17th -> 21st July (Magnetic Island)

Jake's car was... an antique... but it was a fun ride :) The drive was over 4 hours and we listened to rock music most of the way. It was great. Windows down, iced coffee in hand and one of the most beautiful roads I've been on stretching out in front of us. It was amazing to have the sea to the left of us, the tablelands to the right and farmland surrounding us as we drove down the straight road. All the way to Townsville the side of the road changed from banana plantation to sugarcane field around every 40 minutes, separated by a few minutes in a town or village. I loved it.

We arrived in Townsville, waved goodbye to Jake and headed for the dock. Townsville seemed well groomed but nothing seemed to have any character... so we didn't hang around. On the ferry across to Magnetic Island Fanely and I were reading a map and getting a little worried about how to get to a backpackers to drop off our bags (the nearest one to the ferry was a 3k walk... fine with my bag but not Fanely's). She spotted a guy with a 4x4 and went to ask for a lift while I started chatting to a pair of English girls. I came away with success :) They had a camper van with room. Score!

The four of us ended up staying in Base Backpackers, on the south coast of the island. It was a nice place, with a big bar area, but they charged us $12.50 each to pitch up a tent! Not best pleased we all then joined in the $10 dollar all you can eat BBQ on the same ticket. hahaha! That'll teach them. After eating 3 or 4 plates of meat (can't remember how many) we chilled at the bar and met the locals. It had become common practice by this stage, it just felt natural to sit at a table full of strangers and chat away... not like home. I'll definitely try it when I get home, but I don't think it'll be the same. The next morning we still felt cheated by the camping fee so we stayed another night without paying. hahaha! Teaching them twice!

The island is amazing, I loved it, and I will go back again. It was full of amazing walks that take you through the bush, onto beaches, over rocks and up to the highest places on the island. It was a stunning island and the weather was perfect. The best part for me was the wildlife. I saw Akidnas, Koalas, lorakeets, cockatoos, a red tailed black cockatoo, rock wallabies, lizards and sea eagles to mention a few. I was loving it!

For our third night Fanely and I hitch hiked up to the north of the island and stayed at a place I was dying to go: Koala village. It was an open plan camping area with, yes you guessed it, lots of wildlife. We met two girls from Sydney and spent the day on the beach, walking in the bush and fishing. That night we sat out in a group of six eating dinner and three possums came down from the trees to suss us out. they obviously knew it was food time! But we weren't eating a lot: we had booked in for a Bush tucker breakfast for the morning, all you can eat :) my favourite. I havn't eaten like that ever since!

Sadly it was time to leave and we headed back to Townsville and stayed in a backpackers ready to hitch hike in the morning. It was the most dull place I visited. The people in the hostel were great, and the marina was beautiful but no character or spirit in the place. So we left early the next morning for magnetic island. But to complicate things, Fanely decided to buy a didgeridoo... a great idea, and great fun (we'd been playing other people's didges everywhere we went) but it did make hitch hiking a little harder...