Townsville and Magnetic Island

In the evening of 20.05. we spent our time at Sheriff Park in Townsville before spending the night at the BP Rest Area, a rest area near a gas station. It was quite crowded and unfortunately, due to the noise and bright street lights, the night was not very restful.

On 21.05. we went to the city center early in the morning, where we rented two mountain bikes for a tour at the Douglas Mountain Bike Resort. We quickly fastened the bikes on the roof of our car with tie-down straps. There are various routes on the mountain, which are also marked according to difficulty. Kenny safely guided Krissi along the narrow and rocky paths all day, and she only fell down a small slope once, but managed to grab onto some grass. Kenny rode a few more kilometers in the end because he took an extra route to the valley and back to get fresh water. Meanwhile, Krissi rested during an extended lunch break. :D Besides a few scratches from bushes and stones, we mainly suffered from exhaustion and severe headaches in the evening, which were probably caused by sunstroke, because we naturally chose one of the sunniest days for our tour.

In the evening, we didn't want to spend the night at the gas station again, so we went to the Riverside Convention Center and its camping area. We parked our car under a tree, but another camper warned us that bats live in that tree and our car would be quite dirty the next morning. So we had to move the car with Kenny still sleeping inside. Krissi had a quick dinner in the car before going to bed as well.

On Tuesday, we had a day off at the beach. First, we had a barbecue at the Rockpool, a designated area in the sea. It's funny that the beach in Townsville is called 'the Strand'. We also made a quick stop at K-Mart, where we bought new flip-flops for Kenny and new flashlights (Krissi unfortunately dropped the old one and broke it). We took a walk to Kissing Point at dusk, but it's not as romantic as it sounds because it's a war memorial.

We spent the night at the Riverside Convention Center again. That's all there is to report about Tuesday. :D

On Wednesday, 23.05., we had to get up early. We took the ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island at 9:00. On the first day, we wanted to explore the island. We had read that it should be easily possible to walk around the island in one day - maybe we should have been suspicious when we saw the number 12 kilometers. Still optimistic, we took the bus to the north of the island to Horseshoe Bay, where we wanted to start our walk back to the south to our hostel. Unfortunately, everything turned out differently because Kenny had been suffering from severe stomach pain all morning, and we made very slow progress.

After the first few kilometers, we took a break at Radical Bay and went swimming without a stinger net for the first time, and we also sunbathed on the rocks of the bay. Then we hiked past Florence Bay and Arthur Bay. They are all very secluded and beautiful sandy beaches in small bays. Shortly after Arthur Bay, we hiked uphill for a while. We must have looked pretty exhausted because after a while, another tourist in a rental buggy came by and asked if he should give us a ride. So we hopped on and he drove us to the starting point of the Forts Walk - apparently, there were koalas to see here, which was a must on Krissi's list. Luckily, Kenny felt better and we could take the 4km route together. After a few meters, there was fresh drinking water, and there we also met two German girls who had come with us on the ferry. Krissi immediately asked them if they had seen any koalas, and they gave us a tip on where to look - and we found some. In a tree a little off the main path, a small, super cute and incredibly fluffy-looking koala was sleeping. After a long photo session, we saw two more girls standing in the bush and quickly changed places with them so we could see our second koala. Then we climbed all the way up the mountain to enjoy the view at the Forts Lookout and, of course, we climbed on the rocks a little. ;) On the way back, we discovered a third koala hanging on a tree right next to the main path, happily eating eucalyptus.

It was already quite late, and we had to check in at our hostel by 17:00. So we had to reluctantly take the rest of the way by bus. But when we were just about to arrive at the bus stop, we heard the bus leaving. The next one would have come too close, and we wouldn't have made it in time for check-in. It wasn't possible to call the hostel because there was no reception. So we decided to hitchhike. After a few cars, we were lucky and a local person picked us up. She told us that she picks up hitchhikers twice a week. Very nice of her :) We drove with her to Nelly Bay and caught our bus there, which took us to Picknick Bay, where we checked in at the hostel on time.

