Townsville – Magnetic Island
To break up the drive between Cairns and Townsville, I’d organised to have coffee and a little walk with a friend of mine who lives in Tully. I got up early, having a lazy morning at camp, before heading off through the banana plantations and avocado trees to Mena Creek where I had a quick rest at Paronella Park, a random Spanish-inspired castle in the middle of nowhere. From here, I continued the fifty minutes to Tully where I met Bernie in a cute shed-cafe that had views of the mountains and a backyard full of baby goats.
I had an iced coffee – Queensland is HOT – and a toastie before we drove to Bingal Bay for a hike to the Bicton Hill lookout. We decided to tackle the day in peak heat, and after almost stepping on a green tree snake, every leaf brushing against my shoulder and lizard scurrying into the undergrowth caused me to jump a little. But by the time we got to the top, the views of Dunk Island and Hinchinbrook Island were stunning. Another girl at the top even offered me a raspberry macaroon.
My week at school in Townsville was full of ups and downs. The ups were: being told that I’m “magic” by a TA, having a student tell me that I’m the best teacher he’s ever had, and catching a conversation between two year nines in which they quietly said, “do we have her? Yes! She’s so nice!” The downs were: receiving my lesson plans four minutes before the bell (four times), being called a “fucking bitch”, and extinguishing a literal fire on the oval. When I put it all like that, it’s truly no wonder that I can sometimes feel so up and down and unsure about where life’s taking me. One step at a time, hey? My dad wrote me an email in which he reminded me that my goal while I’m away was to do things on my own terms. I think sometimes I get a bit caught up in the idea that I need to do particular things – I need to work the jobs I’m committed to, I need to be in a certain place at a certain time, I need to put up with all the shit – but I guess that’s not true. All I really need to do is what’s best for me, whatever that might be.
Throughout the week I’ve been staying in a caravan park near the school, sharing a kitchen with a group of French people working through their 88 days for a visa. They’re all very sweet, gathering around at night to listen to music, play darts and even, on one special occasion, make over 2L of crepes. How could I pass on crepes cooked by French people? Some of these people work in the day, and some work at night, so it’s been nice to bump in to them in the morning as I’m getting ready or when I come back in the evenings.
By the time the school week ended, I was ready for a rest. I drove to Balgal Beach where one of the teachers at school told me there was a beautiful free camp. I arrived to a drunk man lighting a fire, the police patrolling the site, and a million midges slipping through the fly wire of my vent. I’m never listening to that teacher again! I awoke to a wonderful sunrise, and no less than 70 midge bites on my right leg alone. (Did you know that they can itch for up to two weeks? How fun!) From here, I drove to Little Crystal Creek and had a coffee and a read down by the water. So far, I’ve read 19 books this year – I’m trying for 40!
That evening I caught the ferry to Magnetic Island, a little tropical oasis just off the coast of Townsville. Apparently the rest of the country is drowning in rain, but up here it’s still a sunny 25 degrees every day, so I was really looking forward to a weekend of beach swims and morning hikes.
The island’s most popular walk was the Fort’s Trail which winds uphill through the WWII relic sites. There were plenty of spots to stop in at, and plenty of koalas to see, but the walk was nice and short – perfect for me as I started in the peak heat of the day. There was also a little market on in Horseshoe Bay, so I walked over to explore the stalls and have a quick ocean dip. In the afternoon I found a brewery with some live music and tried their sour which was delicious! I bought a six pack and drank a couple more when I got back to camp and cooked dinner. While most people from the campsite were drinking and being rowdy at the bar, I tucked myself into bed with a few episodes of Supernatural. It’s the little things, right?
The following day was just as lazy - one of the women at school said that sometimes the island can feel very sleepy, and that was the perfect way to describe my Monday. Very few tourists were out and about, and I got most of the hiking trails to myself. I spent the early afternoon eating sandwiches at the beach and reading in the sun, ultimately preparing for the return to schools tomorrow.
Below is a list, in order of least to most helpful, of all the remedies people have advised to help ease the itch of the midge bites.
1. “Do your favourite meditation.” 0/10 - useless.
2. “Don’t scratch them.” 1/10 - true, but simply not possible.
3. “Ocean swims” 6/10 - just better than cold showers cos it’s more fun.
4. “Cold shower immediately followed by a scalding hot shower” 8/10 - I was skeptical at first, but what do ya know.
5. “Buy some antihistamines” 10/10 - a classic for a reason.
On Tuesday morning I caught the 6am ferry back to the city for another stint of teaching. I stopped by the famous Annee’s for another Vietnamese iced coffee (I’m becoming addicted and I’m completely okay with that because when you bring in your keep cup you get 50c off the drink so it’s pretty much free). This week, instead of staying at the caravan park I opted for some free camps on the outskirts of Townsville, and bought myself an unlimited trial to the climbing gym nearby school. I’d get up early, drive to work, go for a climb (and recharge my devices and shower) and then head back to camp. Not a bad little routine for a few days there!
By Friday evening I was waving goodbye to Townsville (honestly, not too sad about that because it’s a bit of a weird city…) and heading west into the desert to Mount Isa. The drive took two full days, almost all of which I was completely without reception and internet. I passed the time by reading, listening to podcasts that I’d already downloaded, and doing some crosswords in my puzzle book. Does anyone know a 5 letter word for “having lunch, perhaps”? It’s really stumped me.
