Hey, everyone! I have just returned from the mainland from a number of days on Magnetic Island which was quite the paradise. It may have been one of my favorite places in Australia… and certainly one of the best accommodations I’ve had.

Koalas

I took the ferry from Townsville to Magnetic Island (affectionately nicknamed Maggie Island) and then grabbed a bus to my accommodation from there. I was early so wasn’t able to check in yet and so decided to walk around, getting a lay of the land. My accommodation at Selina was really lovely. They have campsites, “glamping,” dorm rooms, and private rooms. It was a really great atmosphere. They have a boardwalk that goes around all the sites.

Magnetic Island is known for having a healthy koala population and since I hadn’t yet truly seen a koala in the wild, I was keen to see one. I asked the receptionist where good spots might be and she said, “there’s actually a wild koala here at the moment” and told me where it was. Funnily enough, it was in a small tree just off the boardwalk, steps away from my room. A small, rotating crowd of people snapped pics and looked at the koala pair.

It was a momma and joey and it was the closest I ever could have hopped to be to a koala. Typically, they are up high in trees. Sometimes, they’re so high up on such thin branches, I can’t believe the branches don’t snap under their weight. Apparently, koalas spend about 20 hours a day sleeping.

I admired the resting momma and joey for some time. I went on a walk into town but then decided to revisit the koalas and the timing was impeccable. With only three people observing her (a German couple and myself), she decided to make her move. She crawled down from the tree, her baby clinging on tightly, and stepped down to the ground.

She then climbed onto the boardwalk and started walking, with her baby riding on top of her neck. She stopped, waited, and then hopped off the boardwalk and started hopping away. The German couple and I couldn’t help but laughing – the koalas move so awkwardly.

It was the most incredible experience. One of the other people I was watching it with exclaimed, “We are so lucky!” And we were! It was amazing. Sometimes, I think people must think I’m lying about all the lucky wildlife experience I’ve had… but I’m not.

Pretty quickly, a crowd formed as the momma koala tried to find a suitable tree for her and her baby. I kept my distance, allowing the koalas to have their space but it disheartened me a little bit to see so many people crowd around. I understand it – we all want to see this beautiful creature, right? And while they weren’t walking RIGHT up to the koalas, it was certainly a small mob that was forming and I’m sure the koala was feeling cornered.

I decided to exit the crowd and give the koalas their space.

I had a few more koala sightings while on Magnetic Island, but none quite compared to the magic of that one. The next best thing was probably a male koala just outside my room, high up in a tree, munching on eucalyptus leaves. Other than that, there was a pretty bulky koala who was very low in a tree while I was on a hike, napping.

Throughout my time on the island, I was really hoping to spot my own koala. There is a trail called “Forts” that is supposedly the best place to spot koalas. When I walked that trail, people had already spotted the koalas before me. It sort of felt like a zoo. I wanted to experience the novelty of looking up at a tree by myself and saying, “Oh, there’s a koala!” I was lucky enough to have that experience the day before I was leaving. Again… very high up in the tree.

On my final day, I spotted two more, just minutes in between one another. I actually suspect my final day, I was spotting the original pair – the momma and baby, and then the big guy who was munching on leaves. They were close enough to my accommodation that it would make sense. Who knows?

Koalas are such cool creatures. I’m really, really glad I was able to see them while on Magnetic Island. They were one of the last “big ticket” items I had. Now it’s just dingoes! And thorny devils… but I’ve missed my opportunity as I’m no longer in the desert. Sigh.

Collared Whipsnakes

In the afternoon, after visiting with the koalas, I went on a hike to Balding Bay which is a beach with lovely views (and is also a nude beach haha). I had left my luggage at the accommodation but figured it was a good sightseeing activity for that first day.

The journey to Balding Bay involves a pretty serious incline… and then a pretty serious decline as well. It was like hop scotch from one boulder to the next as I made my way down to the beach. And yet, it was worth it!

I spent some time admiring the bay and the surrounding area. For some reason, parts of Magnetic Island reminded me of the U.S. state of Maine. I think mostly it was the massive boulders around the island that lead into the ocean that I was comparing to Maine.

I looked at the time and realized I could finally check into my room – phew! On my ascent back from Balding Bay, I saw something resting on a boulder in the middle of the trail. Is that… A SNAKE?!!

