Great Barrier Reef + Brisbane

From Sydney, it was on to the town of Townsville. Not a town as iconic as most of the other Australian towns I visited, but it was the gateway to Magnetic Island, an island in the Great Barrier Reef. I didn't feel it would be a trip to Australia without a visit to the Reef, so I researched the best place to go (that was the farthest south). The reef is long! (1400 miles to be exact). Most people I met were flying clear up to Cairns to do their reef trip. I'd heard Cairns, as a town, was not all that great, and I wanted to spend a few days wherever I went to.

After a night in Townsville (a terribly HOT, HUMID and uninteresting town), I ferried out to Magnetic Island. While still very hot, the breezes really helped cool things down. It was a fairly small island, with regular bus service to transport you from location to location. I stayed in a YHA that was so cool! It was like a mini resort- large open deck bar, beautiful pool, palm trees everywhere, these small a-frame cabins to stay in, and koalas and tropical birds, everywhere. It was called Bungalow Bay, and that's really what it was...a cute little bungalow.

At this point in the trip, I was pretty tired of hopping place to place. I was excited to stay in the same place for a few nights.

The next day I had a reef trip scheduled. The boat picked me up, and we headed two hours out to the reef. Few pics, but a fun and exhausting day.

The next few days I hung around the island. All of the cars were like mini golf-carts/barbie cars. I met a few girls from Isreal with one of these fun cars and I tagged along their island adventures. 

From Magnetic Island, I flew back to Bisbane for a few nights. After Brisabane, it was back to NZ where I made a quick stop to see my new Kiwi friend. I then spent a few days days on Waiheke Island before making the long flight back to LA and then back to PA.