Magnetic Island

We had 1 day in Townsville- walking along a great long man-made promenade called 'The Strand' where most of the beaches were being topped up with sand as the original sand had been blown or washed away in a cyclone in January, no one could swim or even paddle as there had been sightings of salt water crocodiles and stinger warnings up, and where the beer cost an arm and a leg. The town / city was a bit like a ghost town in the wild west apart from one small area where there was a fantastic water park for the kids. We noticed that it seemed to be the place where the mums congregated for a chat as the kids came out from school - much better than the school gate to catch up on the gossip.
We felt the need for an afternoon siesta due to the 3am start and when we finally went out to eat it was like being in a completely different place - suddenly the Friday night revellers were out in their hundreds and the place was alive. Perhaps everyone comes down from the hills and in from the suburbs to celebrate Friday night. There was even a parade of old jalopy 'kit' cars.
Saturday morning the place was deserted again! Ieuan and I went to TheTownsville Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Centre. We spent an enjoyable 2 hours there learning about what the Aboriginal people had done in the past, how they had been affected by Europeans and what they are trying to do now to retain some of their traditions. When we stopped to have a coffee, we got speaking to a white Australian who is part of a team helping to promote the traditions in the schools through programmes set up to link to the national curriculum. Indiginous Studies has only just been included in the curriculum in the last year. She was preparing for a festival on Sunday morning where all the arts and crafts were to be seen. She showed us  how to make a fish out of palm leaves. Needless to say, Ieuan gave up on his very quickly and she had to come to his rescue - I think she thought his concentration was a bit like that of the 5 - 12 year olds that she usually did the activity with!  It was a great way to spend the morning before having to go back to the hotel to get the luggage to then go for the ferry over to Magnetic Island.
The ferry was very bumpy!!!
Island Palms resort is beautiful . This SAGA way of backpacking is proving to be a great success for the retired sect. There are so many different birds again. We have a small swimming pool on site and we only have to walk over a road to be on the beach. Unfortunately we daren't risk swimming in the sea. We stocked up on food and drink and prepared for a lazy Sunday. We have decided that the highlight of the week will be the Toad Racing on Wednesday night. They certainly know how to have a good time here! Watch this space for more on Toad Racing!