LOVELY MAGGIE

last weekend we spent 4 glorious days on magnetic island - maggie as the locals call it - off queensland's northern tropical coast. it was our first venture into queensland and with all the flack it gets from the southern states, we weren't quite sure what to expect...something out of "deliverance" maybe? in any event, maggie was a beautiful island and its people were extremely unscary and nice. half of the island is a national park so it's very quiet and unspoilt. and apparently it has one of australia's largest koala populations. we were only able to spot 2 during our weekend but that's ok.

the main purpose of our trip was to take a boat out to the great barrier reef, brave the killer jellyfish, and snorkel. unfortunately the water was too rough and murky from the past week of storms so we couldn't go. nonetheless, maggie provided us with much alternative entertainment. we tooled around the island in our cabriolet convertible (which came with our accommodation), hiked the 'death adder' snake ridden trails through eucalyptus and gum trees, spotted birds, wallabies, and the aforementioned koalas, and finally swam in our very own infinity pool which overlooked the green waters of the coral sea. it was just the relaxing and adventurous weekend we needed to set us off on the second half of our time in australia.