It was incredibly thin, maybe half the width of my index finger, and it had the most beautiful gold band around its neck. It almost looked like someone had dipped a brush in gold paint and swiped it across the snake’s neck. Incredible.

The snake lay still for some time and two people came down the trail from the other direction. I warned them there was a snake and the three of us watched it, chatting about snakes. We weren’t sure what it was but I ended up posting it on my snake identification group on Facebook and someone confirmed it was a juvenile collared whipsnake which is a mildly venomous species of snake. How amazing! The gold band on the juveniles is much more pronounced and it actually fades as they mature.

The snake laid on the boulder for a while but eventually started to make moves and so I let it be.

What was funny about the sighting was that I had just been thinking about how Northern Territory and Queensland were tied for snake sightings. I had seen three in Northern Territory, three in Cape Tribulation. It’s as if the universe had to break the tie.

(Side note: if you remember the snake I saw in Fogg Dam that I wasn’t able to get a picture of… it actually had the same slenderness of body. While some people speculated it was a golden tree snake, I now think it may have been a type of whipsnake since they are so thin.)

First the koalas, then a snake on my first day on Magnetic Island? I was in love.

The next day, while walking back to accommodation from a snorkeling adventure, I saw another whipsnake! I kind of had my eye out, as I always seem to, but heard a noise behind me and as I turned around, I saw a snake crossing the path.

When seeing snakes, my initial reaction is typically disbelief. “Is that really… ?!!!???!!” Sure enough. This observation was much briefer than the day before. After crossing the trail, it got tangled up in the bush, easily camouflaged by the fallen leaves and branches. Before it disappeared, the same German couple I witnessed the special koala moment with was funnily enough walking down the other side of the trail. I pointed out the snake and we all marveled at it for a moment. I love being able to share wildlife with other people. It’s so heartwarming to see the joy it brings them when they see that snake or koala or XYZ that they might not have seen otherwise.

My snake identification group was able to verify that this was one was a collared whipsnake as well… but an adult. Its gold band was much more faded – confirming the difference between adults and juveniles. Perhaps the first snake was the baby and this one was the mom?

That snake marked my 10th snake in 10 months of being in Australia. WOW! I also couldn’t ignore the parallels of these two snake encounters with my initial two encounters. The first two snakes I had seen in Australia were both dugites, both venomous. These two were both collared whipsnakes, both venomous. Perhaps they were bookending my snake sightings in Australia? (Although, praying for ONE or TWO more!)

And lastly, I’d like to mention… I enjoy seeing venomous snakes a lot. It’s not for the clout of having seen a venomous snake but I think it’s because seeing them helps dispel the fear of snakes. Four snakes could have bitten and killed/injured me and none of them had. In three out of four of those instances, I ended up being incredibly close to the snakes (not on purpose – they were just right next to me on the trail) but none of them felt threatened enough to bite. I used to be really scared of snakes but I have grown to love and admire them, while still being cautious of them.

WE LOVE SNAKES!

Epaulette Shark

Magnetic Island is still part of the Great Barrier Reef and so I made it a point to go snorkeling while on the island. I first ventured to Florence Bay, which is supposed to be a great snorkeling spot. To get there, I had to walk through the “Forts” trail, which is one of the best places on the island to spot koalas. There were maybe four of them along the way! One of them was the guy I mentioned before, napping very low in the tree. The hike was grueling at times. A steep incline and, as with Balding Bay, a steep decline as well.

Once I got to Florence, I set up my beach towel and after some yoga, I went in the water. It felt very cold that day and it was pretty murky. At times, the water seemed to clear up and I saw some cute fish and a few stingrays. The coral was really quite incredible, too. I spent most of the day laying in the sun.

On my walk home was when I had spotted the second whipsnake I mentioned earlier.

The following day, I decided to try a hand at another snorkeling spot – Arthur Bay. I am so, so glad I did. Unfortunately for me, I realized I had forgotten MY BEACH TOWEL! NO!!! I decided to use my shirt instead haha.

I snorkeled three times that day. The first was the murkiest, but after that it got better. Once again, beautiful coral and lots of pretty fish. I briefly saw a sea turtle.

I bumped into the two guys I had witnessed the first snake with at the beach. We were talking about snorkeling, Magnetic Island, etc. They were from Melbourne. We ended up connecting on Instagram and later, one of them suggested going to Cabbage Tree Bay in Sydney, as there are residents of huge cuttlefish living there. Imagine!

