Magnetic II

The next day we decided that since we had a vehicle it would be a rather better idea if we drove around the island than walked in the heat, so we took ourselves off to Arthur Bay for some snorkelling after buying the necessary kit in Horseshoe Bay. The big advantage of snorkelling in Arthur Bay is that you can do it from the beach which made it much easier for H and R. The coral and fish were not as good as at Lady Musgrave, but still great fun, and I managed to spot a stingray which was exciting. After a picnic in Arcadia (another little village on the island) we messed about on the beach there and then went back to the campsite at Horseshoe Bay before heading out for our first proper restaurant meal since the speeding fine. This was at “Barefoot”, a local restaurant and art gallery set up by a couple of big city refugees and it was excellent.
Day three on the island was, guess what…back to the beach for more snorkelling. This time to Florence Bay. Once again it was nearly empty, with white sand, clear blue water, and loads of fish, and with the added bonus of the Roberts, our new English friends. They are on the same route North with us to Cairns. In the end we didn’t want to leave but we were all getting very sunburnt, so we arranged to meet up for a drink in town later.
The next day we regretfully left the island to head North for Mission Beach, but not before watching a whale “breaching” several times in the bay as we crossed on the ferry.
On the way to Mission Beach we had decided to stop off at Wollaman Falls, which are the highest in Australia. Very impressive as they drop off a huge cliff face in the middle of the rainforest. We arrived at the Mission Beach campsite in time to cool off in the swimming pool and then have pizza in the camper watching “The Great Escape” on DVD.