9th October - Magnetic Island

We've ditched the camper for a night and left Townsville already to head to another island via a 25 minute ferry, Magnetic island. Of all the islands we've been too, and that has been quite a fair few, this one is most like Catalina island all the way back in LA one of the first we went to. It is a quaint fishing/tourist island for the hard working locals. Full of Manatees and Death Adders (the last is the 9th deadliest snake in the world and the muse for Ben Elton's Black Adder series, though Aussies have them here as well).

The island has loads of cool beaches and mini cars to get around and stuff. We booked into a place in Horseshoe bay where we also booked our Whitsundays tour, in doing so getting a free wildlife tour. Off we went again, seeing more crocs of the salt and fresh water variety, this time getting to hold a mini one.

Then we had lizards that did the neck umbrella thingy.

Then we held Koalas. Now people generally think, oooh or aawwww Koala, but no, these SOLITARY animals don't like people so you are told to stand like a smiling tree and not move whilst he plonks this beast in your arms. The claws are pretty sharp and you hope he's sat good in your arms and doesn't want to climb. You also hope he doesn't realise you are in fact a moving tree like some poor 13 year old was and it took a bite out of his face, it just left a wee nip of a scar that drew blood but it could have all ended in tears really. We were kind of expecting carnage because there was an Italian family with a 4 year old boy who was insistent on touching every animal by poking it in the face and eyes, we stood clear of him. The baby croc was the most interesting, though bound by a rubber band he had to put his finger right on it's mouth. Then he tried it with the snake...

Damn thing didn't eat it, he will live another day unfortunately. Though big props to the 'Sars' as she's not so keen on the snakes and still held one, well done, you can see the cold sweat emerging.

A superb day, though tarnished by tales of the ranger being attacked by the death adder only last month and just coming back to work, appparently there are loads on the island now. Bastard, they live under leaves and dirt and sand with a wormlike tail so that when something disturbs the tail they bite. Not good full stop. Going back to the mainland now...

Been a quality day and just one notable funny thing, Sarah wondered how the ranger knew of her diving expertise thinking him a mind reader till she remembered she was wearing her dive t-shirt emblazened with scuba all over it. Blonder by the day. I can get away with this as I write this blog and not her so my stories are somewhat propaganderized...

Laters Pricey