4 Stray Katz

Magnetic Island

Tuesday 5th- Sunday 10th July

We’d been looking forward to a trip to Magnetic Island for weeks and had been holding out for the weather to improve. We’d booked the ferry for Tuesday as the weather was meant to be getting better. We were leaving the caravan at Townsville so had arrived there Monday afternoon, intending to begin packing everything we needed for 5 nights in the tent. Due to the torrential rain, we couldn’t start the packing that afternoon/evening, which left us in a rush (and still packing in the rain) in the morning. We managed to get packed and to the ferry in time, but unfortunately it was still very cold (13deg) and raining when we left Townsville. The weather wasn’t any better on Magnetic Island and none of us were keen on setting the tent up in the rain – not quite the start to our island holiday that we’d hoped for. It did get better though. We had a great time and managed to make the most of all the available opportunities on the island. Here’s a run down on everything we packed into each day:

Day One – Tuesday 5^th July

· Ferry arrived at 1pm (still raining)
· Delicious lunch at Scallywags Pirate Cafe
· Check in to the Bungalow Bay Koala Village at Horseshoe Bay and beg for a room (as we didn’t want to start our adventure with a wet tent). Get a 2 bed backpacker room for the night, which we then find out doesn’t even have a heater!
· Drive around the island (well as far as you can get which isn’t technically around the whole island) in an attempt to keep warm.
· Watch the sunset at Horseshoe Bay
· Try for a hot shower to thaw our cold bodies out, and discover the hot water is broken at the campsite!!!!
· Go to bed cold and grumpy **I was also still quite unwell with a nasty head cold, so a cold shower was not appreciated at all!

On the ferry over to Magnetic Island- it was 13deg and raining!

Day Two – Wednesday 6^th July

· Awake to sunshine- YAY!
· Complain about the lack of hot water and inform them of the part that needs to be fixed in a hope it will get fixed promptly (Daniel spent an hour the night before with a headtorch and some tools working out what was wrong).
· Get our campsite and set up the tent – enjoying the sunshine and warmth
· Go to Nelly Bay where Daniel and the kids did the snorkel trail (I was still very congested so decided to skip a snorkel today).
· Go to Horseshoe Bay and find a protected spot to relax in the sun whilst the kids explore the rocks
· Go back to camp and cross our fingers the hot water had been fixed….it had, and we all enjoyed a steaming shower.
· Head to Geoffrey Bay to hand feed the rock wallabies. Meet a lovely local lady who looks after the rock wallabies- ensuring they have a balanced diet and enough water.
· Go for a walk along the foreshore after dinner
· First night in the tent- we were all in bed early
· Spend half the night listening to what sounds like someone sitting at the edge of our tent eating heartily, but what turned out to be rock wallabies nibbling on some tree nuts right near the tent!

The first time we used the blow up SUP on the trip - it was great.

Ready to do the Nelly Bay snorkel trail.

Enjoying exploring in the sunshine on Horseshoe Bay.

Feeding the rock wallabies at Geoffrey Bay

There were quite a few with babies- so cute!

Day Three – Thursday 7^th July

· A run and ride along the beach for Daniel and Jackson, yoga on the beach for Emilia and I
· Walk to Florence Bay (see a koala at the start of the walk)
· Do a 45 min snorkel- see heaps of great coral, including some big coral bombes, and lots of fish
· Lay on the warm rocks on the edge of Florence Bay to try to thaw ourselves out
· Walk to Arthur Bay
· Do another 45 min snorkel, see more beautiful coral and swim with a turtle!!!
· Lay on the rocks again, trying to get warm. The water was apparently 22 deg, but without a wetsuit you get cold being underwater snorkelling for that long (and the days were only about 22deg as well, so only just warm enough).
· Do the hilly walk back to the car
· Shower and get into warm clothes
· Have dinner on the beach and watch the sunset at Horseshoe Bay
· Play cards then early to bed again

Florence Bay - we snorkelled along the rocks on the left hand side and saw some excellent coral.

Thawing out after our snorkel - we were the only ones without wetsuits!

The rocks had soaked in the sun and made a nice warm bed for us.

After our snorkel at Arthur Bay

Dinner and a view - Horseshoe Bay

The sunsets over the bay were lovely.

Day Four – Friday 8^th July

· Breakfast and coffee on the foreshore at Horseshoe Bay
· Jackson spent the morning catching little fish and crabs as the tide receded
· Emilia and Daniel paddle boarded and kayaked to nearby White Lady Bay and saw lots of turtles and stingrays
· I paddle boarded to White Lady Bay and also saw a few turtles. By this time the wind had picked up and it was a hard paddle board back – I ended up falling in but thankfully saved Emilia’s hat (that I’d borrowed) and my sunglasses!
· Got delicious ice-cream
· Went to Cockle Bay and Jackson and Daniel put a few crab nets in the mangroves
· Went back to Nelly Bay so I could do the snorkel trail
· All got very cold so headed back for hot showers
· Back down to Horseshoe Bay to watch the sun set
· Dinner, a few games of cards then early to bed again – all these beach activities were exhausting us!

