Blogs from Magnetic Island, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 6

I woke early (as usual) and clamboured down from my top bunk ever so daintily (not!) and off for my early morning cuppa. At 8.30 I and about 25 others went for our champagne breakfast in a tropical park that is part of the resort where the hostel is. We had an enormouse breakfast and lots of animals were brought around for us to look at and stroke. I sat with an ozzie family who were staying here for easter weekend, and they we had a great time together. First up was a wombat who was very cute and cuddly, then it was a python, then a small crock (mouth taped closed) parrots and last but not least koala ..... aaaahhhh . The guide told us that they are solitary animals and when its mating season ... read more

Our 6 hour bus ride from Airlie Beach took us to Townsville, from there we took a 20 minute boat ride to the Magnetic Islands. When the islands were first discovered the explorers compass didn't work so that is why the islands were called Magnetic, now however longer trips showed the islands were in fact not magnetic but the name stayed. Now the locals say it is called Magnetic Island because people can't resist it. The island is covered in lush green forests and was truly breathtaking. I was so shocked when I stepped off the boat into a tropical paradise. Unfortunately though the beaches aren’t that nice, the sand is very rocky and dark and the water appears very dirty because the currents kick up a lot of sand, also jellyfish prohibit anyone from getting ... read more

Well its a bit of a wet hello after the weather we have had. Since we last blogged we have been up to loads. We did a thing in 1770 called scooterroo....basicly a motorbike ride round the coast on bikes done up to look like harleys....lee even had one with the high handlebars and I rode my own bike for the first time. We were in a group of 50 which sounds like loads but was so much fun tearing up the town. The guy who ran it looked like a typical hells angel with the long great hair and beard to match. We were also there the day they were filming their advertising video which will go on youtube so keep a look out for it. The next day we had surf lessons which was ... read more

Unausgeschlafen ging es an diesem Tag Richtung Townsville, das 300 Kilometer nördlich von Airlie Beach liegt. Dabei hat uns eine Frage von der vorherigen Partynacht ständig beschäftigt: „Warum gibt es eigentlich im McDonald’s ab 3.30 Uhr nur noch Frühstück und keinen Cheesburger mehr?“ Unterwegs haben wir wohl an der kleinesten Tankstelle Australiens Halt gemacht und uns Wraps nach dem Vorbild von Dave aus Fraser Island gemacht. Anschließend jagte ein Schock den anderen. Zuerst wurde unser kleines Seitenfenster des Big Bangs durch einen üblen Steinschlag beschädigt. Dadurch wuchs unser Verständnis für die Ersatzradnotwendigkeit bei den Schlechtwegestrecken in Australien, sogar auf dem A1-Highway. Das nächste aufsehenerregende Ereignis, beobachteten wir kurz vor unserem Ziel in Townsville. Aufgrund der langanhaltenden Trockenzeit standen direkt am Highway standen weitläufige Waldfläc... read more

From Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays we drove north stopping off at Ayr (!) for lunch where it was about 35c, so just a wee bit warmer than the original Ayr in Scotland! As Jen got out of the car she accidently stood on her watch that had fallen on the ground so that made 2 of us without a watch as Gordon lost his on the Lares Trek in Peru! (Och well, who needs to worry about the time anyway?!). Heading further North to Townsville we noticed a dramatic change in the scenery as we entered a lucious green tropical area. We drove up Castle Hill to catch a good view of Townsville, Magnetic Island (Maggie!) and the surrounding coast. Leaving the car in Townsville we got a passenger ferry over to Magnetic Island where ... read more