Magnetic Island

My second full day in Australia is coming to an end. With so many differences, it’s hard to believe that I’m still on the same planet! There’s a fourteen hour time difference and because of daylight savings time here, we continue to go to sleep early and wake up even earlier. I have already had a couple close calls while crossing the road because I continue to look the wrong way before stepping out (they drive on the left side of the road). Between Celsius, kilometers, and military time, it’s going to take quite a while to get acclimated to the “Aussie way”. After our ferry ride to Magnetic Island on the first day, we had a short walk to the Island Leisure Resort where we are staying. We were told by a local right when we stepped off the ferry that a tiger shark had been seen in the harbor the day before…always great to hear :/. Because of our jet lag, Brittany Fennell and I went for a run on the beach the first morning around 5:30 and ended up watching the sun come up on Magnetic Island. It’s without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been, and is everything and more that I expected. We came back to an amazing breakfast complete with fresh fruit, yogurt, juice, and toast (tasted different than American food, but just as good!) We had a short class in a classroom at our resort and then caught a bus to the other side of the island to Horseshoe Bay. From there, we took around a 45 minute hike to Balding Bay, a smaller, more remote bay that was well worth the hike! Although it’s almost winter time here in Australia and despite all of the shady areas, it was really hot hiking and we were thankful to be able to jump in the water when we finally got there. We stayed there for a little over two hours, swimming, relaxing, and exploring, and then headed back to our resort. On the way back, we passed about 10 kangaroos in a field on the side of the road, but unfortunately, I couldn’t grab my camera in time. Until then did it really start to sink in that I was in Australia! We ate at a local pizza place that night and ended up going to sleep early once again because of our long day. We woke up this morning and caught the ferry back into Townsville to take a few classes at the Great Barrier Reef Headquarters and visit the aquarium there. Although the classes weren’t too much fun, they were interesting, and we now have them out of the way to allow for a free day tomorrow! We talked to some of the locals, and a few of us plan on waking up early in the morning to take a hike on Fort Walk, a hike notorious for spotting koala bears; Magnetic Island has one of the biggest populations of koalas in Australia. We then hope to visit Geoffrey Bay, which is a popular place to feed the many wallabies, who are friendly enough to come right up to you. While many of the boys plan on going deep sea fishing tomorrow, about 10 of the girls are going on a cruise at 2 o’clock tomorrow that takes us around the island to many different bays, snorkeling, boomnetting (a platform that we sit in while it is drug behind the boat about 2 feet deep in the water), fishing, and fish feeding! It’s the last free day we will have for a while so we are doing our best to make the most of it! On Sunday, we will head to the great Barrier for two nights, and I expect it to be one of the highlights of my trip. It’s hard to believe that I have only been here for 3 days, and I know that by the end of this trip, I will have some unforgettable and priceless memories!
*Lindsay