Magnetic
26 June 2016
Kim
In 1770 Captain Cook and his crew approached an Island of beautiful bays, forested hillsides and smooth, massive, granite boulders. Struggling with the ship's compass to get a proper fix on its location, he remarked that it was 'magnetical'. And history was set. Known for centuries as Yunbenun by the Aborigines, the European settlers renamed it Magnetic Island. Regardless of any historical judgment, we can certainly attest to its magnetic properties. We found it difficult to pull ourselves away.
Horseshoe Bay has excellent protection from the winter tradewinds. The wind may have been howling just around the corner, but in the anchorage, it was flat calm. We didn't exactly have the place to ourselves but the bay is so large, that there was plenty of room. 'Maggie' is a popular holiday destination and is so close to Townsville that it's considered a suburb.
Of course with the tourists and locals on weekend getaways comes development. But just the right amount. There are plenty of amenities but miles and miles of unspoiled natural beauty (over half of the Island is a National Park). We hiked numerous well marked trails (which we shared with hundreds of tiny 'skinks' [lizards], and even spotted a koala bear!), and visited some of the most beautiful beaches we've seen anywhere (a couple of which even have shark nets so they're swimmable!). We rode the bus to Nelly Bay to check out the main town and the Marina (for future consideration... very nice).
We stayed long enough to be able to order our favorite dishes without a menu at our favorite beachside pub. This is definitely one of our favorite places so far.
But we still have lots to see and do, so it wasn't easy, but we somehow managed to peel ourselves away from its magnetic charm.