PART IV: townsville/magnetic island.

since the tune-up, and getting kicked out of a campground before we even got out of the car (some people should not be allowed to work in customer service!) we spent an afternoon in townsville drinking coffees, window shopping and taking advantage of the waterpark that was basically 10-year-olds and under.. [we had more fun]. at 4 o'clock that afternoon we boarded the ferry, car et al, to magnetic island for the weekend. a place that prides itself in 320 sunny days a year..

five days later: still here! an incredible little island with tons of bays and beaches, walking paths, and spectacular weather, how could we leave so soon? we've set up camp at the koala sanctuary here and are feeling quite at home. sunday morning we splurged for an all-you-can-eat champagne breakfast; put them out of business. we sat outside in a garden area with a few animals that they bring out and tell you about, you can hold some of them and take pictures.. we all got to hold a cockatoo, melissa put some seeds between her lips and it plucked them out and shelled them with it's hammer-like tongue.. (their beaks don't close fully so you can see what's going on inside their mouths while they eat). they brought out a crocodile, a python.. we got to pet a koala bear.. and after all of that, we hit the white sandy beaches to bask in the sunshine. and that is exactly what we've done every day since. tomorrow we take the ferry back over to townsville, and head down to airlie beach.