Paradise found

Mmmmm... Magnetic Island. Eight nights spent there, and what can I say, besides that it was fab, amazing and awesome? I fell head over heels in love with the island. I felt very lucky to be there, in a place with perfect weather and gorgeous nature. Maggie landed on my list of TOP3 favourite travel spots in the world (together with Yangshuo in Guangxi province in China, and Panglao island in the Philippines).

The thing that made the island so special was its nature and wildlife. After quitting the diving course, I comforted myself with my two favourite hobbies: hiking and photography. The island was like made for both. I couldn't get enough, so I ended up doing all of the hiking tracks on the island, all of them very different from one another. On the hikes I spotted wild koalas and delicate rock wallabies...

...and about a million small redhead lizards and groups of lovely butterflies. Weirdly, I also saw so many dead animals: toads, a snake with leopard dots on it (even missing its head it was still scary), a big fish, and remains of something resembling a squirrel. Truly heartbreaking was when I found my hostel's resident possum dead by the roadside, having been hit by a car. :(

Before picture... You'd rather not see the after.

Next to the animals, the hiking tracks provided some stunning views and scenery:
I just have to share that I also found the (un)coolest public toilet ever. It looked like a space shuttle, and had a male voice instructing you how to use it ("You have 10 minutes left to use this toilet. Thank you for using Exeloo!") with piano music for entertainment.

Time for a compulsory ad break: Hiking in the heat of course means you just have to finish each track with an icecream. I've tried many new flavours and found a new favourite. Maxibon is pure perfection.

On the island I've also seen some of the most beautiful sunsets of my life. I don't know why the sunsets here are more dramatic than those back home. The sky turns first yellow, then blazing orange, then pink, and eventually purple. It's breathtaking. Pictures can't do them enough justice, but here are some tasters anyway:

Even though I found that diving is not my thing, that didn't keep me out of the water. One day I decided to use a ticket I had got when checking in for complimentary snorkel hire. I had been in the water for one minute and was swimming in shoulder-deep water, when suddenly the sand below me moved and a big sting ray floated up! They are not dangerous to humans. Even though they're pretty common here, it still felt magical to spot one in the wild.

This is about what it looked like. Picture not by me.

The fringing reef is so close to the beach that I can just walk up to it. During low tide the water was so shallow that I could look at the corals without any equipment. One day in the middle of my hike I decided to have a break on a beach called Florence Bay and have a look at the corals. I was walking along the edge of the reef and admiring a big colourful fish, when I felt a light touch on my bare knee. GAAAAAHHH!!!! A jellyfish! It had only touched me with the hat-like part, so I hadn't been harmed. However, I've heard how dangerous they are, and got out of the water very quickly. The idea of being inflicted "extreme pain possibly leading do your death" (I've read about people who, after being stung, still kept screaming in agony after they had fallen unconscious from pain) didn't sound too appealing to me, so I didn't stay to find out whether the stinger would like to stroke me with its less gentle parts aswell (or if it was even alive). I've heard the stinger season is either Nov-Apr or Nov-May, so thought it would be fine to be in the water during the last days of May. I should know better not to trust my luck and take any chances.

I liked both of the hostels I stayed at. First five nights I stayed at Base because they are part of the diving course package. I usually hate party hostels, but actually Base was pretty nice despote being filthy and very loud. I found the A-frame huts we stayed in very cute, enjoyed dining on the beachfront deck, adored the cute possums hanging out around the kitchen at night, and loved laying in a hammock reading or napping.
I preferred my second hostel Bungalow Bay, though. I slept in the rain forest in a hut that only had three proper walls, with one end covered by mosquito net. It was amazing to fall asleep to the sounds of the forest. Sleeping in the fresh air felt like camping, minus the discomfort: I slept in a comfy bunk under a warm blanket, and the mosquito net kept most of the bugs out (I did wake up twice to a moth falling to my face, ewwww). My room mates were really nice. I especially liked the three Aussie girls who broke the ice by making fake farts and giving facials to everyone. There were lots of lorikeet birds around this hostel. Those beautiful but not very clever birds. They were around the camp kitchen every morning, wanting to share my breakfast, and didn't have the sense to bugger off even when I was shushing them away with a knife (kicking the chair they sat on worked, though). However, in the evening all of them came together to fly around in a green, red and blue formation. That was a stunning sight.
I also got to make on childhood dream come true. I had always wanted to go swimming with horses, but had never got the chance, despite practically living at the stables for two years when I was a kid. Now I booked a 2-hour ride, and was pleased to find out I was the only one to go out that day with the two Swedish girls that were my guides. It felt fantastic to be on a horse again, and though it had been ten years since I'd stopped horseriding, it still felt natural and easy. The bush we rode through was gorgeous and filled with butterflies. Cantering through the forest with wallabies bouncing alongside me was magical, one of the coolest things I've experienced during this trip.

After getting through the forest we reached the Horseshoe Bay beach. The first thing I spotted a beautiful eagle resting on a peace of driftwood. We took the saddles off the horses, stripped our clothes off and got into stinger suits. And on to the sea! The water felt very warm when I had my legs around the back of the horse. I was beaming happy. I got to try some acrobatics and learnt to stand on the horse. Sun was low in the sky and everything was perfect.
We reluctantly got out of the water, dried off and rode back to the camp. I could really feel in my buttocks that after a decade's break my muscles were not used to riding, and were going to hurt for days. But who cares about some sores, I couldn't think about a better way to spend $100!

Magnetic Island has definitely been my favourite place in Australia so far. I had an awesome time there, and felt pretty sad when it was time to leave.