Go wild in the country

Monday, 03/09/2012 - 80 A.D. 

The day started well when three young German girls came and sat down next to me at breakfast. I think I was in their regular seat. They didn’t say much though, and we had a ferry to catch so we couldn’t sit around. Today we were going to Magnetic Island, which is a 20 minute boat ride (8 kilometres) from Townsville harbour. Here’s a few snippets of info regarding the place:

So called “Magnetic Island” because of the interference Captain Cook had with his compass upon first arriving here. People have since tried to study what sent his compass up the wall, without success.

It has a population of 2,500 and 23 separate beaches and bays.
With an average of 320 fine days a year, it’s the sunniest spot on the Queensland coast.

Known as "Maggie" by all who live there.
A bottle of Jack Daniels is cheaper than on the mainland (at least according to Geoff the Greyhound salesman).

At first we considered taking up the Base hostels package and staying two nights on t`island, but when there were only 8 bed male-only dorms left, we bottled it. We’re brave, but not that brave (unless we have absolutely no option!) Back at Reef in Cairns, on the final morning, the door to the male dorm next to our room was left open and the stench of communal male sweat drifting out was `orrible. 

The ferry (actually a catamaran) was pretty choppy going over, but nothing we couldn’t handle, though the side parting got a battering from the breeze, sitting up on top deck as we were. Magnetic Island is small, but you still need a vehicle to get around if doing a day trip. That meant we had to take the bus from Nelly Bay up to Gorge Creek (doesn’t it all sound so quaint?) Up here was the Forts Walk that led to some old World War II military emplacements, but more importantly it offered us the chance for this:

Yep indeedy, this is koala country and Maggie is one of the best places to see the little blighters in the wild! It wasn’t early morning or late evening, which is the prime time for spotting them, but we still felt like we had a good chance. The nearby info board described them as “grey blobs clinging to the trees” – seems kolas are like students in that they rest for up to 20 hours a day (it’s not confirmed whether they also smoke weed and enjoy Playstations). Rather worryingly, the board went on to describe the presence of death adder snakes in the area – just a bit more venomous than the adders we get back in Blighty! That kind of brought it home that we were in Oz and not NZ, and that it would be wise to stick to the tracks and not wander aimlessly through the bush. Thing is, it was probably deep in the bush where the koalas would be…

[Koala spotting in the Spring time.]

The walk was supposed to be a 90 minute round trip, but the way we were going it would last double that! If we weren’t stopping every two minutes to check the trees for grey blobs, we were carefully watching our footing for slithering venomy things. We saw plenty of lizards, but lizards are neither cute, interesting or uncommon.

Rather wussily, I jumped back in shock as a huge black butterfly fluttered towards a head-on collision with my quiff. I thought it was a bat. I blame the flying foxes of Cairns!

Scattered along the walk were the remains of the gun emplacements that once pointed out to sea at enemy vessels approaching from beyond. All very fascinating, but they weren’t koala bears. And when there was no breeze it was really hot on the trail and I was glad I’d filled my new water bottle before embarking (even though for some reason when I take the lid off and swig the water it tastes like a swimming pool – maybe I need more chlorine in my diet anyway?) By the time we reached the old signalling outpost at the highest point of the walk where it doubles back on itself, we thought our luck at spotting little furry things was out…

And suddenly, there they were! A mummy with a little baby koala clinging to her, both of them scratching hard and feasting on eucalyptus like it was going out of fashion. It was a great feeling to see them out in the wild, especially as they showed no fear whatsoever at us humans gawping at them from below and pointing clicky electronic devices their way. Unfortunately the old phone camera let me down again, but you should be able to make out the big black nose on the third picky…

After that thrill, there was only one thing to do – head back the way we came and hope we now got to see a snake (from a distance). We didn’t, but there’s always time, possibly coming up from the u-bend in a hostel bathroom – you never know your luck! Our next mission was to check out some of the beaches and bays that surround Maggie, the first being Arthur Bay, where apparently there were a couple of shipwrecks located close by, but the tide was too far in for us to see them (at some point on this trip I will get to see a shipwreck!)

The beach looks okay, doesn’t it? Believe it or not, we had it to ourselves for nearly an hour before a group of French kids came along who we recognised from the ferry. First we had our lunch up high amongst the rocks for dramatic effect, before Tim went for a swim and I went to the shade to contemplate the very nature of life and death in a potentially linear existence driven by the fourth dimension of time that can be so readily seen, yet never understood. And I ate crisps.

After Tim had dried off and I’d stopped thinking such silly thoughts, we continued around the coast of Maggie, visiting Florence Bay and Radical Bay, via the bush in-between. It was quite a tiring trek, but we can’t complain about the amount of exercise that we got, even though I was running low on swimming pool water. It was refreshing to visit beaches that weren’t lined with ice cream sellers, people on roller blades and random gym equipment. Or just lots of people. That said, I’m not a beach person at heart and by the time we’d hit the third beautiful bay I was ready to call it a day (as, I think, was Bruv, who is slightly more sandy-based than me). But if you’re into your isolated beaches and swimming in waters of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park then Magnetic Island is the place for you!

That’s about it in terms of today’s highlights. Our next stop is Airlie Beach, not because there’s anything in particular that we want to see there, but if we don’t stop off then we face a marathon 17 hour Greyhound trip and no one needs that. Last night we put out a load of couchsurfing requests, but at time of writing not one of them has replied to us. Not surprising really as it looks as though the typical Airlie Beach courchsurfing host is a male surf dude who only ever hosts women. What chance have two Grayboys got???

And so I leave you with my final thought for the day…what the bloomin` heck is a “moke magnetic vehicle”? Answers on a postcard! Or just send an email.