DAY ONE
We began our journey getting the 7am greyhound from Airlie Beach to Townsville. We are getting used to these early mornings but really when you have a lovely full day of fun in the sun it's not that hard :)
We set off at 6.20am ready to catch the bus. Saying goodbye to Airlie Beach.
Greyhound journey was 5 hours and we were very happy....WIFI!!!! The journeys seem to fly by just sitting there taking in all the lovely scenery.
We arrived at the ferry terminal and the journey took about 20 minutes so not too bad. The journey was a little choppy but we were soon there luckily!
The weather wasn't too good. It was really cloudy and windy so it didn't really show the island off to its full beauty. We got on a bus and it took us to our hostel. To be honest we were thinking we could walk to the hostel due to it at least being in the same bay but it was about 15 minutes even by bus.
We checked in and the first thing we noticed was that things are so far apart! We had become pretty used to having everything just down one road especially in Airlie Beach!
We were staying in a 8 bed dorm so we looked at the room and sorted out our bags. We were in a little lodge with trees at the back of us.
We were hungry so we asked reception where we could eat. They replied 'there is a cafe about 15 minutes away'. Oh wow! If we weren't hungry before you left you definitely would be when you arrive! Ha ha!!
We were hungry so we asked reception where we could eat. They replied 'there is a cafe about 15 minutes away'. Oh wow! If we weren't hungry before you left you definitely would be when you arrive! Ha ha!!
We set off waking down the road in search for food.
We did think about hitch-hiking we were that hungry!
We came across an information centre about the wildlife which was interesting.
We didn't stop too long...I was thinking which finger to eat first! Ha ha!
We finally arrived and noticed there was a supermarket so we popped in there to see what we could buy. We then called in the Chemist and they turned into a Tourist Information Centre. We were asking 'what would you recommend we do', 'where should we visit' and most importantly 'where could we see a wild koala'. There is meant to be 800 wild koalas out here, surely we must see one!
We were given some ideas and went on our way to the cafe. We enjoyed a lovely wrap and sandwich.
We pressed the button to enter and I went in. When the door closed it was like been on the game show 'The Crystal Maze!'. A voice greeted me and said 'Hello you have 10 minutes and then the door will open automatically' - let's hope no one is constipated! Ha ha!! It then played music to me. It was a very different public toilet!!
The beach was lovely and we enjoyed watching the sun go down. We heard a lot of noise and so we looked up and noticed about 10 cockatoos in the tree! They were squawking their heads off!
We found this brain shaped rock which entertained us!
We missed the bus so waited in the BBQ area. Someone was cooking sausages making us hungry! It was so nice sitting by the sea listening to the surroundings and chatting.
We headed back on the bus. One thing we have quickly noticed is everyone knows each other and it's a really nice community place. The island has only one bus route it's that small. The bus drivers must know everyone! Ha ha :)
We got back at the hostel and decided to blow the budget and eat there. We were so lucky though it was 7.59 and dinner finished at 8! We were very thankful because we didn't really fancy walking 15 minutes in the dark going back to the cafe! We enjoyed a burrito each which went down very nice!!
We then decided it was bed time so we headed off. We were ready for bed after a very busy day!!
DAY TWO
We got up and really felt like a hot breakfast. We looked at our options and decided to go with a bacon and egg roll. It was very yummy!
After our brekkie we hopped on the bus and said morning to our bus driver for the day!
We were using the bus a lot so he suggested buying a day pass. It was 7.40 for all day rather than 1.80 per journey. We went with his advice and hopped on.
The chemist/tourist information recommended a walk called the Forts Walk so we got off there.
It was a lovely day and people were saying good morning when we walked past. We kept our eyes on the trees due to been hopeful to see some wild koalas.
We also saw this on the bus, they had the hat on backwards and for a split second I thought it was someones face!! haha
We were getting neck ache and then a couple stopped us and told us about a koala sighting coming up on our right. We said a big thank you, they could have easily kept it to themselves! The hunt was on!! We walked a little bit further and a little faster! We then spotted him/her. We decided it was a he, for some reason.
He (we called him Rupert!) was asleep of course, not too high up in the tree. You had a job to see him though with all the leaves around him. We took our pictures and left him be. We carried on and a few people told us about another koala sighting! They were coming out of hiding today! They told us to look out for a sign saying 'Range Finder' and then look up.
