After my hair raising trip on Broomstick I was rellieved to discover that I had 3 nights booked in Airlie Beach meaning I had most of Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday to relax and recover! After I wrote my last blog I met up with a few of the girls from the boat for Mexican dinner at Cactus Jacks and it was nice to have a group of us out together.
Saturday 9th August 2014
Before I headed off to the Whitsundays I'd seen posters for a community market so I wandered around the small stalls, mostly clothing, jewellery, fruit/veg and food but also bizarrely including a hairdresser! As I was leaving I unexpectedly found these fellas on the beach. They made a novel change to donkey rides!
Also on the beach a talented guy had impressively sculpted this dragon and although I was wowed by him, part of me thought it was a shame the sand was getting burnt.
Back on the main road, these guys were hanging out on the bridge. The birds and animals you see in the wild here still amaze and excite me. Jus last night in the bar, a kuckabura swooped in, turned around and flew out again, scavenging for food!
The rest of the day was very chilled out. I bumped into a few of the Broomstick girls so we went for lunch together. Did I mention a couple of them were from Coventry? Small world! After sitting around at the hostel I ate at a cool pizzeria with a rather eccentric waitress in her jelly shoes!
Of course I also FaceTimed Dad to wish him a happy birthday.
Sunday 10th August 2014
Making the most of my relaxing days I had a lie in even though I was awake early. After a couple of jobs and lunch I headed to the lagoon (in the UK we'd probably call it a lido but that sounds a bit 60s and far less exotic!). Nestled between the main street and the sea, it's really idyllic and I enjoyed a slow swim back and forth.
Once I was dry and changed, I found Rita enjoying the view near the lagoon. I first met Rita in Sydney 6 weeks ago. We then bumped into each other the day my Whitsundays trip left but the surprising thing was, when I checked into the YHA after my trip, I was in the bunk a above her! After a short chat on the sea front, Rita suggested watching the sunset at the sailing club. There was a great atmosphere because it was the second night of race week. Cheerful teams were drinking beer and cocktails from temporary bars around the tables arranged in the garden. The sunset was once again stunning.
After dinner at the hostel we wandered back along the seafront (there was lots of wandering in Airlie Beach!) and found a couple of really good musicians to listen to. As we were walking towards the lagoon, I spotted a couple of long legged birds strutting along so we stopped to watch. Our gaze then fell on the huge tree next to us which was decorated with fairy lights. We were busy admiring it when Rita let out a shriek - she'd realised there was a guy just chilling out in the tree camouflaged by the branches right in front of us!
Although I'd had plenty of time to unwind, I was quite sad to leave Airlie Beach. I would've quite like one more day to enjoy the lagoon but hey ho!
Monday 11th August 2014
To save myself walking over the hill again, I took the footpath shortcut to the bus stop at the other marina. Today's bus would take me to Townsville where I would take the 20 minute ferry ride to Nelly Beach on Magnetic Island.
I hadn't considered how I would get from the ferry terminal to the hostel so I hopefully looked around for a shuttle bus emblazoned with the Base logo outside the terminal but had no luck. As I sat down to weigh up my options I overheard some backpack laiden people in a bus queue mention Base. After a few questions I joined the hoard of backpackers pile onto the bus, much to the amusement of the passengers already comfortably seated.
It was gone 3pm by the time we were checked in and I found the helpful girl who had given me a dollar for the bus (to save the wrath of the driver by giving him a $20 dollar note!) and I bought her a pot of cider (another strange Aussie measure) as a thank you. She reminded me of the sunset walk so we joined the group which had waited patiently in the bar. It turned out to be quite a hike up a rocky mountain but the view was definitely worth it!
The hostel was in a unique position, right on the beach so I was able to take this awesome shot of the moon from the bar!
Tuesday 12th August 2014
I'd decided I wanted to visit Bungalow Bay Koala Village and overheard a tip to go to the morning tour rather than the later ones to avoid post-feed toileting from the animals you hold!
Buying myself a day ticket, I jumped on the 8:55 bus from the hostel to Horseshoe Bay. The buses on the Island are really easy, one route from Picnic Bay, through Nelly Bay and Arcadia to Horseshoe Bay, back and forth all day. They're not particularly regular but the longest wait is around 90 mins and on average they're every hour. Amusingly they're timetabled solely round the arrival and departure of the ferries from the mainland!
Anyway, I arrived at Bungalow Bay, bought my ticket and waited eagerly for the ranger to start the 10am tour. We had quite a large group but this make it fun to watch everyone's reactions to holding the animals. I'll start with the tamer photos of the animals we could see including lizards, adult crocs, birds and koalas.
The first animal we could hold was a turtle. They had three turtles named after the Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, I think we held Donatello and they need one more to complete the quartet! They had a Michelangelo but can't remember if the 3rd was called Leonardo or Raphael.
Next was a red tailed black macaw (the ranger joked that the Aussies aren't very inventive with naming species!) called Shadow. One at a time we put a sunflower seed between our lips for a 'kiss'! He was very quick so it was tricky to get the perfect shot.
The next enclosure contained lots of different lizards and a baby crocodile. This lizard has lots of names including a two headed lizard as his tail looks like another head to confuse predators.
Here our ranger is showing us why we weren't to put our fingers in front of the crocodile. We also had to keep it away from our faces as it would've bitten us!
This one, I believe, is a bearded dragon. He liked sitting on our shoulders.
To have your photo taken cuddling a koala, you had to pay extra and as I'd already done it, I decided not to but when we stroked it we were able to take a selfie. This is one of my favourite selfies yet!
By this point of the tour I'd become pretty fearless. I think it helped that the animals had grown steadily in fear factor so when the ranger announced that the snakes were next I was raring to have a go. I was so gobsmaked that I'd done it that I have no idea what type of snake it is! It was a very strange sensation as I couldn't see its tail or head but I could just feel it tickling my tummy!
The final animal on show was this spider. Again, I'm not sure what type it is but I do know it is highly venomous, it can kill several humans with one drop of venom. Unsurprisingly we weren't allowed to hold it!
By now, our 2 hour tour had flown by and it was time to bid farewell to Bungalow Bay Koala Village. Mind blown, I walked into Horseshoe Bay proper to see what it had to offer. While I was there I was able to capture a 'Barbie' car. These cars are available to hire to tour the Island and are apparently very funny to watch struggle up the huge hills.
These signs were another common sight as roads just seem to end! Stating the obvious I know!
The rest of the day consisted of me making the most of my day bus ticket by hopping on and off. Visiting Arcadia and Picnic Bay, I took in the breathtaking views and took some arty shots. While I was waiting for the bus in Horseshoe bay I was lucky to see 3 kangaroos grazing on the other side of the road.
Unfortunately, by the time I reached Picnic Bay my phone battery had died so you'll have to endure some rubbish photo-of-my-camera shots!
Finally I just want to mention the hostel I stayed in here. To say I was apprehensive is an understatement. Having found Base Brisbane Central to be a dump, I arrived with very low expectations and I've been very pleasantly surprised. The fact that it's right on the beach certainly goes in its favour as the photo below shows - this is the view you're welcomed to as you leave your room first thing in the morning.
And this is the view over breakfast.
You also stay in cute little huts and although they are incredibly noisy when people walk past and the the beds are the creakiest, most unstable yet, they have a certain charm about them and they certainly look good at night!
You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it. - Robin Williams
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