The week before last we were lucky enough to have some great Texan friends come to visit us from Guam. It proved to be the perfect excuse to have a couple of days off and fit in a sneaky visit over to the Island to really get away from the house for a bit. It was going to be our 'little bit of calm' before the mayhem that would follow (the day after they left we were beginning the master bathroom and kitchen refit all in the same week). However the weather decided to put a mini dampener on our plans as the Ville experienced its first 'wintry' weather in a loooong time. So our week was actually dubbed the 'storm before the storm'.
Despite the gloominess we left our house, with our darling friend Natalya to look after (thank you), and headed over to Maggie on the ferry to show our guests around, with the promise of seeing some Koalas in the wild.
We bid farewell to a dark and miserable looking Castle Hill as we headed across the water
The sky was grey, the sea was a little choppy and murky..not a pretty sight, and it rained almost non stop for 3 days! But even though the Island didn't look as beautiful as it does the other 95% of the year, it was still lovely being back there. We love Magnetic Island, it was where we got married 10 years ago, we fell in love with the place then and still love it just as much now. On our first night the weather turned sooooo cold that we had to pull out our jeans and heavy tees or long sleeved tops, (apart from our guests, they found the break from Guam's year-round hot and steamy weather a rather welcome change).
We hiked up to the WWII Fortifications
Overlooking the 'usually bright blue' water in Florence Bay from the Forts Walk.
Poppy did especially well, considering it was 4km's including areas with steep, uneven steps, for a little 4yr old
But much to our surprise, both girls loved it. Sasha is now asking to do Castle Hill next...yikes I'd better get fit
It is wonderful how people still help each other out, these signs in the sand point right to the Koalas that have been spotted that day
And they didn't disappoint, this little fella was quite happy to pose for lots of pictures
Of course we couldn't leave without doing the afternoon Rainbow Lorikeet feeding, our American friends could not believe the sheer number of them who flew in for their arvo snack, never mind the noise and colours!
Sasha loves nature, she couldn't have been happier on this trip
This could only happen to our Poppy
I have to put in a shameless plug for the resort we stayed at (Island Leisure Resort) We couldn't fault it at all, it's well situated, wonderfully quiet, reasonably priced, the staff are superb, and even has lots of indoor activities to keep children happy too, including a dedicated art and craft room for the younger ones. If you are heading over to Magnetic Island you should really check it out, we will definitely be staying there again.
Thankfully Mother Nature did turn on the blue skies and warm sunshine for their last few days here, so our visitors got to see the Ville at its finest. They hiked Castle Hill's Goat Track, visited many gardens and experienced our awesome Reef HQ and the water park on The Strand.
No sooner had we welcomed them, and we were already saying goodbye. We are so grateful for them coming to visit us and we're all looking forward to doing it again, next time it will be us going to see them in their hometown in Texas...we'd better start saving!
Kx
PS - Our Small Bathroom is now complete!! So I will aim to update the blog by the end of the week.
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