Mission beach to Magnetic island (10th-13th Sept)

After a lovely few days and lots of good food my hosts dropped me back in Cairns where I finally started to head South. First stop just a few hours bus ride to Mission beach. The weather wasn't so great here and consequently I wasn't so impressed with this long stretch of beach but it was an opportunity for some walking.

Next afternoon back on the Greyhound bus to Townsville. According to the guide book there wasn't much to see in Townsville though it's actually quite a large town, bigger than Cairns. I stayed the night then caught the ferry to Magnetic island, named by Captain Cook because his compass played up when he was sailing past in 1770. (My compass worked fine which wasn't very exciting!). This is a rocky island only 8km long with beautiful beaches. I spent a pleasant day walking a segment of the coast from bay to bay (Balding, Radical, Florence and Arthur) and having a few swims to cool off in between. Home that night was a wooden bungalow in a wood, earlier on possums and curlews had been wandering around the grounds and through the night were all manner of unidentifiable noises.


Next day I've time to visit the nearby beach which is hot even first thing in the morning then board the ferry back to Townsville and onto the bus an hour down the coast to Ayr.