Magnetic Island 2019
Magnetic Island: The Gem of Townsville.
Since moving to Townsville, I have ventured to Magnetic Island 3 times, and it took all 3 times to truly see the island. In my opinion, Magnetic Island is the true "gem" of Townsville. The beaches, bays, and views are absolutely stunning and every area is different.
Most people do the whole standard touristy "East Side" of the island when they visit. Don't get me wrong, the east side is beautiful but 1) It's too easy to access via the bus routes, and 2) There are always too many people for my liking (because it's easy to tour around). The real hidden beauty is the beach located at the end of the West Point hiking trail on the West side of the island.
My two friends (Michaela and Celia) and I, decided to go to the island and see the light at the end of the West Point tunnel. Honestly speaking, we probably should have taken a bus from the ferry terminal to the trail's starting point, but we decided to walk from Nelly Bay (terminal point) to Picnic Bay (the West Point starting point) and then hike the trail. That was undoubtedly not the smartest decision. It took a total of around 4 hours just to get to West Point, and that wasn't including the return trip.
After the very long and hot 4 hours, we finally got to the secluded beach at West Point. It was an incredible find and so worth the long walk up. The water was so blue and so clear and we had the whole beach to ourselves! We stayed for about an hour, eating lunch and walking the beachfront.
The journey itself was quite the adventure. We came across three snakes, a shitty cactus, and a car full of nice travelers. On our way back, we were about 35 minutes into our return when a group of English travelers pulled over and offered to give us a ride. It was all fun and games until we got pulled over by the owner of the car company and got yelled at for the "excessive amount of people" in the car. He was a bit of an odd duck but a big thanks goes out to those guys for sparing us the pain of walking all the way back.
Needless to say the adventure was a lot of fun but I had even more fun getting to bond and spend time with my friends. What's even better is that we are all roommates (by chance) so I am looking forward to all the crazy times we are going to have in the future. Living with these girls is like having a home away from home. Like I said before, traveling alone is cool but traveling in good company is ten times better!
~RMW
That sounds amazing!! Shitty cactus? There is definitely a story there 😂 I love seeing the sights off the beaten path, it’s always so much better and more beautiful than the tourist spots.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! The story behind the cactus is that my friend thought that if she rubbed the cactus on her sun burn it would act like Aloe but instead she got a ton of thorns stuck in her shoulder LMAO. The less known about places are always so much better!!
DeleteThis is such a beautiful area! I'm from the UK and for me Australia is always a place I want to visit but don't want to go to all the normal tourists area and this looks perfect. This is perfect. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIf you have a chance to come to Australia, you should definitely come! It is a beautiful place with lots of awesome "secret" spots to explore :)
DeleteThis sounds amazing! Australia is a place I would love to visit one day. I love seeing the sights off the beaten track, of course the popular sights are really good but sometimes its nice to just find a little less well known spot and spend the day.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I hope you get the chance to come to Australia someday too! There are some pretty awesome places in West Australia that I am dying to get to. It isn't easy to get there from the East Coast but I hear that once you're there it is super rewarding!
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