Mokes and Marsupials on Magnetic Island

View from our hostel bar on Magnetic, not bad eh?
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After letting the hangovers ease off from a fantastic last night at Airlie Beach we headed back up to the coast to Townsville where we got a ferry to our next destination of Magnetic Island. Through speaking to fellow travelers and some research a night at Magnetic Island was a must. Luckily it also gave us a chance to meet up with Lucy, a friend from home.

Magnetic is a very small island of only 5,184 hectares but has a lot offer, not least being home to largest colony of koalas in the wild. Our accommodation at X Base backpackers was relatively cheap, even more so when one considered the stunning beach front location! After arriving fairly late in the afternoon we explored our surrounding area, strolling along the beach front admiring various types of Parrots chirping away. Then for a change we hit the bars Happy Hour (something we rarely do, honest) with Lucy and her travel companions for a few drinks. The evening was made even better by our marsupial friends; Possums were strolling freely through the grounds and were very inquisitive little fellows rummaging through the bins and keeping everyone amused.

Posted by Paul

The boys and Lucy on Magnetic Is.
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The next day gave us more time to explore the island, especially as Adam disappeared early in the morning, only to reappear with a Moke that he had hired! With this cool little car we could drive the length of the island in no time, the tour started well as we saw our first wild Koala, a fantastic looking little fellow, with a great life of sleeping up a tree most of the day! After touring round some winding coastal roads we decided to take on one of the islands many walking tracks, a bold move I feel considering the intense heat! At only 1.2 km one would think it rather easy, but the hill (felt like a mountain) we scaled made it a rather hot little trek. In the end it was well worth it, offering us a fantastic view along the coast of the island. Luckily with our semi convertible Moke we were able to cool off as we drove to the other side of the island. Being very few roads we had been down virtually all of them, but we saved the best till last as we prepared to turn around and head back to the hostel we were confronted by our first proper sighting of a Kangaroo, apparently we will be bored of them by the time we get to Melbourne, but it was a very special Australian moment! From there we had to say our goodbyes and hit the road for our next destination of Hervey Bay, a major access point to the spectacular Fraser Island.