What’s That Sound?
- Sep 23, 2016
- 4 min read
Location:
Magnetic Island, QLD, Australia
On our Journey to Magnetic Island, we had a couple of nice stop offs which made the journey a lot more interesting. It was nice to see places such as ‘Tully’, which we have heard a lot of. What really made our day was stopping off at Cardwell. Luckily I was quick to react! As we arrived, I quickly got on the phone to our friend Lee, as he only just moved up here so he could do his regional work. It was great being able to see him again. It’s a shame he couldn’t join us on the East Coast. That’s life! From what we saw of the coastal town, it looks quite nice, but just don’t go swimming in the sea, unless crocodiles don’t bother you, and you are not too attached to your limbs! After not too long a bus journey, we arrived in ‘Townsville,’ another one of those places we have heard a lot about, but were unable to visit, until now. I say visit, but we only had an hour to look around, with our luggage in tow, before we had to board the ferry. I think a night or two here would be nice, but at least we say we got to see some of it! The ferry across was only very short, less than thirty minutes. From the port, we caught a local bus that was only maybe fifteen minutes which bought us down to our hostel, ‘Base Backpackers.’ As first impressions go, it ticks all the boxes! It’s right on the beach which is perfect.
Entertainment wise in the bar, well, ‘Entertainment you say?’ Well would you call the sound of someone trying to kill one of your favourite hits on the microphone during karaoke a good night, sorry misses, but what planet are you on? There was only so much that we could take, before heading back to our dorm!
Always looking for the best places to explore, we were pointed in the direction of ‘Hawkings Point.’ The walk up to the lookout was probably just as nice as we found ourselves going up and down hills with amazing views. Of course, when we reached the lookout, we were blessed with a perfect clear sky looking out as far as the eye could see. With the sun coming down, it certainly was very special. We ended up staying up there for a good while. Eventually we decided to head back down before it got dark. Trying to find your way back in the dark would not be such a good idea. And anyway, the only thing on Jason’s mind was the free welcome drink at 6:30 in the hostel! Tut, tut!
With only one full day to explore, we weren’t going to waste it, and plus, with Jason not having his driver’s licence with him, we had to rely on public buses which, unfortunately wasn’t the most frequent of services. On an up, we did get to explore the island even if our day out was dictated by bus times. With an hours wait for the bus, we decided to kill a bit of time and go for a little snorkel with our free gear that the hostel lent us in ‘Nelly Bay, right beside the hostel. When the bus finally arrived, we got it all the way to Alma Bay which had some really nice snorkelling. As our schedule is dictated by the bus times, we only had a certain amount of time there before the next bus came, which dropped us off to our next destination, ‘Horseshoe Bay.’ While it is a beautiful area to visit, the infrequent bus times only gave us a very small open window to go for a swim. I say ‘Swim’ as you won’t see much snorkelling!
With a busy day hopping between buses and swimming points, our last major stop was the ‘The forts walk’ which I really wanted to do and rightly so as it was well worth it. We enjoyed a nice trek through the bush trying to spot wild Koala Bears. With eyes like ours, we spotted a few hiding up trees getting stoned on eucalyptus leaves. On different parts of the walk we kept hearing strange noises which we thought were coming from wild pigs. We quickly put our guards up as they are not something you want to see in the bush. Who knows what they might do to you. Later on, we found out that we had nothing to fear as that strange noise was coming from mating Koala Bears. Noisy feckers! Up at the top of the fort, we watched the sun coming over the whole area which was beautiful. The only problem is, it meant we had to trek back in the dark, oh well! When we reached the starting point, we had to wait ages for the bus. I hate buses!
Eventually, we made it back to the hostel, we went straight to the bar before 8PM and started queuing for food. When we eventually got to the bar, we were told that the kitchen closed at 8:00. Sorry love, but I joined the queue before 8:00! I was disgusted! I told Jason I was boycotting the bar in protest. All I want is food! Someone please feed me! In search of food, we hopped another bus. I know, I am sick of buses! The bus driver who was originally from Canada was very chatty. We told him we wanted to get something to eat. He said there was not much of a choice at this time. He told us about one place which he dropped us outside. Let’s just say, it did the job! Not able to face another bus, we decided to walk back!
On our last morning, we took a stroll over to ‘Matilda Bay’ as I wanted to check out the area. With a coffee in one hand and a camera in the other, we took a walk along the pier before heading back to the hostel to get our stuff! I really didn’t expect the island to be so big! There is so much we weren’t able to see. If we are ever in the area, we will have to pop over again!
By Andrew
Comments