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Kate had researched interesting places to swim and snorkel. Magnetic Island has quite a bit of fringing reef (less colorful but close to shore) and you can take a day trip out to the Great Barrier Reef if you wish -- we did both. We explored lots of lovely bays and swam every day. It was a restful place to be.
There are some stories we can share....
That Thieving Kookaburra
The first night in our unit we were having some bread, feta and olives on our sea side patio watched closely by a kookaburra and a crow (the crows that make that Siamese cry just like our cat Painter). The two birds fought and tried to run one another off. Suddenly, the kookaburra swooped down, landed on our table and stole some bread. He seemed gigantic! We were pretty frightened but laughed it off. But then he took us by surprise and did it again. He startled us so much that Kate screamed -- this brought out the lady from the apartment next door to find out who was being murdered.
The "poor" kids
When Kate was sitting at a table at the currie takeaway in Nelly Bay and Reg was shopping, three boys (about 11 years of age) joined her and told her how they were so poor and didn't have any shoes or clothes and worked for the young woman who owned the currie place because she gave them treats. The kids were really funny, the story too silly and Kate was egging them on, joined shortly after by Reg.
We bumped into them on the beach a couple of days later with their parents. The parents appeared to be hippies -- but that's Maggie for you. Anyways, these "poor" kids all had expensive wet suits and were very capable swimmers.
We bumped into them on the beach a couple of days later with their parents. The parents appeared to be hippies -- but that's Maggie for you. Anyways, these "poor" kids all had expensive wet suits and were very capable swimmers.
The Spanish Prince and the Princess
On the cruise out to the reef. The cruise starts in Townsville but stops on Maggie to pick up a few like us.
This petite couple found the deisel exhaust fumes from the back of the boat quite sickening (which they were) and were up on the top level where we were. Below on the main deck there were several kids throwing up in yellow pails kindly supplied for just that purpose. The young woman, who we'll call the "princess", was half Spanish, half Australian and was probably okay but the "prince" was a spoiled petulant brat. Eg. at one point he decided he wanted to sit where she was sitting so she had to move for him. They were sick on the way out and then cold and sleepy on the way back. Kate was sitting with Reg on a seat up top side at the front by the captain which was protected from the wind. When Kate got up to go to the "head" the prince lept into her spot and promptly fell asleep so Kate had to find a seat elsewhere when she returned. That's when Kate met Dennis who as a pleasant chap and helped pass the time.
We saw the prince and princess on the beach at Arthur/Florence Bay another day. The prince was still being a bit of a sissy but they were friendly enough with us on that occasion.
Dennis - who motorcycled across Australia
After the Spanish prince stole Kate's seat, she sat between the princess and another young fellow, Dennis, who was proably in his mid to late 20's. Kate and Dennis struck up a conversation. He was from Townsville and was showing his Kiwi friend around -- including Maggie and the Reef. He had lived in London, England for 3 years (with the Kiwi who he met there) and in other parts of Australia. He was trying out different places but figured he was going to end up in Townsville -- it still seemed like the best place. He worked for a department store chain and was shortly going to be moving to Darwin (to try out that town for a while) where the store would employ him.
Kate told him that we had driven across Australia in 2004. But he went one better on that -- he and a mate had ridden motorcycles across the red center. They got trapped for two days 100 kilometers from Alice Springs when a rain storm washed out the roads. He said they were really lucky -- they got to see the dessert blooming with flowers, Ayer's Rock when it turned purple and stuff like that. He seemed like a really nice guy. He chatted a bit with the princess when she roused herself as we came close to land in Nelly Bay.
Boarding School in Charters Towers
We met a young 17 year old boy who went to a boarding school in the town of Charters Towers. He was one of those with us on the upper deck with the captain. His large friend was also with us on the way out. They both dozed off with the younger boy sprawled out on the large fellow -- kind of using him as a giant cushion. On the way back we talked a bit to the younger (smaller) boy who told us he was just graduating from school this year. He went to a boarding school in Charters Towers (about 1.5 hrs from Townsville and we think our friend Ross' mum is from there). He said he was at the boarding school "to keep him under control". He also said he had travelled a lot and liked going to Thailand (I think it was). He said, with a bit of a smirk, that his dad has a girlfriend there. The larger boy was a friend of his mother's. His mum had asked him to go with the younger boy to the Reef and since it was a free trip for him he figured, why not?
What boat?
We were on our way out to the Reef when a large ship appeared on the horizon. We watched for a while as it looked like our trajectories were going to meet, or at least come very close to one another. It became fairly clear that the larger ship was going to pass in front of us when the Spanish/Australian Princess (partner of the petulant Prince of Spain) looked up and panicked. She got the captain's attention (he was sitting calmly at the wheel, keeping his eye on things and letting the computer take us to the Reef). She asks him whether he saw the boat in front of us. The droll captain did a double-take and replied, "What boat?" He got quite a chuckle out of it, as did we.
Coitus Interruptus
The captain on our cruise to the Reef spotted a pair of turtles mating and brought the boat around so we could see them. The male is clinging to the back of the female. We interrupted their session. Were she to tire she'd just dive deep until he'd run out of air and have to let go.