Daniel and Emilia off to explore White Lady Bay

Jackson creating a pool for the many little fish he collected in the shallows

The ice cream was well worth waiting in line for

After a snorkel in Nelly Bay - Daniel and Jackson went off together to see if they could find some bigger fish.

Another lovely sunset on Horseshoe Bay - Emilia is fishing, Jackson is catching bait fish in his net and Daniel is at the back (left) paddleboarding. I was minding the picnic rug (aka relaxing!).

Day Five – Saturday 9^th July

· Early hike to Balding Bay- such a picturesque little bay and we had it all to ourselves
· Breakfast and coffee on the foreshore at Horseshoe Bay
· Head to Geoffrey Bay to snorkel over the wreck of Moltke and a WW2 propeller – there was an incredible amount of coral and fish over the shipwreck. This was my favourite snorkel site.
· Lunch at Picnic Bay – Jackson and Daniel went for a snorkel and ended up saving a small reef shark that was tangled in fishing line. I went for a paddle board and Emilia enjoyed relaxing on the beach with her book.
· Back to camp for hot showers
· Butterfly walk next to camp – not many butterflies but lots of mosquitos and some interesting trees
· The Forts Walk- the WW2 Observation Tower and Command Post are still intact and the views over the island were incredible (especially as we were up there as the sun was setting)
· Koala spotting on the Forts Walk- we got to see one up close and he/she was awake and eating
· Fish and chips at Horseshoe Bay under a gorgeous red and orange sky.
· Listen to live music back at the caravan park – listened to a few songs before we were all too tired after a BIG day.
· Listen to the rest of the live music whilst laying in bed (as our tent was only about 20 metres from the bar area!)

Hiking to Balding Bay

Balding Bay was lovely and we had the place to ourselves

The secluded bay can only be reached by boat or a hike over a rocky hill.

Jackson found this whopper shell wedged between two rocks.

It was a pretty walk through the bush to Balding Bay, and included a couple of creek crossings

After our snorkel over the shipwreck at Geoffrey Bay

Geoffrey Bay

One of the incredible interwoven trees on the Butterfly Walk- the vines overtake the host tree, which eventually dies.

Walking the Forts Walk to see the old WW2 relics.

A koala we spotted on the way.....

....we watched him enjoy a feed of gum leaves.

The Observation Tower

In one of the old ammunition storage buildings there were baby bats.

View of the mainland

An old gun emplacement - apparently no one is quite sure what happened to the gun.

The views on the way up were spectacular.

Looking out towards the mainland from the Observation Tower.

Checking out the view from the Observation Tower

Is that a modelling shot???

The Observation Tower glowed in the dusk sunlight

Horseshoe Bay from the top of the Command Post- such incredible views

Fish and chips on the beach after an action packed day exploring the island.

Day Six – Sunday 10th July

· Quick breakfast & coffee at camp
· Hike to Radical Bay- another beautiful remote bay only accessible by boat or foot
· Walk back to Florence Bay for another snorkel (now we know where all the best coral is). The tide was out so we were swimming right on top of some amazing coral.
· Walk out to a shipwreck in Cockle Bay (the tide was super low enabling us to walk right up to it).
· Lunch at Alma Bay
· Snorkel at Alma Bay- the water was quite choppy so it wasn’t the best snorkel
· Queue up for the ferry back to Townsville
· Walk along the wharf getting some sun (whilst waiting for the ferry)
· Ferry back to Townsville – it was a much nicer journey back, with the sun beginning its descent over the ocean
· Attempt a shop before realising that all the supermarkets close at 6pm on a Sunday!
· Reunite with our caravan, unpack and do washing until midnight!!
· Fall into bed exhausted, but so happy we made the effort to go to Magnetic Island

Radical Bay

We hiked to Radical Bay early so had the beach to ourselves...it was lovely.

Walking out to an exposed shipwreck at Cockle Bay. The mud flats were so deep it was pulling our rock shoes off so we had to carry them!

The wreck of the SS City of Adelaide

Exploring some of the small tidal pools at Cockle Bay - they spotted a few fish.

On the ferry back to Townsville - clearly he didn't read the sign!

Sun and salt = red and shiny (but happy) faces!

In our attempt to escape the rain we discovered a few lovely places and managed to get away from the worst of the predicted rain – though we still had some rain every day and we did not see the sun at all for 10 days!!

Babinda Boulders, QLD
Tuesday 28th - Thursday 30th June

We’d heard about this place from Matt (who stayed here on his way to Cape York). We weren’t planning on stopping but we were driving into a severe headwind, so decided to take a break. We discovered a great free camp just a short walk from the lovely Babinda Boulders swimming area. We did the walk to see the Devil’s Marbles – so named due the treacherous nature of this part of the river- and swam in the clear water at the safer swimming hole. It rained most of the time we were there, though some of the time it was only misty rain which we could put up with. The next day we ventured into the town of Babinda to use the library internet and we learnt that Babinda is the wettest town in Australia (we have since found out the Babinda and the nearby town of Tully fight it out each year for the title of ‘wettest town’). Babinda was a really nice little town though, and we enjoyed a great lunch at the pub as a treat (and a way to while away some time while it was raining heavily).

