Magnetic Island

Our awesome weekend in Townsville was capped off by a day spent on Magnetic Island, often referred to as "Maggie" by locals. Our friends, Joe and Marley, joined us on the day, which made the experience that much more enjoyable!

We took the Sealink ferry from Townsville, and the ride was smooth, taking about 30 minutes. Upon arrival, we tried to hire a "moke" or a topless car, however, those types of cars were unavailable, so we ended up with a tiny regular car for the day. 

Leaving Townsville. View of Castle Hill from the ferry... we would drive to the top later in the evening.

Arriving on "Maggie Isle"

A topless car. Doesn't it look like a Barbie car?!

Our first stop was Picnic Bay, where the scenery was spectacular!

After visiting Picnic Bay, we drove back towards the ferry terminal and along the east coast of the island. There are several bays along the coast that have gorgeous little beaches with no one on them! Eventually we ended up near "The Forts" track, which Marley suggested we walk. It is a really nice walk with great views, particularly as you near the top of the Forts. Along the way there are remnants of structures that were used in World War II. Apparently it is common to see koalas along this track as well, but we did not see any on that day.

I think this is Cape Cleveland

Overlooking one of those bays along the coast

By the time we reached the car park we had worked up an appetite, so we headed to Horseshoe Bay in search of lunch. We ended up at Marlin Bar, a pub with a nice view of the beach. Horseshoe Bay is one of the more popular areas on the island, but we were visiting on a Monday so it was quiet. We enjoyed lunch, a few drinks, and some ice cream before hanging out on the beach for a bit. 

We had some time to kill before catching the ferry, so Marley suggested we stop at Bungalow Bay, where he knew there was going to be a bird feeding taking place. Sure enough, a guide came out with "bird food" and the birds started going crazy! It was actually a bit overwhelming and freaky to have birds landing on our heads.

These birds are definitely not afraid of people.

Hair or hat, the birds like to land on people's heads!

After our bird feeding adventure we headed to the ferry terminal to return the car and head back to Townsville. Once arriving back on the mainland, we headed up Castle Hill, where we watched the sunset and got a glimpse of Magnetic Island from the hill. It was a fitting end to a fantastic day. 

Love these guys! Magnetic Island in the background.

Marley headed back home to Ayr and Joe arranged for Erik and I have dinner from Zambrero, a restaurant chain that is owned by his friend. The concept is similar to Chipotle and while the food was very tasty, it was not really "Mexican". If someone could open up a Chipotle franchise over here, I think that person would be very successful! After dinner and a quick shower at Joe's place we were off to the airport, arriving about 45 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart. Gotta love domestic travel in Australia, where security screening is a breeze, you do not need a boarding pass to get to the gate, you board the plane from the tarmac, and you can bring your full water bottle with you on the plane. We had not traveled domestically in over a year, so we had almost forgotten how good that was! About three hours later we were back in Melbourne to endure a few more weeks of winter, already missing the North Queensland sunshine. Thanks to Joe and Marley for being such amazing hosts during our weekend getaway to Townsville!