It’s Sunday morning and we’re still laying bed. Since we last wrote we have moved from our beautiful apartment on Castle Hill overlooking Townsville to a single bedroom in our friend’s apartment. Oh, and Matt still hasn’t worked a single day. Next week, both these things should change. Matt’s scheduled to work Monday-Friday and we have a good feeling about the apartment we’re seeing on Monday evening.
We had a fun day yesterday. We took the ferry out to Magnetic Island, which is only 20 minutes off shore from Townsville. Magnetic Island, also known as Maggie, is 52 square kilometers and is about 90% national forest and 10% laid back beach towns. It has the largest population of wild koalas in all of Australia. It got its name back when Captain Cook sailed by and had difficulties with his compass.
We got a late start (again) so we didn’t get out there until 11:45. We first tried to rent electric bikes, but they were all out. So we decided we’d walk and take the bus around the island. Next time we’ll rent the small cars called Mokes. Our first stop was Arcadia and Alma beach. After a few VBs and XXXXs (two popular Australian beers), we got changed and headed down to Alma beach. The water was too cold for me, but Matt had a blast in the waves. The waves were actually big enough he could body surf. (There are no waves on the beaches of Townsville, so this was a nice surprise.)
Our next stop was Horseshoe Bay, the largest bay on the island. We sat around and played in the sand. It was a very tropical, almost Caribbean type of place. We took the bus back to the ferry terminal only to realize we had misread the ferry schedule and consequently had an hour and 40 minutes until the next ferry. But, we turned lemons into lemonade and decided to spend the time watching the sun set at a waterfront restaurant.
Today we are heading to the inaugural game of the North Queensland Fury soccer/football team.
***We finally have photos from our Great Barrier Reef trip online. Follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/matthew.berkman/GreatBarrierReef?feat=directlink
WOW!!!! I have NEVER seen such a giant anemone- blue and green- the tube worms, OMG, can I do any of this snorkeling? And, the sea cucumber!!!! Everything is BEAUTIFUL- including the two of you! Good luck with your apartment....I'm loving your blog:-) Love and hugs, Aunt Paula
ReplyDeleteMagnetic Island sounds like a cool day trip. Did you see lots of koalas?
ReplyDeleteI love your blog and look forward to each and every entry; I love you two lots and lots. Miss you but happy that you are having a "wild ride."
j/mom