We carried on taking in the sights. You could feel the history all around you and all the soldiers who would have made footsteps before us.
We came across the old ammunition bunker. It was pretty dark and scary in there!
The pictures below are with flash - it was pitch black!
I wanted to get a picture of what was inside so I used the flash (in case anything spooky came up!). Next thing we knew there was something darting about! There was a bat! It must have got a fright!
We carried on taking in the views :) it was all so green! We then got to the sign saying Range Finder and looked up. We saw our second WILD koala! (We called him Kenny!)
He was asleep and was so close to us we could almost reach up and touch him!
We spoke to a man who has lived on Magnetic Island for 4 years and has never seen a koala so close so we were very lucky!
We carried on and came across another bunker.
We then found the signal post which was interesting.
From here we saw some lovely views!
We couldn't go to the command post due to it not been safe but we saw it from a distance.
We then carried on back to where we started passing Rupert. He was still sleeping! We took in the view. It was so quiet too which was lovely!
We jumped on a bus with our 'day rover' to Arcadia which was famous for wild wallabies and being able to feed them! The hunt was on but not before we had some food!
We saw a place where they hold toad races which would have been quite cool to see but unfortunately it was just every Wednesday and it was our last day.
We smelt out a pizza place and decided to share a large one. It was just like been in Italy. They were all speaking Italian and the radio was Italian. We had to be careful or we might have started saying Mamma Mia! Ha ha.
The pizza was delicious though and much needed after our walk and excitement of seeing two wild koalas!
We soon polished it off!
We then headed off towards the beach in search of the wallabies. We didn't really have time to mess around though due to needing to catch a ferry back to Townsville to get our bus. Going the wrong way was not really a good move! We headed off right along the beach instead of going left!
We were fascinated by these trees!
We were looking around thinking where are the wallabies - I thought they were meant to be quite tame. No wonder we couldn't see any....it was the wrong way!
We quickly headed back in the correct direction and saw some!!
There were about 4 all together but as soon as they knew people had food they all came out of the woodwork! They seemed so tame!! A kind guy said we could have some of his food to give them which was very kind! We of course didn't turn down that opportunity.
They were so sweet and gentle. I gave mine a little stroke under the chin like the kangaroos!
We ran out of food and time was getting on. We rushed back to the bus stop and had JUST missed one! We sat around waiting and talking to people so it wasn't too bad!
We headed back to the hostel taking in the lovely views of Magnetic 'Maggie' Island once more. We grabbed our bags and sat by the sea. It was a lovely spot.
We sat waiting for the bus and two guys from our Fraser Island Cool Dingo trip said hello! It's a small world! We spoke to them for a bit and gave them some tips on where to go. They had hired a 'barbie' car. It was so funny seeing grown men driving this...
The bus came so we hopped on!
The bus came so we hopped on!
We got the bus heading though Picnic Bay on the way to the ferry. We didn't get chance to go there so thought the bus is the next best thing!
The first thing I noticed was they had a crystal maze toilet!! Ha ha!
We got the ferry at 6.20pm and got to Townsville at 7pm. We set up camp and were hoping to be nice and warm in the ferry ticket office but they were closed. We still used their wifi though as we knew the password but only for 5 minutes as my phone died :(
We sat in the outside waiting area and got comfortable as our greyhound bus wasn't until 12.30am!!
We needed the bathroom so we went in search of a hotel or public toilet. We thought we would have a wonder now instead of it getting too late! We came across this park and asked a security guard directions. There were no hotels nearby so the park toilets had to do! On our way we spotted a lovely fountain all lit up.
We then headed back and set up camp again until we got kicked out of the waiting area due to the last ferry going!
We sat somewhere else and got talking to a lady who was catching the same bus! She was talking about places in Australia and happened to mention about a murder close by and the person been on the run. Wonderful!! Thank goodness we went to the toilet earlier!!
Once we got talking the time flew by and along came the bus! We jumped on and hoped for two seats each. We were lucky until a few stops and then we got company! Rach was sat next to a guy from Fiji and I was sat next to his friend. We soon got to sleep though and woke up in Cairns!!
Let's see what we can get up to in Cairns!
Hope your enjoying this! We would love to read your comments :)
Nat xx
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