Magnetic Island

Ok when last I posted, we were heading out of Airlie Beach. We stopped at the Big Mango at the information place in Bowen (known for its mango production...and where the movie Australia was filmed, although I have yet to see it) and a wonderfully knowledgeable lady told us what to do in Bowen, as well as gave us a MUST SEE tip just north of Mission Beach called Paronella Park, where I'm writing from now....but i digress. Bowen is a cute small town with a lot of murals (picture below). We spent the night at a free rest-stop with toilets and a nice covered eating area, but there were three other cars/vans parked there (including a car that two of the three inhabitants slept on TOP of the picnic tables in sleeping bags, and inquired as to how much our campa van cost....did I mention they were middle age? Around 50y.o) AND there was a guy on his BIKE that set up his tent and slept and he must have been 45....he was tight, I have to admit. We passed him not once, but twice the next day, after we had stopped in Ayr for a cheap lunch ($8 steak) and a cheap beer purchase ($30 for a case of fosters. FOSTERS!!!!! I thought they only exported that crap LOL).
When we arrived at the ferry terminal in Townsville to get to Magnetic Island (which we had booked before leaving Airlie), we were greeted with the news that we COULDN'T bring our vehicle, since the deal we had purchased was for just our bodies on the ferry. It would have cost an extra $125 return to bring the van, so we sucked up the $14 for the two nights of parking, repacked our overnight bags, had a few beers, and caught our ferry. Now, I still don't know how Magnetic Island got its name, but let me tell you that it is breathtaking. If the nomads hostel is still looking for extra staff next month, I will GLADLY give them a month of my time in exchange for a free room, free brekky and dinner, and cheap drinks at their bar. Speaking of: our team came in third place in the trivia night on Thursday ($30 bar tab between 4 people) and FIRST in the bar games comp on Friday night (which just ended up being a free shot for the seven of us, but at least we won!!).
We were a little worse for wear on Friday morning, when we had to get up early for our Bushtucker breakfast with a crocodile, snake, and koala (pics below), but after a quick nap in the hammocks we were ready to explore the island....until the rain came. Our hostel was directly on the beach, however, so there were no complaints from these two. I can't wait to go back and see more :)
The one thing I forgot to mention was that at the end of our Airlie Beach trek, my neck started to hurt. A lot. I think it started when I jumped into the (man-made) lagoon at Airlie...I think my head snapped back too quickly. It got so bad at Magnetic Island that I had to get a massage when we got to Townsville on Saturday. It definitely helped, but didn't fix it straight out, since I had to continuously sleep in a van :/ we found a free place to sleep Saturday night, and the we met up with 2 couples that we had met on our Margaret River tour, and had a session with them and stayed in one of their guest rooms (luckily they live three blocks from one another, and they were both SO GRACIOUS). We left early on Monday morning, had brekky (with a bit of Internet) at Macca's, and were in Mission Beach by 2pm, after stopping in Tully for lunch and a photo at the famous Golden Gumboot (pic to follow). We slept in the van at mission beach, did laundry the next day, and went to go swimming in one of the stinger nets, but it was low tide and really crappy. I DID, however, see two crabs on the beach, trying to hide themselves in the sand, hoping the tide would carry them away. Ryan tried to take a pic of one but I think he was too fast. Also, the night before, I caught an earwig crawling on my hand, and he may or may not have bitten me. GROSS!!!!! >:(
Just before leaving mission beach, we discovered that we were close to an attraction suggested by the lady at the information place in Bowen: Paronella Park. We have now been here for three days LOL. We got a deal because we were in a Jucy van, and our admission included a campground site for the evening, and then we paid for two nights in a cabin, complete with fridge, a/c, a double bed and TV!!!!! Very reasonably priced at $80, and I would rather give the park my money than some hostel that kids mess up anyway.
Paronella Park is absolutely breathtaking. José Paronella came from Spain to be a cane-cutter and ended up buying a piece of rainforest and building a Spanish-style castle and gardens over his however-many acres. He told his fiancée that he would go back to fetch her once he was established, but after eleven years she had married someone else, so José married his sister and they continued work on the park, which was open to the public and had a ballroom and cinema. It was on the Bruce Highway, before the highway moved to the other side of the mountain. It has a huge waterfall that hydro powers the entire park, using the same system José set up in the 1930s. Did I mention this guy had no architectural knowledge and was trained as a BAKER???! Read about the park here: http://www.paronellapark.com.au it was voted number one on the RACV's list of 150 things to do/see in Queensland.
During the night tour we saw fireflies (that are actually beetles), mushrooms that glow in the dark (retain light) and turtles and eels. Pictures to follow. I'm tired now and this is a very long entry so until next time!!! Xoxoxo