We were greeted by an older, friendly gentleman. He gave us a tip on where to watch the sunset, where to eat dinner, and where to have breakfast. After a short break in our room, we went back up a hill, even though we were already tired from the many kilometers of walking the previous day. But it was worth it - it was probably not an official viewpoint because at the end, you could only enjoy the view by climbing onto the rocks of the mountain - but we are already experienced at that. :D When we arrived at the top, we shared our rock with another German, who often sits up there and admires the sunset. We had a great view of the sea, the uninhabited west coast of the island, and Townsville.

Afterwards, we strolled along the Picknick Bay for a while and then fell exhausted into our hostel bed - a real bed. :)

On Thursday, we had to get up early again, and we realized that a night in a real bed is not much better than sleeping in our beautiful car. Of course, it was great to have a spacious room to 'live' in, but we have become very accustomed to our car.

We went to Arcadia, Magnetic Island. Here we had breakfast at Gilligan's Cafe & Restaurant because breakfast was not included in the hostel.

Afterwards, we walked down the street to Pleasure Divers. We had booked two guided dives for the day. We were welcomed in a very relaxed atmosphere, and Krissi immediately felt relieved after the last dive, which had ended quite chaotically. We were immediately offered coffee as we filled out the forms and chatted a bit with our 20-year-old dive guide. Then we started packing the equipment and wetsuits. With all the equipment and long wetsuits, we went a few meters further to the beach - to Geoffrey Bay. This time we didn't go out to sea by boat, but we wanted to dive directly near the beach. The dive vests were thrown into the water, where Kenny's tank lost some oxygen, and our somewhat water-shy and cold-sensitive guide Brody had to jump into the water to save the remaining oxygen. We waddled into deeper water, fins included, and put on our vests. Then we had to swim about 50 meters in a backstroke to our dive spot.

We saw the reef and dived to the Moltke wreck. There wasn't much left of the ship because it was sunk in the bay in 1911 - still a crazy feeling. The visibility of only 4 meters made the trip more difficult. Nevertheless, we saw many fish, corals, and huge structures that looked like brains.

Our guide gave us each 6 weights, and we sank straight to the bottom of the dive site. This time it was Kenny who struggled a bit with floating in the water, alternating between hanging on the bottom and being on the water surface. At the beginning of the dive, Kenny's tank came loose again, but our guide quickly fixed the problem.

We spent about 35 minutes underwater and gained some more experience.

Our guide advised us not to do the second dive due to the poor visibility. The visibility at the other dive spot was apparently even worse. So after the first tour, we went for lunch and then saw the rock wallabies. Luckily, we immediately saw one sitting by the roadside, while another one jumped away. Normally, the little kangaroos are only visible in the evening dusk. We climbed around on the rocks a bit in search of more, but Krissi wasn't quite sure if we should have left them alone for the protection of the animals.

We walked along Geoffrey Bay to Nelly Bay. Here we spent the rest of the afternoon reading, doing yoga, and enjoying the wind and little sun. At 17:15, we took the ferry back to Townsville. On the way to the ferry, we discovered a fourth koala hanging on a tree right by the road, and we were amazed by two huge black parrots.

Unfortunately, we have to say that the visit to Magnetic Island didn't completely blow us away. It was incredibly amazing to see koalas in the wild and our dive was worth it. However, the beaches and forests are very similar to the mainland. Still, it felt a bit like a vacation from backpacking - and it was more expensive than our everyday life at the moment. :D

We spent the return trip on the ferry inside; outside, it was quite cold and windy, and the sea was much rougher than on the outward journey. We spent the evening at the 'beach' at a BBQ spot and then returned to the familiar Riverside Convention Center.

This morning, Friday, 25.05., we could finally sleep in again. We visited the Castle Hill Lookout, a mountain with a 360° view in the middle of Townsville. Instead of walking, we drove up the mountain because why do we have a car? :D Afterwards, we explored the remaining stretch of the beach promenade, went shopping, and enjoyed a delicious BBQ lunch at Sheriff Park. Thanks to free electricity, we can write our new blog post here as well. :D

Today we will continue heading south. We are excited to see what awaits us next. Airlie Beach and the Whitsunday Islands are on the agenda.