Maggie Island

(Geoffrey Bay)

Two days ago I went to Magnetic Island organized by the Cath. College. Let me tell you, it was pretty freakin' sweet!

Travel was a bit much: bus to the ferry, ferry to the island, bus to Arcadia, 4k hike to Horseshoe Bay, bus to ferry, ferry to mainland, walk to town, bus to Uni.

So first stop was Arcadia - this resort type of place. They had the whole deal: pools, some jumping thing for kids, bars, casino section, etc. Across the street was Geoffrey Bay which was absolutely GORGEOUS, though we couldn't swim in the water because of the stingers. There were some decently sized boulders that were fun to scramble around on, but no major climbing as of yet (sadly). A bunch of the girls and I went there first to hang out on the rocks and just admire the beauty. We went back across the street and got lunch. I ate the absolute biggest tofu burger I have ever seen and it was amazing (awesome sauce on it, lots of greens, etc), along with some chips (fries). Definitely stuffed.

After all that, I went hiking to Horseshoe Bay. Most people took the bus (weaksauce). I'm really glad I managed in my flip flops through all the streams and the mostly uphill hike. There were so many birds and lizards. There are a bunch of pictures on FB to check out. I really like all the palm trees and the lush green landscapes. I guess since it rains ALL the time that is what is expected. The hike was pretty fun with the girls - I was made to lead it since everyone was afraid a snake would pop out on the trail.

We finally arrived at Horseshoe Bay and got to swim in the water (we were dying of heat at that point - no worries, I was well hydrated though haha). They had the nets up etc and almost everyone was there already. It was exactly as the name states: little inlet thing, horseshoe shaped of course. Best part of it though? I paid a pretty cheap price to go tubing for about 10 minutes and it was probably the best tubing experience ever! The people were extremely nice, the guy drove extremely fast (or so it seemed), and there were 3 of us hooked up to the back of the boat. We were all pretty scared of the stingers, but none of us fell off. Most of the photos my friend took have our faces all scrunched - lots of sea water spraying. Funny stuff.

On the way home I lost my bib - good thing it was the second to last day, and one of my friends ended up finding it a day later. At night me and two friends grabbed icecream at Juliette's - a famous Townsville icecream shop - and we walked The Strand at night. It was quite beautiful with the lights and the ocean etc.