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Published: December 19th 2023
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Magnetic Island
This was my third attempt to get over to this beautiful little gem of an island. I originally planned to get over here in May but decided that August would be the better month, not only my birthday month but the best dive conditions to get over to dive Australia's number one wreck dive the SS Yongala which lays 89km South-East of Townsville. I booked with a dive company months before the trip to pick me up from Maggies in the middle of the week, being a diver it is a pretty big flex to say you've dived the Yongala so yes - although excited to explore the island on the days around my dive, I did actually plan the trip around it.
The ferry over from Townsville was pretty painless and only took about half an hour to travel the 8kms to my little island getaway for four nights. The local supermarket was right near the ferry terminal In Nelly Bay so I headed there first to stock up on supplies and then grabbed a taxi to the area known as Arcadia where I had booked a self contained apartment for my entire stay. Arcadia I thought
was the best fit for me, it is pretty central and from there it was easy to get around the island (in saying that - the buses run approx every half an hour in both directions on the island so you could stay wherever and get around very easily). I checked in around 2pm and wasted no time grabbing my camera and headed over to Geoffrey Bay which was only a short walk from my accomo. Geoffrey Bay is well known for the little locals on the island - The Rock Wallabies, and they are most active in the late afternoon. You can buy specific Wallaby food from the local Post Office in town as well but I just wanted to sit back and watch them, grab some wildlife piccys (one of my favourite subjects to photograph). These little guys are so used to the locals feeding them on the daily they are pretty tame so interaction with them is very likely.
The next day I set off early as I wanted to hike around the island as much as I could while the weather was perfect. I caught the bus to The Forts Walk bus top and set
off in search of wild koalas through the eucalypt and acacia woodland. I wasn't long into the Forts Walk when I spotted my first wild koala just off the track, in the end he was the only one I spotted but that's nature - nothing is guaranteed and I felt blessed I at least found one, something special about spotting animals wild in their own environment. As the name suggests, on The Forts Walk you come across WWII concrete fortifications that sit naturally amongst the granite boulder and hoop pine landscape. The Forts Walk protects the best-preserved WWII coastal defence fortifications in Queensland and is a heritage listed site. A historical interpretive display explains the ruins and building at the site and brings life to the stories of men and women who served on Magnetic Island during the war. The Forts Walk is a 2km return trek but I added on a few different hikes including the beautiful Arthur Bay (probably the most photographed bay on the island) and on top of that I went onto Florence Bay, Radical Bay and Balding Bay at the very end finishing the day in Horseshoe Bay before catching the bus back home to
Arcadia, I covered quite a few kms in my first full day but I love to hike in nature so I was in my absolute element and fell in love with the place pretty quickly. Unfortunately though, while at the Searchlight Tower lookout not far from Arthur Bay I received a text from the dive company I had booked to dive the SS Yongala with, they cancelled my dive due to insufficient numbers for the trip...gutted. The weather and conditions could not have been more on point, the fact it would be cancelled due to this did not even cross my mind. Not much I could do about it though so just sucked it up and planned another full day of hiking for the following day instead.
Magnetic Island all up has 23 bays, not all of them are accessible but the ones I did manage to get to were nothing short of impressive - clear blue/green water and palm trees...bliss. I packed lunch for all the days I was out hiking and enjoyed each one of them by the water while soaking up the sun and the surroundings. The day I was supposed to be diving I decided
to check out the West side of the island and caught a bus all the way over to Picnic Bay and walked a couple of kms to Cockle Bay where it was low tide luckily and I was able to get fairly close to the SS Adelaide which sank off the coast here back in 1916, it was used as a passenger and cargo service ship and is known today as one of the most iconic wrecks on the Australian Coast. What makes it so unique is that it has been resurrected by thick mangroves that grow from the wreck. It’s also now home to a flock of cockatoos who live in the mangrove trees sprouting from the rusted deck. From there I hiked all the way back up to Hawkings Point Lookout for amazing views over Picnic Bay & Nelly Bay. Buggared from quite an extensive amount of hiking for the morning I caught the bus all the way back to Arcadia where I spent the afternoon on the beach lazing the day away amongst the Palm trees...tough life I'm livin.
My last full day on the island before heading home to reality I kept my tan topped
up, much of the same as the day before and just chilled by the water and had a bit of a snorkel. In the afternoon I went back to Geoffrey Bay to hang with the little locals again (this time I was lucky to hang with a mama and her bub for a bit - see my pics below for the most adorable pic) and then caught the bus over to Horseshoe Bay for some sundowners on the beach and catch the last sunset. I really loved visiting and exploring Magnetic Island and can definitely see myself coming back here again....well I just might have to - still have to dive that wreck someday.
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