Oh Muriel...

“Oh Muriel what have you done now…” is the famous phrase from Muriel’s Wedding and this is what we were saying last night.  As we happily snoozed in our bed we were woken by a crashing sound - to be completely accurate we should say “Samantha was woken by” as Jonny continued snoring away dreaming about his Dad, Madonna and The Northfields (but that’s another story). 

Closer inspection revealed that one end of the awning had come away from it’s mounting and was now flapping in the wind.  Jonny rushed outside, having spotted the opportunity to be a hero (and then realized he should have put some clothes on!) but was unable to refix it.  To make matters worse the storm we had been watching in the distance earlier in the evening was now clearly heading our way – bugger!

Let’s just say it was a restless night as we tried to sleep with the awning bashing the side of Muriel in the gusting wind, the pounding rain, the clattering thunder and our imaginations of how things could get even worse working overtime. 

We were glad when morning came and with it calmness (at least from the weather).  We were now able to inspect thing properly, with both light and clothes!  It did not look good.  A call to the motorhome hire company was not very reassuring: their suggestion being that we borrow some tools and see if we can remove the awning completely.  Jonny examined the situation more closely and worked out that two screws were missing from the collapsed side and if we could reattach these we might be able to avoid the whole ‘removal’ thing.  He enlisted the help of Head Handyman Jim (don’t know if that was really his name but he looked like a Jim, anyway he was a real bonza fella) and between them, with a bit of trial and error (well quite a lot actually), they found two screws that fitted, the awning was secured and retracted and the problem was solved by 10am – hurray!

With Muriel fixed and Jonny feeling very pleased with his handyman skills we could get on with our plan for the day: to go to Magnetic Island, known locally as ‘Maggie”.  We caught the ferry across the bay from Townsville Harbour at 11:30 am (it was good to be back on the water again) and arrived at ‘Maggie’ 25 minutes later. 

Historically the preferred mode of transport on Magnetic Island has been the mini moke: a small go kart like car renowned for it’s poor engineering and always breaking down.  More recently, as parts for the always breaking down moke have become harder to find, the moke has been threatened by a Japenese impostor – the Daihatsu ‘something or other’ and it was one of these that we hired from Topless Cars (now there’s a brand name to attract the boys).

So with temporary ownership of ‘Diana Daihatsu’ we set off to explore the island.  It was a lovely and very laid-back kind of place.  About 2,000 people live on the island, most commuting to Townsville each day on the ferry (better than the 07:40 to Kings Cross) with the rest of the population made up of backpackers come to find some inner peace or party – we fitted in perfectly.

The island’s road network is not extensive so it did not take us long to pop from bay to bay.  We stopped for lunch at Picnic Bay before heading across the Horseshoe Bay later in the afternoon – both were serene.

Alongside the tranquility and laid-back nature Magnetic Island is famed for its wildlife and walks, much of the island actually being a national park (which is why there are not many roads). 

As it is host to the largest colony of wild koalas in Australia (duh – where else would it be) we set out on a koala hunt, walking up to the World War II fort which is now apparently home to ‘Kingston’ and his friends (according to the sign Kingston is a six year old koala and inhabits these parts).

We walked along the sandy and bumpy track, our necks were creaking as we looked into the canopies of the trees: could we see Kingston? What was that noise? Was that him? There he is…oh no that is a termites nest!

After over an hour we returned to base, despondent that our hunt had come to nothing (other than seeing a dead possum) and our heads filling with conspiracy theories.  If you have ever been to Thailand you will know that the Thai’s know how to pull a trick or two.   We think the Australians may have copied a few ideas from the Thai’s – do koalas actually exist in the wild or, as they are so cute and cuddly, and the aussies know they are everyone’s favourites, do they just keep perpetrating the myth to boast the tourist trade – we don’t know about endangered, we think they might be extinct!

We have learnt on this trip that if you can’t trust koalas, kangaroos and wallabies always come up trumps – and today was no different.  Alongside the ‘supposed’ koalas, Maggies is home to a large colony of Rock Wallabies.  So in need of our spirits lifting we went in search of these little fellas.

We needn’t have worried; the map said they would be at Geoffrey Bay and there they were.  First one, then two, three, four, five…all emerging from the rocks (they are ‘Rock’ wallabies!) - looking so cute and lovely.

With our day on Maggie drawing to a close we jumped back on the ferry and headed back to Townsville.  At the ferry terminal we had a decision to make, bus or taxi?  A few weeks ago taxi would have won hands down but we are becoming accustomed bus travellers, however, what happened next still surprised us.  There was a bus a the bus stop so we asked “Do you go to Palmer Street?” expecting a sort of yes/no grunt you would get in the UK but no, the bus driver said “Yes, hop and I’ll pop you round there” – we were the only people on the bus, he didn’t appear to be following any timetable and it only cost $1.70 each – no wonder there were no taxis in sight!

Palmer Street is the main restaurant street in Townsville offering all sorts of al a carte cuisine.  Obviously now completely wowed by the Australian experience we decided to go for Outback Jacks and grab some real aussie grub.  It turned out to be the wrong chose: the food was ok but the service was poor and overall not a great experience (the wine was good though).

Back at the campsite and it dawns on us that this is our last night in Muriel.  Oh Muriel…we will miss you!