Magnetic Island

Named because of the interference Captain Cook’s compass experienced as he neared it, Magnetic Island was a spectacular, albeit brief, stop for our trio. The island was not on our original “must-see” list, but when we were leaving Brisbane a member of Virgin Blue’s flight staff told us if we were going to Townsville we should at least make a day trip to Magnetic Island. We considered staying on the island both nights we would be in the area, but Bungalow Bay had availability only on our second night, so we spent the first in Townsville and then headed over to the island on the ferry first thing the next morning. Townsville itself was a cute little place, but as they were preparing to host the Townsville 400 over the weekend we got out just in time.

The journey from Townsville to Magnetic Island took eighteen minutes by ferry. Fortunately, this was not enough time for me to get seasick as I’d forgotten where I packed my meds. Must locate those before we head out to the Great Barrier Reef! Upon our arrival we rented a small “topless” (pictured) which we used to explore the island. Driving around the island we reminisced about our time in Skopelos last summer. There were many similarities, but this stop afforded us views of many more creatures. We lodged at Bungalow Bay in Koala Village where we slept in a small A-frame bungalow and awoke to the sounds of various birds. Emma pointed out that we hadn’t had a wake-up call that grand since our Amazon trek in Peru.

The staff at BB host three wildlife tours a day, and, of course, the Watki took one. On the tour we were able to see and interact with many animals native to Australia including the endangered Black Red-tailed Cockatiel, Koala, Wallaby, Baby Crocodile, Blue Tongued Lizard, Bearded Dragon, and a Carpet Python. It simply amazes me to watch my reptile loving daughter handle these creatures. As many of you know she’s been asking me for an iguana for over a year now. While I’m not open to that idea exactly, I must admit I’m beginning to do some research on reptiles as pets. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the village, including viewing some animals we didn’t touch like the Golden Orb Spider, Ulysses Butterflies and Fruit Bats. Perhaps our most exciting animal encounters, though, came as we explored on our own the beaches of Alma and Horseshoe Bay. As we were leaving Alma Bay we saw an echidna walking along the sand near the playground. After several steps he buried his head and began eating ants. Just past Alma Bay we saw Rock Wallabies among the cliffs. AND, on the beach at Horseshoe Bay we watched a Koala walk along in the sand. He was young and probably lost but oh so very cute!

At dinner we discovered that one of our wildlife tour guides, Jordon from Seattle, doubled as our waiter, and we took his advice in ordering dinner. Who knew hostel food could be so yummy? This was one of our favourite meals thus far -- excluding those cooked by my amazing husband, of course. I love this man always, but especially when he’s relaxed and in “experimental chef” mode. At BB Emma had spaghetti bolognaise, and Wade and I split a Chicken Parmy (lightly breaded chicken breast covered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese) and Rogan josh curry. In addition to fantastic food, dinner brought us some new friends as we met a family from Amsterdam travelling together for two months. Their daughter was just about the age Emma was when we moved to Belgium and watching them with her brought back memories of early travels for our little family. They, however, were camping everywhere they went which we find admirable but are unlikely to imitate anytime soon!

Oh, and last, but certainly not least, Emma was visited by the Australian tooth fairy at Bungalow Bay. Be sure and look closely at the photos in an upcoming post about Mission Beach, and you'll see her new grin.

GRRRR....having trouble posting photos. The beach is calling us (or maybe that's Emma) . . . will try again later.