We looked up the upcoming weather for all the nearby locations and settled on Cardwell – where only a few millimetres of rain was predicted, as opposed to the 50+ mm that was predicted at Mission Beach (where I’d wanted to go).

Emilia was a bit unsure about drinking the coconut water from a coconut Jackson found..

...but Jackson just knocked it back.

Babinda Hotel - constructed with government funds in 1915 to control the manufacture and sale of alcohol- apparently its purpose was to control 'sly grog' and provide accommodation for the many workers who came to harvest the sugar cane. It was really lovely inside and we had a scrumptious lunch there.

Some of the many boulders that make up Babinda Boulders

It was picturesque (even in the rain) but it is apparently very treacherous and has claimed several lives.

Check out the misty mountains in the background.

Daniel and I went in for a dip in the swimming hole- it was so clear and refreshing. Both kids had colds so they just watched and took photos.

Cardwell, QLD

Thursday 30th June - Saturday 2nd July

Cardwell turned out to be a great choice. It is bordered by mountains in the west and south, then just out to sea is Hinchinbrook Island, which is made up of many mountains. Being surrounded by these mountain ranges means much of the bad weather misses Cardwell. Lucky for us it barely rained during the 2 days we were there, however it was very cloudy and overcast with Hinchinbrook Island barely visible on Friday.

Whilst at Cardwell:

- Jackson, Daniel and I walked along the beach and jetty (Emilia came down with a cold so she was resting)
- I went for a big walk up the beach whilst Jackson and Daniel went for a ride to Point Hinchinbrook and looked for mud crabs (they found 5, though they were all females so were returned).
- Jackson, Emilia and Daniel enjoyed the newly opened pump track.
- We visited the Rainforest Discovery Centre and learnt about the plants and animals in the rainforest, mangroves and ocean around Cardwell.
- We did the Cardwell Forest Drive and went to the Hinchinbrook lookout – though all we could see was white clouds!
- We walked up to Attie Falls
- We swam in the picturesque Cardwell Spa Pools – which are a vibrant turquoise colour due to 3 natural process that happen to occur here together (see a pic below that explains it).
- I was a virtual bridesmaid in one of my best friend’s weddings in the UK. Ruth and Ghal got married on Friday afternoon – 11.30pm our time. I sat out the front of our van in my bridesmaid dress and was lucky enough to watch the whole ceremony online. Although I wished I could have been there in person I was still grateful to be able to be a part of their day. Miss Roofie Hellard is now Mrs Supple!!!

The beach at Cardwell- lovely to walk along, no good for swimming due to crocodiles (but it was a bit cold and windy for a swim anyway)

Looking out to Hinchinbrook Island from the end of Cardwell Jetty. This was on Thursday - it was barely visible on Friday!

Cardwell Jetty - it is a third of it's original size after getting damaged in various cyclones.

Jackson with another 3 coconuts he found - after Daniel had cleared the outer husk with his tomahawk!

Of course you need to hold coconuts this way!!!!

Ready to drink - this one produced 2 cups of fresh coconut water.

Hitting the pump track.

A few grazes from the pump track - but that didn't stop him

Attie Creek Falls

Cardwell Spa Pool

The science behind the turquoise water - it was a bit hard to summarise!

This pool was like a little spa (alas not warm though)

Poor Daniel was getting attacked by mosquitoes while taking these photos- the mozzies were ferocious so we had to hightail it to the car once we got out of the water.

Me in my bridesmaid dress attending the wedding online.

The newly wedded couple - Ruth and Ghal Supple, and all smiles with Isha

Murray Falls, Girramay National Park, QLD

Saturday 2nd - Monday 4th July

We spent 2 nights at Murray Falls, in the Girramay National Park. It was a lovely open camping area really close to the raging Murray Falls (you could hear them from the campsite), and a short walk from 2 swimming holes. As with all the places we visited in the last few days, we kept saying how great this place would be if it was sunny! We still made the most of the times it wasn't raining to swim, walk to the base of the falls and hike through the rainforest to the top of the falls. It started raining heavily about 4pm on Sunday and didn't stop until Monday morning, so it was a wet pack up on Monday morning.

We drove in constant rain to Townsville, where we were spending one night before taking the ferry to Magnetic Island. We'd hoped to spend Monday night getting some of the packing done (as we were leaving the van behind and just taking a tent), but the rain was heavy and incessant - there was literally a river running through our campsite! After a hasty pack on Tuesday morning (still in the rain) we made it to the ferry on time (although it was still raining).

Hopefully we get to see the sun whilst on Magnetic Island, it's been awhile!!