Travel: MAGNETIC ISLAND - East Coast Australia Adventures Part 3

Never one to get tied down, I left Airlie Beach and my Whitsundays adventures (read all about them here) with a long day ahead of me to reach Magnetic Island. My bus took me to Townsville where I then hopped on a ferry to the island and walked the half hour to the Base Hostel that I was staying at. Somehow I’d ended up staying at one of the overwater bungalows (pretty fancy for a hostel, eh?). However, the hostel was hardly close to anything, which meant I settled in for the night in preparation for a big day the next day.

First thing in the morning, I caught the bus to The Forts, a walk which I’m sure had some kind of military history behind it, but I was more interested in trying to find the koalas who are said to reside en route. The walk in to the viewpoint was unsuccessful in that respect, but did nice 360 views around the island, and we did spot two koalas on our way back. This was also a good opportunity to take photos with the islands famous Barbie cars, which do indeed look like the one driven by Barbie herself.

Given that we’d bought day bus passes, it only made sense to head the beach, and I chose Radical Bay as our destination, having heard that it was probably the nicest to visit. This involved hopping off the bus at the touristy Horseshoe Bay and trekking about 40 minutes in the heat until we reached the bay. A dip in the sea would have been much relished, but the previous days news of the shark attack had left me a bit hesitant to venture into Australian waters.

Nonetheless, the beach was deserted and pretty, and helped us pass the time between the irregular bus times. Back at Base, I had intended to try and fit both a visit to Alma Bay to see the rock wallabies and a hostel-organised sunset trip in, but was told there was no way I’d be able to get to Alma and back before the group left.

However, the receptionist helpfully pointed out that there was a little marina a twenty minute walk away where we might find wallabies, and we’d also be back in time for sunset, so I was sold. I wandered over to the marina and spent a good twenty minutes peering down at the rocks for any sign of wallabies.

On the verge of giving up hope, I decided I’d have a look at some of the rocks further up, and lo and behold, whilst I was looking over the edge, up popped a wallaby. Further along, a few more appeared. In retrospect, I was pleased I’d come here instead of Alma Bay as the latter was certainly more touristy with more domesticated wallabies. Here, I didn’t have to share them with anyone, and we both appreciated the others personal space.

Checking my watch, I decided it was time to head back to the hostel so I could head out on the sunset walk. ‘Oh, we’re not doing that today,’ the receptionist said. Okay, great. Guess I was just going to have to do it on my own then. ‘How long will it take?’ ‘About twenty minutes’ Perfect.

I followed the vague directions I was given… and followed them… and followed them. It became very clear that I was not getting anywhere within twenty minutes, and eventually reached the start of a path up to the lookout where I knew we were supposed to watch sunset from. The sign detailed an hour and a half round trip. No thank you.

I headed back to the hostel and instead enjoyed a pleasant sunset from my balcony, complete with rock wallabies playing down below. What more could you want? The following morning I took a stroll along the beach before returning to the ferry port and back to the mainland for my final bus journey of the trip – up to Cairns.

Thanks for reading Part 3 of my East Coast Australia adventures! I can't wait to head back to Aus for even more exploration - do you have any recommendations of where I should visit? I'd love to hear them - drop me a message in the comments below or on Twitter @CiarasCountry where you can also be the first to know when I post a new blog!