heading towards the beach. I have wanted to go horse riding on the beach for as long as I can remember so this was truly an experience I was looking forward to. To make the experience even more amazing we rode bare back right into the sea (not just paddling but probably swimming in the sea with the horses). Due to the problem of stingers in the area we were each given a one size fits all stinger suit. This looks a bit like a wet suit but isn’t (although it was wet when I got it) and is made of a fabric material. It is certainly not the most attractive item of clothing either but I guess its ability to prevent being stung and potentially killed by a jellyfish means that can be overlooked. Riding into the sea was incredible (particularly for those of you who know me well enough to know I hate the sea) and the water was so warm it was very refreshing. It also reminded me of when I was younger learning to ride as we stopped the horses in the water and were able to stand up on their backs (yep, you
read correctly) and jump off into the water. I struggled a bit with this as Popeye had a very bony back!
Whilst I went on the ride Rich went to another small bay on the south of the island and saw rock wallabies. He then came to meet up with us on the beach so that he could take some photos.
It was late afternoon when we got back to the hotel having returned the car and we were certainly in need of a swim. Even the water in the pool was warm, heated just from the sun, although not as warm as the sea so it was almost like having a relaxing bath. Bliss!
We ate in the restaurant in the hotel, both again having lovely meals whilst slowly sweating in the non air-conditioned room.
Magnetic Island wasn’t quite as we had expected - a lot more ‘touristy’ and busier than we had anticipated. It also wasn’t the romantic idyllic setting that we were promised on the websites. Certainly the beaches at Cottesloe and Apollo Bay could not be threatened by those on the island.
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