Paradise? Yep ... and it just keeps getting better

Radical Bay on Magnetic Island

We left Magnetic Island at 6:30 am yesterday after a wonderful time.  It was the BEST place we've visited - in my opinion - so far.  I said that last night when we were having sundowner drinks on 'Whimaway' and Rob said it just keeps getting better and better from here on up to Cairns.

But let me bring you up to date ....

Flowering tree ... bush walk on Magnetic Island.

There are numerous National Park walks on Magnetic Island - some difficult and some easy.  We took a "medium" difficulty one up one side of a large hill of boulders and over a rise to a bay called Radical.  The landscape is very rocky and dry and the walks are a combination of pathway and rocky "steps" going steeply up and then steeply down.  In keeping with Australia's reputation for having many many things that will kill you - you are told to watch out for the prevalent snake in these parts - the Death Adder - one of the most venomous snakes on our beautiful planet!  We didn't see any thanks to me beating a stick along just in front of me the whole way.  At one point Captain G turned around and said, "you're not doing any good, there's been so many on the path today that the snakes have long gone".  "But it makes me feel better", I said.

Me and my stick.

The beach was beautiful and almost deserted.  We saw a couple of Bush Stone Curlew birds.  They have the odd behaviour of standing very still when threatened.  They blend in perfectly with the scrub and I guess that behaviour would have once aided their survival but not so much anymore.  Their eyes are truly stunning - almost like mammal eyes - and they have a shrill call which echo's loudly at night.

A pair of Bush Curlew at Radical Bay.

On Wednesday morning we moved from Horseshoe Bay into the Nellie Bay Marina for a couple of days of washing and gathering supplies.  I hated to leave Horseshoe, I loved it so much, but it was time to think about moving on and we already had a bag of laundry and needed LP gas and some water.  Also the marina was closer to the Arcadia Pub where the Wednesday night Toad Races were to be held!  Ian and Sharon bravely said they would come with us to the races.  If you haven't been to a Toad Race (and I certainly had not) then its a "must" when visiting northern Queensland!



The "Toad Arena"

This is what happens in the Toad Arena .... First a lot of people gather outside a pub under the palm trees and a classic banty legged elderly man starts to excite the crowd.  One by one he pulls a hapless toad out of an old green garbage bin and holds it up to the crowd.  He spruks the hopping merits of each toad and holds an auction for the rights to "own" that toad in the race.  Some of the toads went for up to $200 from punters in the crowd.  One by one he drops six toads into a bottomless plastic bin in the centre of the ring and then - when the betting is finished and after one more wind up to the crowd - he lifts the bin and the toads start hopping.  The first to pass the white line is the winner!  It was a fun night.

Yesterday morning at 0630 we pulled out of Nellie Bay harbour with Ian and Sharon on Bogart just behind us and headed for our next destination of Little Pioneer Bay on Orpheus Island.  We had absolutely NO wind to sail so motored the whole distance of 40 nautical miles. 

Greeting us on arrival to the bay was a mother and baby humpback whale on the surface of the water just hanging around.  The yacht Whimaway and her crew had been here already for a day and, once we were moored up on the National Park mooring they invited us over for sundowner drinks at 5:00.  While sitting in the cockpit of Peter's boat we saw a pod of about 5 whales just at the entrance of the bay again hanging out on the water.  Peter, Rob and Donna (on Whimaway) told us the whales had been all around their boat the day before.  Fantastic.

This morning we're going over to the remote marine research station on this island - run by the James Cook University - for a tour.  Should be interesting!