In Queensland we treat all citizens as children
We were just leaving the docks on our fold up travel bikes after returning from the Reef when a police officer, in what passes for a paddy wagon in OZ (a small "ute" with a box on the back that is far too small for humans) motioned Kate over. He said that even on our little bikes it is the law in Queensland that you must wear a bicycle helmet (we were bare headed). Kate remembered that Bev had told us, on our last visit, that if we were ever stopped for not wearing helmets we should make sure to tell them that we're Canadians and not American (they apparently don't like the Americans). So Kate apologizes to the officer and tells him that in Canada the helmet law only requires that children wear helmets. He said that in Queensland they care about all their citizens.
Anyways, it was school break and they had a helmet campaign on. How could he tell the kids that they had to wear a helmet it they let us off? He gave us a warning and drove away. We walked our bikes until we were sure he wasn't around and then rode them again.
The next day, we found the bus system was pretty infrequent and not that satisfactory, plus we were told that snorkeling was best at Arthur and Florence Bays. You'd have to walk several kilometers in and out of those bays so we decided to rent a car. We rode our bikes down to the Moke car rental in Nelly Bay only to discover that you weren't allowed to take their rental cars off the main roads -- i.e. we still wouldn't be able to get into those bays. As we were leaving the car rental we met up with the same cop and he was pretty pissed with us (here we were again on our bikes with no helmets). After explaining that we were looking for a car, etc. etc. he let us off with a final warning.
We ended up renting a Toyota Echo at a place in Picnic Bay (the next bay to ours). They didn't advertise as much as the Moke place but were pretty much the same price and you could go where every you wanted! We found a hippie bicycle shop at Horseshoe Bay and bought a couple of used helmets form $5 each. .... Of course we never bumped into the constable again!
"Controlled" Burn
We were watching the smoke on the nearby mountain top when we were hiking up to the old fort and then again when we we swimming in Arthur Bay. We started to worry -- the smoke was increasing, a lot! By the time we got out of Arthur Bay the smoke was down to the road. However, other than a sign saying "caution smoke", no one seemed to be too worried about it. We drove back to our apartment in Nelly Bay and couldn't see the smoke any more. Later, when we were taking the bus back home after dropping the car in Picnic Bay, we asked the bus driver about all the smoke. He said it was a "controlled" burn. We said it seemed to be out of control. He replied, "Yeah, that's usually what happens. An it kills a lot of animals as well."
Caught by low tide
On our last full day on Maggie we decided to snorkely the reef in front of our apartment in Nelly Bay. The tide was low so we figured this would be a good time to go out -- you would be closer to the coral reef with low water. Although, it was a bit windy and rough. We thought we might swim toward Xbase (the backpacker place towards Picnic Bay) where the reef is apparently quite close to the shore and climb in there.
However, on the way there we noticed that the water was getting shallower and shallower on us. So we decided to head for shore. Unfortunately there was a lot of coral and rock we'd have to walk across to get to shore. When we had entered the water it was deep enough to swim across the rocks but now the tide was further out, the water was lower and the rocks were exposed.
So we decided to swim back to the jetty where we believed there was less rock to cross (actually brave tough soled Reg was willing to cross the rocks but gimpy tender-footed Kate wouldn't do that). So we swam, and we swam. And the water got shallower and shallower. We we reached the jetty, there was still a lot of rock and coral to cross (although not as much) but also some really disgusting muck. We did make it in though -- although we collapsed, exhausted, for the rest of the day.
The retired couple from Hawaii
A single girl was in the unit next to ours for the first few days but then a couple moved in. We were sitting at our table out front when they arrived on the bus. As tehy were climbing off the bus, they chatted with us and Kate asked the man if he was from Texas. He laughed and looked amazed. Close, he said. He was from Oklahoma but had been living in Hawaii for 20 or so years and thought he had lost his accent. They were our age and had recently retired. Their plan was to travel around the world for the next five years! That sounded like an awful idea to us, but it was their dream.
They agreed with the property caretaker that the weather was pretty "nippy". This was days of 25-30C with lows at night of mayber 16C -- paradise for us. The lady, who was Hawaiian, said there was no chance that she was going into the water -- too cold. The water wasn't cold for us but we did wear our light wetsuits when we snorkeled because you do tend to cool if when in the water for long periods.
Caning and Compulsory Service
The taxi driver who took us from our apartment at "Beachside Palms" back to the ferry terminal in Nelly Bay told us that he had almost settled in Revelstoke, B.C. and wished he had. He noted that people were more "mature" in Canada. "Not all of Australia is as bad as Queensland", he hastened to add. "Queensland has some rough edges".
He then informed us that the problem was that young people have no discipline. He said, "They should bring back caning and compulsory military service". He was raised that way and said it did him a world of good -- apparently it did not make him more broad minded. We asked him where he was raised. "Rhodesia". He did his military service there but but got out and continued his military career in South Africa after the Africans had the nerve to take back and rename Rhodesia. Sadly, I guess he liked the Apartheid system.
You meet all kinds when you travel ...
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