- Goodbye Sydney, Hello Cairns
- First Days in Cairns
- The Great Barrier Reef
- Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation
- Kuranda and Mission Beach
- Dunk Island
- Magnetic Island
- Beautiful Maggie Isle
- Sailing to Whitsundays
- Emu Park & The Keppels
- Town of 1770 & Agnes Water
- Rainbow Beach and Fraser Island
- Noosa
- Brisbane
We woke up on Wednesday to beautiful weather. It had been forecasted to rain for a few days, so we were thrilled to see the sun. We booked ferry tickets to Dunk Island, which is part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage. In 2011, Cyclone Yasi ravaged the island and destroyed the entire (and only) resort. Restoration work is still ongoing. We were looking forward to the island, with no tourism and only stunning nature, where we could go on beautiful hikes.
A small boat took us to the island around 11 a.m. We brought plenty of food and drinks since the island had no facilities. Fortunately, there were toilets and a tap with drinkable water to refill our water bottles. You could take various walks around the island. We decided to embark on the 5.6-kilometer hike that would take us to the island’s highest point, 275 meters. Equipped and ready, we began our journey. It was quite challenging, and we stopped regularly to rest and for Ely to check his blood sugar levels. Along the way, we encountered many beautiful fauna and flora. We hoped to spot some wildlife, but we only saw lizards and frogs. As we ascended, the humidity increased, and we started to generate more and more sweat, causing us to develop some serious armpit ponds, haha. Ely also consumed a lot of glucose tablets!
Upon reaching Mount Kootaloo, we once again had a breathtaking view. We chatted with two workers who maintain the island. One lives on Magnetic Island (our next stop) and shares interesting facts. Enjoying our sandwiches with such a beautiful view was fantastic! We took a different path downhill and walked toward Muggy Muggy Beach. This pristine beach was all to ourselves. We took a refreshing swim to cool off after our serious sweating and rested on the beach. Occasionally, our peace was interrupted by a wild turkey searching for food, haha.
Our mini ferry took us back to Mission Beach, and towards the end, it felt like being on the Titanic. The boat filled with water and seemed to be sinking! We arrived back at the hostel tired but extremely satisfied. We enjoyed a calm evening. We had to wake up early the next day to depart for Magnetic Island.
We were supposed to depart at 10 o’clock with the minibus from our hostel. This friendly driver would take us to the Greyhound bus stop heading to Tully. According to the website, the Greyhound bus was more than an hour delayed. I was getting annoyed because it meant we would miss our train. The only options were to take a taxi, which would cost us 100 dollars, or a minibus, which would cost 60 dollars. I was already feeling discouraged because those were (once again) unnecessary expenses. Still experiencing good karma here in Australia, the Greyhound bus suddenly arrived on time. A 20-minute ride took us back to Tully. We boarded the train to Townsville, which lasted about 3.5 hours.
We met another couple (also traveling with Loka) and our Loka guide. We booked transportation (train and bus) for the East Coast through this organization. Some stops have a guide assigned, with additional activities included. So, he would be traveling with us to Magnetic Island. At first, we were quite skeptical. The online booking system for transportation doesn’t work correctly, and there are always last-minute changes that disrupt our plans (which mostly stresses Ely, but everything always turns out fine). Although sometimes it felt like being on a school trip traveling with him (after all, I can handle taking a train and bus alone, haha), CJ won us over. He was friendly and relaxed and provided us with a lot of information. Upon arriving in Townsville, we took a bus and, finally, the ferry to our final destination. We might have seen whales if we were lucky, but they preferred to stay underwater. Unfortunately!
One last bus to our hostel, and we finally arrived at our destination. Especially with our large and heavy backpacks, it was exhausting to take so many modes of transportation in one day. We checked in at Bungalow Bay. Our hostel is located in the middle of the “koala park.” We were assigned a beautiful and cozy bungalow surrounded by nature. On the way to our bungalow, we already saw a wallaby (a smaller version of a kangaroo) in the wild. We walked to the store to buy the essential items for the next day. In the eucalyptus trees, we saw two koalas in the wild. Fantastic! What an excellent start to Magnetic Island! We made plans to meet CJ on the beach to enjoy the sunset and have a beer or two. Later, we had pizza in our hostel, stayed in the bar for a while, and went to bed somewhat on time. The next day, we booked a tour with Loka to explore the island in jeeps. We were really looking forward to it!
X Inez & Ely
The time of your life.
Daddy
Absoluut! xxx
Fantastisch allemaal! Wat prachtige landschappen met een stralend koppel er middenin! ????
Dank je wel, Inga! Leuk dat je onze blog leest! Het is hier geweldig! Dikke zoen xxx
Hey inez .
Het klinkt allemaal heel leuk en fijn om te lezen dat alles steeds in z’n plooi valt ☺. Het zijn mooie sfeerfoto’s en dat strikje in je haar staat je beeldig. Geniet er nog saampjes van. Geen enkel moment komt ooit terug . Xxxxx
Dank je wel lieve Astrid! Genieten doen we met volle teugen! xxx
Wat een fantastische tijd hebben jullie!!! Geniet ervan!
Hey Inge, leuk dat je onze blog hebt gelezen! Genieten doen we zeker en vast! Liefs Inez (en Ely) xxx
Mooie foto’s zalige tijd dat zie je zo jullie zien er gelukkig uit!
GENIETEN En weer veel om in de rugzak te steken!!!
LOVE YOU XXXXXXX
Al vele verhalen die we in onze rugzak kunnen stoppen 🙂 Love you!