Magnetic Island
Our friends Carrie and Michael were in town for two weeks to see Australia and New Zealand. We have enjoyed every bit of having them around for dinner every night (and the presents from the US that they brought along). We also managed to take a few days off so we could head out to Magnetic Island and the reef for a long weekend.
Magnetic Island is a very sleepy island just off the coast of Queensland. Most of it is actually national park and it has one of the largest koala populations in Australia. It also is packed with beautiful deserted beaches. However accommodations are quickly being built up but the restaurant options are still a little scarce. It makes for a perfect relaxing weekend though and there is plenty of stuff to do. We actually wish we could have stayed a few more days.
We arrived on Friday and quickly realised just how sleepy the island was and that we needed to get some mode of transportation. After a short walk from the ferry wharf we spotted a Moke rental and spent the afternoon driving around the island in our Moke. A Moke is an old small vehicle to transport ourselves around the island and very fun to drive around (aka more like a golf cart)! We of course opted for the topless red convertible. We drove around to check out the dinner options and stopped at a few beautiful beaches along the way. Once we had our dinner scoped out (a little Mexican bar named Noodies, which had some tasty dinners and great Sangria but it added a little humor to our night too), we headed for the first thing on Katie’s list…hiking to see if we could spot some Koalas. And we did! If there is wildlife near, Jared is sure to spot it. But we probably couldn’t have missed the mother koala and her baby on the side of the trail…we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect picture taking opportunity. We must have spent nearly 20 minutes admiring the two. Now we have officially seen almost everything on our Australia list in the wild (kangaroos, wallabys, wombats, whales, penguins, crocodiles, koalas). Finally we were able to tear ourselves away and finish the hike which afforded impressive views of the island and the ocean.
Afterwards we were all so hungry that we headed straight to the grocery store to grab some snacks and stock up on groceries for the weekend. The snacks included two of our Australia favorites to share with Carrie and Michael who also loved them; TimTams (kind of like how the oreo is to the US) and Red Rock Sweet Chili and Sour Cream potato chips. We stayed in a jaw-dropping apartment which opened up to the ocean and had an infinity pool! As soon as we saw it, we couldn’t help but jump in the pool for a swim…well, except Carrie who didn’t think it was worth the cold water to get in. But for the rest of us, we simply didn’t care. We spent every night and every morning eating, drinking, and hanging out on our balcony over the pool and the ocean. The master bedroom and bathroom also opened up to the ocean and there is nothing like going to sleep to the sound of the waves or waking up to the sunrise over the ocean.
Saturday was another successful day and after a homemade breakfast on the balcony we headed for another hike. This time we hiked along the coast through some gorgeous beaches, Arthur Bay, Florence Bay, and Radical Bay. It was like out of a magazine and the water was like bathwater. There was supposed to be great snorkelling with some coral reefs and ship wrecks right off the coast but unfortunately the underwater visibility wasn’t that great that day with the waves so we didn't stop for long. We were headed back to Horseshoe Bay for lunch, when Katie who was not prepared for such a hike and was wearing flip flops caught her foot in the rocks and broke her little toe. We didn’t realise until that night that it must have been broken as it turned all black and blue and nasty. She managed to hobble back for lunch though so we could all enjoy some fish and chips on the beach. While we were there, we spotted yet another koala right on the beach! It was a small one and must have been lost because the tree it was sitting in wasn’t a eucalypts tree at all. He was drawing quite a crowd anyway.
Carrie was so excited for the koalas that we had to make the Bungalow Bay Koala Village, a small village for koalas and other sick wildlife. We paid for the tour after lunch and got to hold cockatoos, baby crocs, a python, a blue tongue lizard, and of course a koala. He felt like a stuffed animal and was very soft. Carrie held him while the rest of us got to pet him. Afterwards, the zoo keeper put us all in for a surprise when he brought the female koala over to mate and she wasn’t too happy about it which then made the male mad. We never realised how loud a koala can be and it was quite hilarious. But Jared’s favourite part came last during the daily lorikeet feeding. They came from everywhere even before their food came out just in anticipation for it. While Jared stood in the midst of it with the birds all over him, Katie and Carrie fled from the fear of the bird poop that was surely going to come with it (especially Carrie who is afraid of birds). It was a bit of a long tour but a good one and we were ready for a dip in the pool, dinner and bed.
Sunday was another full day of wildlife viewing…this time at the reef. We had about an hour boat ride on some choppy seas. Katie is always a little seasick and even though she took a seasickness pill she still kept her eye peeled to the horizon the entire time to avoid any sickness. Jared was even feeling a bit queasy. But the reef offers some shelter so we were good for our diving adventures. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go to the reef we wanted to because of the rough seas but the reef we ended up at was still okay. A lot of it was dead from some storms that they had but there was still some beautiful fan corals, sea cucumbers, starfish, fishes, swim throughs, and even a white tip reef shark! It was our first dive on the reef as before we just had time for a snorkel. It was entirely different than diving at home in Manly. The water was so warm and clear. Katie was much more comfortable and actually really enjoyed the dives. Of course, it is one of Jared’s favourite things to do so he absolutely enjoyed it. That was our last day there as first thing Monday morning we headed back to Sydney and back to work. At least it is a short four day week before the next weekend!
