18 | Magnetic Island

The earliest start to a birthday I have ever had… up at 3am. A 6 hour journey by train took us to Townsville where we departed by ferry from there to the island. I am not the seasick type but the waves made the journey pretty choppy. We docked in the port and caught two buses from there to the hostel which was right at the beach front. 9 hours later we set our bags down in our beach hut accommodation and headed for the nearest bottle shop. After a long days travel, I thought it would be best to celebrate with a few ciders and not go so hard. Well that was supposed to be the plan however due to the extra drinks that other people were offering as birthday gestures, I ended up having way to many drinks for my liking. The evening started well with us making it to the final of the quiz and coming second in a bar game. With a few tactical trips back to the hut for a can of cider and shot of vodka, the evening was flowing swimmingly.

One of the lads came over dancing to Robbie Williams with a pool que behind his back claiming it was the best night out he had ever had. Bold statement but it was going nicely. All the hostel guests sang happy birthday to me which in honest was quite embarrassing being paraded at the front then I received a 55% shot from the bar which pretty much burnt my insides but hey, you are only 24 once. The entertainment cooled down around 12:30 and I headed off back to the hut. My head spinning I managed to climb the ladder to my bed somehow and avoid banging my head on the beam… RESULT!

The next day we planned to book a package where you can ride horses on the beach. I had not done this since a kid so was very excited until the weather put a damper on it. With the rain steadily trickling down all day we decided to go on a conquest to find a wild koala bear. As soon as we hit the walking trail we found one stooped over at the top of a tree clinging onto the branches in what looked like an uncomfortable position. I doubt this would prevent this little fellow from getting his 20 hour a day sleep. After a 50-minute hike up to the summit of the lookout the views were fantastic.

You could see the mainland on the horizon and see the waves crashing up against the beach. We were soaked after making it back to the hostel but it was a perfect hangover cure! When I got back one of the girls to my surprise had bought me a chocolate cake so it was round 2 for a happy birthday song with a tasty ending. I had to secretly give one of the lads extra pieces of cake behind his girlfriends back as she had put him on a two pieces only WARNING. I must admit I felt guilty on the 4th and he was so far hunched over the cake hiding it that it looked incredibly suspicious and his eyes kept shifting between her and the cake. Next stop Tully…

#Nightlife #Tour #Nature