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Published: July 22nd 2009
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Day 87 - Magnetic Island
Yippee, we’re off to Magnetic Island today and the ferries run from really early in the morning so guess what, we’re up at 6am again!
We’re not sure what’s happening to the Queensland weather at the moment but this morning we have again experienced spots of rain. Obviously we had to send the evidence off for analysis as it’s just so hard to believe but the test results came back positive, definitely rain! We were hoping for blue, clear skies this morning but instead have overcast and cloudy - seemingly there’s been some sort of issue with our order, we hope they sort it soon!
The ferry terminal is only a 20 minute drive from the campsite and we’re hoping to catch the 7.45am one so that we get a head start. We’re taking the bikes, which might be the wrong thing to do but we fancy some exercise even if it means we don’t see everything! The lady behind the counter at the ticket desk says she’s cycled on the island so I was pretty inspired with that until she added ‘Never again!’ Oh well, in for a penny, in for a
pounding!
A lovely ferry ride of 20 minutes gets us to Nelly Bay on the island and we’ve been advised to watch for the buses leaving the terminal on their first tours and then set off behind them because the roads are narrow and winding! Oh it just gets better! It’s difficult to work out how far our first trip would be but we think it’s somewhere in the region of 4km. On a bike that should be quite easy to handle, until you realise that 2.3 k’s are up a 14% steep climb! I kid you not! Then, just to add insult to injury you are faced with about a 1km 10% descent followed by a short 10% climb to really finish you off! That brought us to The Forts section of the island, actually the only bit I was desperate for Darryl to go too! Dedicated to protecting Townsville from naval attack during WWII, this area on the island has been, of sorts, preserved and you can still go to the gun emplacements on either side of the track. Some of the ‘rocks’ aren’t real but the remains of camouflaging used for the gun barrels and only
the wire netting gives that away. This whole area was never used in anger as it was only set up as a precaution but the Observation Tower and the Command Post gave clear, uninterrupted views up and down the coast making it the ideal first defence should it be needed.
Not only did this 4km return walk give us an insight to days gone by some 64 years ago but it also gave us our first wild Koala! What a beauty he was too and when we spotted him he was in stirring mode so gave us a wonderful display of scratching and wobbling on the branch to stretching out along it and then curling up to sleep some more. Their diet is so poor that they’ve no energy to do anything much for 20 hours a day and are most active late afternoon so we were very lucky to get such a display around 11.30am! The Forts walk is great, the views are magnificent and it was well worth the effort as the final section is quite steep and rugged. Luckily we didn’t disturb any of the islands venomous Death Adders although we did find another vulgar looking
toad! Don’t worry Lynne, there’s no photo of it on here to cringe over I promise!
Back on the bikes we pedalled our way down towards Arthur Bay using the track which eventually leads to Radical Bay. The track is sealed and in good repair at the moment but has only recently (last 10 years or so) been changed from a 4WD only track! Again we are faced with a rollercoaster route full of 10% - 14% graded climbs and descents. Oh how I wished I’d followed in my cousin Claire’s bicycle clips and trained like she does, then I too would have been more prepared for what felt like Le Tour de Magnetic!
Somehow we missed Arthur Bay, it must have been on a downhill section that we were enjoying a bit too much! We ended up in Florence Bay which is renowned for it’s great snorkelling and for being secluded and quiet. We flopped to a stop on the beach and then prepared for a temperature test in the ocean! Pleasantly surprised we swam and snorkelled for quite a while but the tide was on it’s way out so we needed to be careful as the
currents are reasonably strong here. There’s plenty of coral to see and plenty of fish, Dar even spotted an octopus! We ate lunch in eye shot of three Stone Curlews who growled at us (in a nice way) as we scoffed the lot and left them nothing!
The weather was really starting to warm up now and the sky was turning a glorious blue, just in time for us to start the cycle back towards the ferry terminal! It was tough going getting back up to the main road, when you stand at the top you couldn’t actually see us cycling up because the descent is so steep at one point! We loved it though and waved at everyone else sensibly waiting for the bus across the road!
We made it to Alma Bay, one of the islands beach coves where a life guard is on patrol. The water was quite choppy and there were plenty of people in here swimming unlike Florence Bay where there had only been us for quite some time! We had a refreshing ice cream and then popped next door to Geoffrey Bay where the reef extends across a large area. To our
surprise the tide is so far out here that much of the coral is exposed and the wreck that sits just off Bremner Point was also visible! How strange that the two bays next door to each other can be at different water levels at the same time of day.
On we cycled towards the ferry terminal and despite having to stop a while and admire the view once or twice (!) we made it back just in time before the next one was scheduled to leave. We looked a bit of a sight by now what with all the pedalling, walking, snorkelling and swimming! We had a great time on the island and would recommend anyone coming to Townsville or beyond to spend at least a few days here, it’s fabulous.
We check our phone and find we have a message from Darcy the director of Charles Jansen 4x4 about our query over the stamp duty. I phone him back and he apologises immediately for their oversight in not making the payment and confirms that they will do this as soon as possible. That’s a weight off our minds, phew!
We’d come up with a plan
for dinner and it involved more swimming! Townsville has its own Rock Pool where a special pumping system imported from Sweden ensures the pools volume is refreshed every three hours from its oceanic source just the other side of the wall. It’s a fantastic place for a moonlit dip and a BBQ in the lovely gardens. People can fish in the ocean from the Rock Pool’s walls and the kids can play in the various activity areas if they’re bored with swimming in the enormous pool! We had a great time watching the sunset, cooking and considering whether to get wet for a second time! We decided not too after Darryl stuck his toe in and declared it too cold!
A slight diversion on the way back to the campsite was in order when we realised we had camped 8.35 minutes from the Townsville Dragway! Sadly it wasn’t open but the sign was great!
Legs are a big achy now but we’re still smiling! Night all, Dar and Sar
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