Where do I start?!..
Well I promised I would write more about magnetic island... If you're not an outdoorsy sort of person you probably wouldn't like it that much (several people complained there wasnt anything to do... how WRONG they were!) I LOVED it... it is absolutely stunning and as we pulled into the harbour on the ferry from Townsville it reminded me of Aegina and gave me a little butterfly in my tummy which made me realise how attached I am to Aegina and I have decided I must learn to speak Greek fluently so I have bought a greek language book and going to try and learn some more grammar and vocabularly while I'm away...anyway, I am rambling.. back to magnetic island... The hostel was great, right on the beachfront with hammocks and palm trees and the dormitories were wooden bungalows on stilts in the woods, it reminded me of thailand. I only had 2 full days on Magnetic island which I'm really sad about - I wish I had stayed longer. On the first day I went on a boat trip to do fishing and snorkelling - it was SO much fun! The guy that ran the business/owned the boat was called Cliff, and what an absolutely lovely person - the sort that makes you smile from the inside out. He was born and brought up on Magnetic Island, moved away for a while but then became a single parent and so moved back and has been running the business for 9 years. He gave me loads of information about where to go on the island and what walks were good/ short cuts etc.. and taught me to drive the boat. We snorkelled some beautiful coral which is part of the great barrier reef marine park and did lots of fishing - I caught 4 - a maori wrass, a stripey, a rock cod and a grunter(javelin fish) but they were all 2 or 3cm under the size allowance for me to be allowed to take home for my dinner (the great barrier reef marine park has strict fishing guidelines for obvious reasons). Cliff asked me if I knew much about computers and uploading photos and I said yes so he asked if I would help him with uploading photos on to his website. I helped him load the boat onto his pickup trailor and then I went and helped him with the website... and he gave me the day trip for free - I was so pleased! His house was very very simple but perfect at the same time - you know that expression "wealth is not how much money you have got but how much you need to be happy" Cliff reminded me of Uncle Spiros - only family will know what I mean but when I have time I will try and explain! He owns 2 and a half boats... the half being a part made boat - he showed me the work in progress in his back garden and he had made the other 2 boats himself too! Impressive or what? He takes one out on day trips like the one I went on, and the other he charters out which is what he intends to do with the 3rd too. The following day I went exploring the island and i was in a little place called Horsehoe bay when I heard "Jess!, Jess! How you going!?" I was baffled and then turned around and there is Cliff running towards me in his dodgy hat and in his bare-feet, he had just moored the boat in the bay for some people who wanted to stop there for lunch.
After I had been to Horseshoe bay I went to several other bays on the island including picnic bay which was also magnificent and then I went and got myself a fishing line. I walked from the hostel along the beach to the bay and collected a load of shells and have made myself a necklace to remind me of that gorgeous place! Along the beach there was tons of that seaweed that pops under your feet when you walk on it! I went fishing from the pier whilst watching the sunset that evening and the same evening, I met an irish couple called Elaine and Dave who were lovely and they cooked me my dinner! How sweet is that? There were also some other really nice people in my dormitory - a guy from Austria and a girl from Germany. In the morning I went fishing again at 7am before my ferry back to Townsville.
When the ferry arrived in Townsville, I got the coach from there to Airlie Beach and that's where I am now. I really like Airlie Beach - probably not quite as much as I like magnetic island but at least there are conveniences like shops and restaurants etc here, in Magnetic island it was a mission to get to anything like that. I don't have much time to write a lot else.. I only have about 5 minutes of internet credit left BUT i had an amazing new years eve with an irish couple who I originally met on magnetic island and a bunch of their friends and some other randomers we collected along the way - Beaches bar to start off with and then fireworks, fun and frolicks on the beach. I went on a sailing trip round the Whitsundays on New Years Day which was AWESOME and I learnt to scuba dive on the great barrier reef!! Can you believe it... one of the things I said i would NEVER do! On the first night I woke at 2am with a cockroach ON MY FACE so on the second night, I slept on the deck and watched the stars and the moon at night and the sun rise in the morning... so beautiful! I fell ill on the last day which was really bad luck and still have a throat infection but I've overdosed on paracetamol, ibuprofen, iodine throat gargling stuff and strepsils so Im feeling better! I spent my first day in Airlie handing out CVs everywhere and I have landed a job with a company called Ozsail as a hostie on one of their whitsunday yachts. KUSHTIE MUSH. what an amazing job!! I am so excited! HAPPY NEW YEAR! Love from me xx
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