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Accommodation: Base. Driver: Woody
12/07/10 - 15/07/10
Still on a huge high from the skydive it was time to leave Mission Beach and hop on the Oz experience to our next destination. Woody was our driver for the day; with her beaming smile and unique dress sense she made us all feel very welcome.
Little did I know, I was about to meet three of the nicest guys on the bus who would be my travel buddies for a huge bulk of the trip. They were sat right behind me; Matt and Chris from Luton and Fraser from Edinburgh.
The bus journey to Townsville was a few hours, but it was broken up by a visit to the Golden Gum Boot in Tully (also renowned for being "A pretty wet place") . The Gum boot (known to us Brits as wellies) represents the amount of rainfall that hit the town in 1950 and it reached a staggering 79 metres!! How they re-built the town I don't know, not after seeing the images displayed inside the boot.
Back on the bus my Ipod was being so temperamental, it decided not to play at all. That didn't matter, Woody's taste in music was great - a bit of Paolo Nutini (Sunny side up) got me in the summer mood.
We drove through Townville, a pretty bleak mining town and dropped two passengers off, how they spent there time there I don't know, it certainly didn't look like a very happening place. We then caught a ferry over to Magnetic Island (v windy crossing - I got a brochure out to ask Woody a question about a sailing trip and the wind caught hold of it and whacked it into my face, pretty embarrassing!)
When we arrived at Magnetic Island it was absolutely beautiful. We stayed in a hostel called Base, right over looking the beach with palm trees, it was magical. Matt, Chris and myself were put in the same dorm, which turned out to be a tiny cabin housing 8 of us. I was on top bunk (huge mistake). Not quite sure how I managed it but I whacked my head on the beam above me. I don't know what startled me but I whipped myself up from my bed and thwack my head didn't half go with a bang! You would have thought I would have learnt the first time, but that same night I managed to hit my head again on the beam. (They say it comes in three's and it certainly did, what with the brochure attacking me too).
Base provided a lot of evening entertainment, ranging from party games, A Bingo night and a night of cross dressing "Gender Bender", and wow what a night the latter was! I downed my dresses and girly clothes for a rugby kit, giant shoulders (tissue and sock enhanced) and a drawn on tash and goatie. Whilst Matt, Chris and Michael (who I had just met) wore my clothes and padded out my bikinis. Chris pulled the short straw and ended up wearing my pyjama shorts which were tiny on him and a top which stated "In your dreams" which was equally as small. A lot of effort was put into the costumes, considering it was a pretty spontaneous evening, one in which we weren't aware of before turning up to Base. The guys certainly went all out, make up was applied, dresses were worn and a few staggered around in high heels. The picture below will give you an idea of how hilarious this night was - Matt, Chris, Paul and Michael the images of you as women will never fade!
We left Magnetic Island on the 15th July, I had such an awesome time there, and anyone reading this who plans to travel the East Coast, it is definitely worth a visit. Also there's an amazing walk "the Fort Walk" where you may even stumble upon some wild koalas! Next sector of the trip, Airlie Beach and the magnificent WhitSundays.
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