My third and final snorkel was the absolute best. I followed along the edge of the bay and something caught my eye. I could see its body, but its head was masked in a tangle of seagrass. What is that thing – some kind of stingray?

As the seagrass started to sway in the current, I was able to get a closer look. A small shark! Never have I been so close to a shark before and this one was absolutely adorable. I looked it up later and was able to identify it as an epaulette shark.

At my first sighting, it seemed to be feeding on something on the floor of the ocean. Then it swam away and I was able to observe its graceful movements as it swam along. Absolutely beautiful. These guys are small and harmless to humans. I was so thrilled to be seeing one. I had wanted to see a Port Jackson shark for some time and while I haven’t seen one yet, this was a close consolation prize and was perhaps even more strikingly patterned than Port Jackson sharks. Yay!

I left the shark alone and continued to snorkel along, observing the fish and coral. Later, I accidentally found myself along the shark’s path again. I watched it swim along and then hide in a gap underneath some coral.

What an experience!

Miscellaneous

Around my snorkeling and hiking adventures, I spent time at Balding Bay soaking in the sun and swimming. As I mentioned before, it’s a nude beach and while not everyone there was getting nude… I was! There’s something really natural about swimming in the ocean naked haha.

I also went on a walk to the Horseshoe Bay lookout which was the hardest incline I’d experienced on Magnetic Island. It was a good walk. LOTS of little skinks around. It actually reminded me of hikes I’d down in Perth – similar vegetation and even a Christmas Tree spider, just like the one I’d seen with Liam the first time I saw a snake here!

The terrain was kind of spooky at times because Magnetic Island supposedly has a healthy population of Death Adders which are highly, highly venomous snakes.

They burrow under leaf litter and along this walk, there were dead leaves covering the trail everywhere. I really had to watch my step. Alas, I’m still alive!

During some evenings, I would go on night walks, similarly to my time in Cape Tribulation. I was hoping to spot a python or, yes, maybe a Death Adder. What’s interesting about Death Adders is that while they are super venomous, the only time they would strike is if you actually stepped on them. Gene in Cairns was telling me that there are videos of people stomping right next to them and they remain still and calm. It’s only when stepped on that they’ll actually bite. Allegedly! Anyway. I didn’t see any more snakes. There were lots of spiders out and about and the occasional possum. Oh. And mosquitoes. Never before in Australia have I been chewed on by mosquitoes in the way I have on Magnetic Island. Just when I was starting to think Australian mozzies didn’t like my blood! These night walks can be really unnerving. They are actually scary and I find my heart beating fast when on them. They’re much more enjoyable when with other people but even though they’re scary, there is a certain thrill to it.

While in Magnetic Island, I went to dinner at the same restaurant every night – Sandi’s. On my first night, I noticed they had enough vegetarian options for me to try something new each night I was in town. So I returned again and again. There was a server there who welcomed me back each night and on the final night, I noticed she actually had set up a Reserved table for me, which really touched my heart. The kindness of strangers.

Art of the Week

This piece is exciting for me because… I had bought a new marker! I had run out of my blue and so finally went out and grabbed a new one. There is nothing like coloring with new markers haha. It feels so good. Continuing along with the new theme – I’m feeling more and more confident with it.

Reflections

What to reflect on?

As of last night, I am now in Airlie Beach. Similarly to Cairns, it feels significantly geared towards tourists. Travel agents are basically every other shop here. My time here is somewhat brief, as are most of the places I’ll be in until I head back to the states. The next main attraction is in a few days, where I’m doing a two day / one night cruise on a yacht to the Whitsunday Islands. The water is supposed to be so blue, the sand so soft and white, and the snorkeling excellent. The weather isn’t looking that great but hopefully it all pans out for me. We shall see!

I think my final weeks in Australia are going to be a bit of whiplash. I won’t be able to settle down in one spot for a month or even a couple of weeks, since there just isn’t much time left and I have to get down to Sydney before leaving. It will mostly be five days here, five days there, etc. And yet, all good things. I am having an amazing time here in Australia and it seems I am going out with a bang these final months (and my wallet is feeling it haha).

That’s all for now! Sending you all my love. xx

P.S. wishing a happy birthday to my dad! Love you and can’t wait to see you soon!