Return to Magnetic Island

Very recently I got to return to Magnetic Island, an island just off the coast of Townsville and a place that I love.

We had won free accommodation for a couple of nights, and this was perfect as I had wanted to go back to the island to enjoy hiking in cooler weather, and watersports outside of jellyfish season.

First stop for me was to visit the rock wallabies again, before passing a bit of time strolling the beaches and drinking coffee while we waited for the tide to get low. 

Magnetic Island has a couple of self-guided snorkel tours, where features are marked with buoys so that you can spot different corals and so on quite easily. The recent winds had all been from the south east though, which apparently makes the waters around there more murky, so visibility was not good for us and we didn’t see a great deal very clearly.

Heading out on a low tide though did mean we got to see a few cool things, like giant clams, some corals, and the odd fish. Maybe not my very best snorkelling experience, but it was still great to get out in the water and experience another world.

Attempted snorkeling selfie

Giant clam

Corals

The following day, my plan was to hike across the island. The trail we followed wasn’t nearly as long as I had expected it to be, but this was perhaps a good thing as it seems my walking shoes had gotten a bit bent out of shape during our move to Australia, and I ended up with painful blisters. The scenery was worth it though, and it was fun to know we were hiking across an island.

That evening brought more wildlife encounters, as possums came to our accommodation. They make quite a racket running along the roof of the small building, despite being so small. I sat quietly in the doorway watching the shy creatures, and one even came pretty close to investigate what food we might have inside.

One day remained on the island, and I wanted to spend it looking for turtles. We had seen marine turtles out in the bay, poking their heads up to breathe, while sitting by the beach, and I thought that maybe if we were out on the water we would see them closer up.

We hired stand-up paddleboards (SUP) to go out on the sea, and I took snorkelling gear in case the opportunity arose to watch turtles underwater. 

I only got one good view of a turtle while we were out, as it breached the water coming up for air. I wasn’t quick enough getting to my camera though, so the only turtle photo I ended up with was taken from the beach, and the turtle is only visible as a black dot in the water.

Finally, we went for one last hike - I really didn't want to leave without having seen a koala! So on the way back to the ferry, we stopped to go on the Forts Walk. This walk is well known for being a good place to spot koalas, and as the evening was approaching it was a good time as well as a good place. Luck was onside again, and on the return to the car we spotted a cute little koala perched up in a tree just next to the track, lazily munching on gum leaves. A perfect farewell from Maggie again :)