Magnetic Island is a very sleepy island just off the coast of Queensland. Most of it is actually national park and it has one of the largest koala populations in Australia. It also is packed with beautiful deserted beaches. However accommodations are quickly being built up but the restaurant options are still a little scarce. It makes for a perfect relaxing weekend though and there is plenty of stuff to do. We actually wish we could have stayed a few more days.
We arrived on Friday and quickly realised just how sleepy the island was and that we needed to get some mode of transportation. After a short walk from the ferry wharf we spotted a Moke rental and spent the afternoon driving around the island in our Moke. A Moke is an old small vehicle to transport ourselves around the island and very fun to drive around (aka more like a golf cart)! We of course opted for the topless red convertible. We drove around to check out the dinner options and stopped at a few beautiful beaches along the way. Once we had our dinner scoped out (a little Mexican bar named Noodies, which had some tasty dinners and great Sangria but it added a little humor to our night too), we headed for the first thing on Katie’s list…hiking to see if we could spot some Koalas. And we did! If there is wildlife near, Jared is sure to spot it. But we probably couldn’t have missed the mother koala and her baby on the side of the trail…we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect picture taking opportunity. We must have spent nearly 20 minutes admiring the two. Now we have officially seen almost everything on our Australia list in the wild (kangaroos, wallabys, wombats, whales, penguins, crocodiles, koalas). Finally we were able to tear ourselves away and finish the hike which afforded impressive views of the island and the ocean.
Afterwards we were all so hungry that we headed straight to the grocery store to grab some snacks and stock up on groceries for the weekend. The snacks included two of our Australia favorites to share with Carrie and Michael who also loved them; TimTams (kind of like how the oreo is to the US) and Red Rock Sweet Chili and Sour Cream potato chips. We stayed in a jaw-dropping apartment which opened up to the ocean and had an infinity pool! As soon as we saw it, we couldn’t help but jump in the pool for a swim…well, except Carrie who didn’t think it was worth the cold water to get in. But for the rest of us, we simply didn’t care. We spent every night and every morning eating, drinking, and hanging out on our balcony over the pool and the ocean. The master bedroom and bathroom also opened up to the ocean and there is nothing like going to sleep to the sound of the waves or waking up to the sunrise over the ocean.
Saturday was another successful day and after a homemade breakfast on the balcony we headed for another hike. This time we hiked along the coast through some gorgeous beaches, Arthur Bay, Florence Bay, and Radical Bay. It was like out of a magazine and the water was like bathwater. There was supposed to be great snorkelling with some coral reefs and ship wrecks right off the coast but unfortunately the underwater visibility wasn’t that great that day with the waves so we didn't stop for long. We were headed back to Horseshoe Bay for lunch, when Katie who was not prepared for such a hike and was wearing flip flops caught her foot in the rocks and broke her little toe. We didn’t realise until that night that it must have been broken as it turned all black and blue and nasty. She managed to hobble back for lunch though so we could all enjoy some fish and chips on the beach. While we were there, we spotted yet another koala right on the beach! It was a small one and must have been lost because the tree it was sitting in wasn’t a eucalypts tree at all. He was drawing quite a crowd anyway.
Carrie was so excited for the koalas that we had to make the Bungalow Bay Koala Village, a small village for koalas and other sick wildlife. We paid for the tour after lunch and got to hold cockatoos, baby crocs, a python, a blue tongue lizard, and of course a koala. He felt like a stuffed animal and was very soft. Carrie held him while the rest of us got to pet him. Afterwards, the zoo keeper put us all in for a surprise when he brought the female koala over to mate and she wasn’t too happy about it which then made the male mad. We never realised how loud a koala can be and it was quite hilarious. But Jared’s favourite part came last during the daily lorikeet feeding. They came from everywhere even before their food came out just in anticipation for it. While Jared stood in the midst of it with the birds all over him, Katie and Carrie fled from the fear of the bird poop that was surely going to come with it (especially Carrie who is afraid of birds). It was a bit of a long tour but a good one and we were ready for a dip in the pool, dinner and bed.
Sunday was another full day of wildlife viewing…this time at the reef. We had about an hour boat ride on some choppy seas. Katie is always a little seasick and even though she took a seasickness pill she still kept her eye peeled to the horizon the entire time to avoid any sickness. Jared was even feeling a bit queasy. But the reef offers some shelter so we were good for our diving adventures. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go to the reef we wanted to because of the rough seas but the reef we ended up at was still okay. A lot of it was dead from some storms that they had but there was still some beautiful fan corals, sea cucumbers, starfish, fishes, swim throughs, and even a white tip reef shark! It was our first dive on the reef as before we just had time for a snorkel. It was entirely different than diving at home in Manly. The water was so warm and clear. Katie was much more comfortable and actually really enjoyed the dives. Of course, it is one of Jared’s favourite things to do so he absolutely enjoyed it. That was our last day there as first thing Monday morning we headed back to Sydney and back to work. At least it is a short four day week before the next weekend!
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