Magnetic Island

Magnetic Island was one of our favorite places on the east coast of Australia. The island was named by Captain Cook in 1770 who noticed that the island had a magnetic effect on his compass while sailing past. Magnetic Island is an aesthetically beautiful area with deserted beaches and granite boulders scattered everywhere around the island. The first night we stayed at a hostel and noticed a hillside of boulders across the street. The next day we climbed, explored the hillside and the beaches in the area around the hostel. The following night we camped on a beach hidden behind a huge fig tree. We observed quite a bit of wild life including Koala Bears and Rock Wallabies. The Rock Wallabies apparently are nocturnal judging by the amount of noise they make at night jumping around in the forest (especially by our campsite). We hiked to a World War 2 outpost which was built on the island to protect Townsville (the closest city) from invading enemy ships. Although the weather was begingin to get hot, humid and rainy, it was sad to leave such a great place and continue our journey up the coast.