Enjoyin And A Fryin In Ion (Magnetic Island)

Member Name: indiecater

Product:	Magnetic Island
Date:	22/02/02 (174 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Deserted Island With All The Services You'll Ever Need.

Disadvantages: A Tad Expensive & So Hot.

Magnetic Island is one of Australia's many National Parks and was named by Captain Cook who found that his compass went haywire when he sailed close to its shores. The island lies in the South Pacific just 8 kilometres from the Australian city of Townsville on the coast. In a country that has done a good job at attracting the hoards to its island retreats, Magnetic Island remains a wonderful exception. Its proximity to the mainland and its laidback attitude make for one long picture postcard break away from it all.

Getting to 'Maggie' is easy. There are at least a dozen Sunferries services from the Flinders Street East Terminal in Townsville's city centre. The journey only takes 30 minutes and the ferries are comfortable, timely and provide as much free tea and coffee as you can drink. The return fare is a little pricey for the distance at $5 but for the unrivalled beauty that awaits it is worth it.

The main port of entry on the island is Picnic Bay, a coral fringed harbour with warm waters and good views of Townsville and the surrounding hills in the distance. The island is currently experiencing its driest summer for 2 decades which is something considering that there are 320 days of sunshine every year. When you see the locals struggling in the midday sun you've got to wonder how temperate climate fragiles like us could survive it. But survive it we did, even if most of our bodily fluids seeped from our deluged pores for the duration of our stay.


PICNIC BAY

Picnic Bay is the biggest resort on the island and has a good range of accommodation. For those with bigger wallets there is a massive choise of places to stay. In fact Magnetic Island has probably retained its peaceful serenity by hiking prices to keep the backpackers at bay (sorry). At the top end the more established places seemed to be the Dunoon beachfront apartments which have been on the go since tourists first ar
rived on the island over 100 years ago. The apartments on offer have one or two bedrooms with prices starting at $110 per night (gulp!).

At the other end of the scale the Travellers Backpackers Resort has air-con beds going for as little as $12 a night. We stayed in an air-con double with no less than 4 beds charged at $48 a night (hmmm $12 times 4, a bit unfair when all we needed was a double bed). There were ensuite facilities and the room was comfortably cool and spacious.

The Travellers Resort has it sussed when it comes to keeping its clientele happy. There is a huge pool and shower facilities as well as a tidy garden area. The basketball court and table tennis is free and the resident crocodile Rin Tin Tin adds a little bit of nature to proceedings. Rin Tin Tin was bred in captivity and he is destined to enjoy his retirement under the watchful gaze of young travellers. Each day there is a bird feeding session on the grounds of the hostel that attracts the most colourful parrots imaginable.

The Travellers Resort was once a motel and it retains the dreary colours but the 3 bars (the Shed is the liveliest on the island at the weekend), budget meals (at $8), immaculately kept pool tables and good laundry facilities help overlook this fact.


HORSESHOE BAY

So called because of its shape, Horseshoe Bay is located on the north of the island a mere 9 km by road from Picnic Bay. Although the authorities frown upon motors in the bay some jet skiing does take place. Thankfully paddle boats are much more common. During the summer when jellyfish are a risk there is a huge safety net set up that allows you to swim without the threat of painful death. Be warned, however, that smaller jellyfish (the Kurandi for instance) can still make it through the nets. If you're healthy they'll only have you landed in hospital overnight. We didn't go swimming!

T
he beach itself is quite narrow but there is a wonderful landscaped garden corridor that provides Palm tree shading just beyond it. The Esplanade a little further back has plenty of restaurants including the Marlin Bistro with some great views of the bay. Cotters On The Beach and Gourmet Fillings are also popular if a little pricey. There is a good value supermarket on the main drag. The best value backpacker accommodation on the island is located here. Maggie's Beach House is a huge complex with pool that also offers a limited free ferry service to the bay.

Horseshoe Bay is close to the Koala Sanctuary and several good walks lined with Eucalyptus trees. The Radical Bay walking tour begins just off the Esplanade at Henry Lawson street and extends to a deserted beach and Radical Bay itself which has some amazing views.


ARCADIA (aka Geoffrey Bay)

Home to one of the islands biggest backpackers resorts Arkies, Arcadia is a nice alternative to Picnic bays fine tuned commercialism. The Arkies complex has internet facilities, pokies (gambling machines), a well landscaped pool and best of all toad racing every Wednesday night.

There are some diving schools in the area and the restaurants and bars are moderately priced. Arcadia is where the islands only car ferry docks which means that at certain times of the day the serenity is broken. At low tide the main beach is a little haggard looking but the surrounding forested hills are beautiful.

Alma Bay is across the road from Arkies and despite its small size is probably the best beach on the island for swimming. The absence of stinger nets is a big deterrent but the sloping grassy hill down to the shore makes for a pleasant days lazying about. All the buses going north and south on the island stop opposite this lovely turquoise bay.


NELLY BAY

Due to the major redevelopment of this area, including the construction of a new
harbour no less, Nelly bay is not much to look at. It has a few facilities however that might make a stop worthwhile. The Nelly Bay supermarket is the biggest on the island and provides a nice alternative to the grossly overpriced version in the Picnic Bay mall. Also worth a couple of hours of your time is the mini golf course that charges just $6 a day. Besides the golf, there are table tennis tables, island bowling and free use of the barbecue facilities.


TRANSPORTATION

It's funny how travelling the world opens your eyes to the wide array of transport that goes beyond conventional vehicles. Thailand has its Tuk Tuk's, Cambodia its converted motorbikes and Laos its unmistakable mobile lawn mowers (seriously). Well to these add Magnetic Islands' Mokes to the list. Mokes most resemble elaborate golfing carts or upmarket dune buggy's. They come with a removable plastic roof and look easy to drive. You can rent them from several
agents throughout the island but a drivers license is a requisite.

The Topless (!) motor company rent out a similar vehicule except that this motor has no roof (geddit!). These mini cars are really dinky, so much so that if you were hit by one you'd worry about the passengers rather than yourself. Scooters are very popular on the island too, some of the hilly stretches are a challenge but it sure beats cycling. The big drawback in renting the scooters is that you need a drivers license.

The most popular way to traverse the island is by the Magnetic Bus Service. This service is extremely efficiently run when you consider that many of its drivers are semi-insane. These characters often play the stand up comedian perfectly, offering great insights into the islands diversity and one or two of them have unfeasibly large beards. An unlimited day pass that covers the whole island costs a reasonable $11 ($13 for 2 days).

There are plenty of tours ava
ilable on the island from the agencies in the main resorts. The more popular include the good value for money ($25) jet skiing that circumnavigates the island. There are also Kayaks available for rental or you can join up with a group where there are chances to see Dolphins and Turtles. The Harley Tours are also very popular. Here the tour guide takes you around the island while you look all cool on the back of the famous bike. No sweaty leather jackets or huge beards required. Bluey's Bush and Beach Rides offer horse rides in the blue waters of Horseshoe Bay and along the many man made tracks. Quite how the animal would react to a stinger is hard to contemplate.


Magnetic Island is an expensive place to visit but it just oozes charm and authenticity. Its population of 2,000 understand its reliance on tourism (although many take the ferry to Townsville for work each day) and are pros at making every visitor feel at home. For budget travellers 2 days is more than enough to see the main highlights before carrying up and down the coast to meet the party crew at Airlie Beach or Cairns. By then you be as relaxed as a
dozing Koala with a stomach full of leaves.

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