Spring Break Installment 4

September 23-25

We knew we had reached the city of Townsville when the seemingly eternal darkness beyond our headlights turned to a looming glow of traffic lights and street lamps. We took what was apparently the 'main' road into town, which barely had lane stripes and ran forever through warehouses and autobody shops until finally reaching civilization (marked by the first McDonald's we had seen in a couple days). We aimlessly drove around town, getting lost and retracing our turns over and over again, until we finally stopped at a gas station to sort things out. The clerk inside the station proved completely useless in pointing us in the right direction, and it wasn't until an old local came in that we had any idea of where to go. He gave us directions to the ferry landing, where we would catch a boat out to Magnetic Island. We left our van behind and hopped aboard the jetty/speedboat that put us on the island in just 2o minutes. We made our way to our hostel, Base, which seemed more like a surf resort to us. Complete with palms, a beachside deck and bar, Base was to be the location of a huge, infamous full moon party the following night, which we decided we had to stay for. After a good night's sleep in a real bed, we spent the next day exploring the island and beach (and health clinic in my case, dealing with that pesky coral poison infection that had my ankle swollen like a grapefruit). Maggy, as it is called by the Aussies, is a small, scarcely inhabited island surrounded by reefs just off the coast by Townsville. It is home to many exotic species of birds and mammals, including the rock wallaby that I was lucky enough to spot on a bus ride (the only way to get around the island).

Rainbow Bee-Eaters
Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo
The beach in front of Base

Lorikeets

At the hostel, these colorful lorikeets were frequent visitors to vacated bar tables. We sat with these two for awhile, who curiously wanted nothing to do with the mango juice I offered them but could not resist the dishes containing sandwich scraps. That night, the full moon party turned out to be a blast. Although the wind was blasting the beachside bar and deck as well, hundreds of people showed and the deck turned into a lit up, packed dance floor that raged until early the next morning. Though most of us were split up at 5 in the morning, we all rendezvoused at the ferry landing, catching a few hours of sleep outside on the concrete while waiting for the first ferry back to the van. I could hardly force the others awake when the boat pulled up, and I thought for a second they would remain there on their bed of asphalt for the entire morning. However, somehow we all boarded and made it back to the van. The others passed out in the back while I drove us into the early morning sun towards Airlie Beach*, our next destination. At a midway stop at McD's for coffee and breakfast, a couple of the others told me they didn't remember getting on the fairy earlier that morning. Thank god I took the first shift at the wheel.