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Published: February 17th 2007
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Meep Meep the Magnetic Moke
Quite possibly the coolest form of transport in the Southern Hemisphere and the only way to see Magnetic Island Gordonvale...Babinda...Innisfail...Tully...Ingham.
The small towns we drove through on our escape from Cairns along the Bruce Highway all seemed to display similar traits, ie unattractive residents, most still displaying their Christmas decorations (10th of Feb!!!) and all having a big corner pub with attached 'drive thru' bottle shop named 'The Victoria'. If you are a resident of one of these towns I apologise (although I doubt you can read) as I am sure they are all great places to live, but alas we passed them by.
Fading light forced a stop over 250km south of Cairns on a camp site so dated that it was almost coming back in fashion and home to so many tree frogs that Carla mistook one for a light switch in the ladies shower block and touched it on its head, and whilst I was locking Martha up for the night, one fell from a tree narrowly missing my face before climbing onto the windscreen and staying there for the night.
Our trip south had been a snap decision after reports of road blockages and floods - but our journey had been clear, leaving me to think that the Cairns tourism board had
The view from Castle Hill
Bottom to Top: Townsville, The coral sea, Magnetic island and the Sky benefitted from the hysteria - but maybe that's just me being cynical. Our only hold up was when we almost hit our second sighted Cassowary on the edge of a place called Ingham (endangered my arse), so we reached our intended destination at lunchtime of the following day.
Townsville
Unlike its name may suggest, Townsville has a much more attractive bunch of residents than the towns we passed en route (and not an xmas decoration in sight) and we both liked it immediately, although this decision is helped by the first blue sky we have experienced since we arrived in Queensland. After booking into Rowes Bay Campsite, our walk into town is helped by a random act of kindness from yet another Aussie who pulls over and tells us that she's heading into town if we want a lift. Townsville has a very 'American' feel to it, its clean, tidy and has a laid back holiday feel with a beachfront area called the strand and lurking in the distance is Castle Hill, which we attempt to climb in flip flops and the midday sun.
After failing miserably we visit the local brewery before heading back to Martha and
Martha heads south
next stop.....??????? another early night (after listening to England beat the Aussies on Martha's radio) in prepartion for the morning ferry to Magnetic Island.
Magnetic Island
Just 8km off the coast of Townsville we reach 'Maggie' by 9.30am and head off to try and find the bike hire. We walk 5 minutes from the ferry port before an advert for something called a 'moke' catches our eye and after realising it is quite possibly the coolest mode of transport on the planet, we stuff the bike idea and rent a green open top moke with a picture of Road Runner on the bonnet.
Mokes are a sort of mini jeep hybrid and after christening it Meep Meep (for obvious reasons) we head off along the winding roads before stopping for breakfast and then a couple of hours sunbathing in Horseshoe Bay. After lunch of Barramundi and chips we take a 4km walk up to the old gun turrets which were used when this area housed 90,000 troops during the Second World War. Magnetic Island is home to 200+ Koalas so while we walk I look out for furry bums in the trees, whilst Carla studies the ground for the
Horeshoe Bay, Magnetic Island
The view from the WW2 lookout. Somewhere out there are 200 Koalas, and a few Death Adders Death Adders a sign had warned us were also common along the trail. We see neither (damn it & phew), but the views from the top are fantastic and well worth the two hour hike (you may notice from previous entries that we both like a good walk - a statement which makes us sound like we are in our 50's)
After speeding Meep Meep round the island one last time we return to Townsville and drive Martha to the top of Castle Hill to look down onto what has been one of our favourite stops since we arrived in Australia. We could stay here much longer but there's plenty more to see over the next 2,200km to Sydney - and only 4 weeks to see it!
Airlie Beach
Arriving in Airlie Beach knocks another 300km off the drive to Sydney. We are drawn here because its another one of those places along Australia's East Coast that is a 'gateway' to something else......
In this instance the Whitsunday islands and a good section of the Great Barrier Reef. And on the basis that seeing Australia without Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef would be a
Yes thats right folks....
....hes breathing in! Matt half in his all in one baby grow/wet suit about to snorkel the barrier reef a bit like seeing Steve Irwin without the beige shirt and short shorts combo (God rest his soul) we head straight to one of the many tour agents and manage to get an $80 discount on a luxury sail and reef day, thus combining both sights in one.
Like Cairns, Airlie Beach has very little to offer other than being a base to do other things. Its main strip has a very 'Magaluf' feel to it and smells of stale beer and Lynx deodorant, so its a good place to watch England beat the Australians at cricket but not the sort of place you want to hang around in too long. Because of this (and the continued good weather) we head off to the Barrier Reef the following day.
Our tour is aboard a huge waverunner boat, which along with a sea sickness tablet, assures I won't spend all day throwing up. After passing through the beautiful Whitsundays (nice but nothing to write home about) we head 100km out to sea to the Outer Barrier Reef and a large pontoon which is our base for the day allowing us the freedom to snorkel over a large section named
Almost at the top of Castle Hill
Carla proves that a pretty dress, Thongs (thats what they call flip flops) and Liam Gallagher style sunglasses are not the best outfit for a 3km climb in the midday sun. 'Knuckle Reef'.
Although visibility isn't perfect and the current pretty strong, it's everything we had hoped for, and the hundreds of different types of fish take second place to the reef itself which rises to just below the surface like an underwater rainforest. Another 'must see sight' and another great day, spoilt only slightly by having to return to a dodgy campsite and Martha covered in ants, so after hosing her down and eating a foot long Veggie Subway for dinner we both decide to move on in the morning - although exactly where to, we haven't decided yet.
Peace
MandCandMartha
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winn et Mozza
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Meep the 2nd
Hi you two! how fab you both look so tanned and slim!! very envious, Matt you may not remember that you spent lots of time in my austin a40 with road runner written along the side, I used to ferry you around Farnworth and Bolton in it it was turquoise blue and we had such fun then it was always referred to as meep meep, chris used to love it!!!The only problem was when we went up hills the car used to fill with exhaust fumes, I'm guessing your's did not!!!The mini moke takes Dad back to the 60's and we are sure you had a great time travelling around the island, the photos are great!! Love the twin suits (careful) you will have matching jumpers soon.. and glad you are doing lots of walking, (even with the reference to being aged 50)!!great to hear from you and to know you are having a great time!! keep the blogs coming we sooooo look forward to them. We miss you loads see ya soon love to our intrepid travellers winn et mozza