2 days in Magnetic Island

I am sitting below a coconut tree on the beach of Townsville (the capital of North Queensland) and I want to share with you the nice experience we had in Magnetic Island… We spent 2 days on this island where an eucalyptus forest occupied more than 80% of the land! And in Australia, the word “eucalyptus“ goes always with KOALA. That is why we decided to visit this small island located at 8 kilometers of Townsville’s coasts.

The 19th of May, 6:00 am : After a noisy night (as we slept in a rest area for truck drivers), we woke up early in order to take the first ferry to Magnetic Island. Our backpacks were well prepared (we decided to pass an overnight in the island and leave our van on the car park of the ferry company) and we were ready for 2 days of walking in Magnetic Island. Our plans were: 30 kilometers on foot, discovery of the wild beaches and the Australian wildlife.

7:30 am: we arrived on the island with a small problem: Maxime’s backpack licked, the bottle of water emptied in his bag! So we had been obliged to put all our stuffs on the ground when we were in the quay to let them dry under the sun. All the people were looking at us… At least, they laughed a lot.

8:30 am: we started our bushwalk after having bought a new bottle of water (it’s essential with this tropical climate). We lost our way for 45 minutes in the forest, but it was a good opportunity for us to meet wallabies in their natural environment…

12:00 : we arrived to the campsite!

2:00 pm : To the beach! We spent the afternoon in Horseshoe bay with a wonderful weather. The only thing frustrating in Australia is that you cannot swim wherever you want: there are water stings and crocodiles. So you have to swim inside the area limite by a net.

5:30 pm : We assisted to a very nice sunset on the beach.

Then, we spent a nice evening drinking a beer at the bar and eating the«backpacker’s favourite meal »: pastas! (I should have count how many kilos we ate duirng our worldtrip!). Then on the way back to the tent we met a couple who said “buenas” to us. We answered them “ola” with a big smile, so happy to hear Spanish. Then the women took me by the arm and asked us if we spoke Spanish. We said “yes” and discussed about 20 minutes in Spanish with 2 persons from “El Salvador”. It was such a pleasure for us to speak this language we haven’t heard since we left South America.