Today, we took a boat trip round Magnetic Island. Since so much of the island is inaccessible by road, this seemed like a great way of seeing the island. We booked with Aquascene, a local company recommended by James, our Airbnb host. Adam, the skipper, is a bit of a local character, who knows and loves Magnetic Island and its waters very well. He focuses his tour on the natural sites of the island, avoiding the more touristy spots. Adam and his family recently featured in the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, singing the National Anthem underwater whilst snorkelling!

The boat set off from Nelly Bay and turned East. It was a windy day and we immediately hit rough water but in another few minutes we entered a sheltered bay. Here Adam pointed out a Brahminy Kite sitting on a tree top. Adam threw a fish into the air and suddenly, the Kite swooped down and grabbed it. Later in the trip, Adam tried the same trick with a White Sea Eagle, but the Sea Eagle just eyed us from the top of his tree and didn’t fly down. Clearly, he’d already eaten that day.

The next stop was Florence Bay, where the waters were sheltered by a coral reef. Apparently, Florence Bay is a nursery for Black Tip Sharks. They hang out here until they are big enough to brave the ocean. Adam threw some fish in the water, and we were soon joined by an array of junior Black Tip Sharks. There were also Batfish, Garfish and Dartfish. The Batfish didn’t seem to mind Adam picking them up to show them off, as long as they got fed in return.

Round the corner we passed by Radical Bay. This beautiful bay used to be the site of a resort but the resort closed and the private road fell into disrepair. The council don’t want to take responsibility for maintaining the road so it continues to deteriorate. It is still possible to use the road but only in a four wheel drive and even then you have to proceed with care.

The next bay round, Balding Bay, is known as a nudist beach. It is only accessible on foot or by boat. We ventured in close, with the caveat that we’d head off quick if anyone was there. However, we were relieved/disappointed to find no one on the beach, either dressed or undressed.

As we passed the next headland, Adam said that we were passing the sight where Captain Cook first spotted the Island. He recorded in his ships log that his ship’s magnetic compass ‘would not travers well’ when near the island. Cook decided that the stones on the island must have metal in them which affected his compass. Because of this, he named the island ‘Magnetical Island’. However, he has since been proved wrong –  something metal on the ship must have been interfering with his compass.

Our next stop was the very beautiful Five Beach Bay. We anchored and stepped ashore, privileged to find that we had all five beaches to ourselves! We are in the last couple of weeks of the jelly fish or ‘stinger’ season, so we all had to don stinger suits to go swimming. Despite this we had a lot fun – the water was 26 c – which I’ve decided is the perfect swimming temperature! I may now be spoiled for swimming in the English sea. Adam chucked in a paddle board, and I had a great time watching David try to stand up on it. He really is king of the watery faceplant. Pity I didn’t get a photo!

Adam called us out for ‘morning tea’, that strangely Australian institution which takes the place of our ‘morning coffee’ and we feasted on biscuits and tropical fruit. I had my first taste of a round fruit called a Cha-cha which looked a bit like a lychee but tasted completely different.

After that, we went past a part of the coastline which was rather more barren and unattractive. Apparently, there is quite a community of people living ‘off grid’ on this side, which can only be reached by off road vehicles…intriguing…

Soon we were back on the ‘Townsville’ side of the island, not far from where we started. Adam took us out into the bay, almost half way to Townsville, and some of us did a spot of fishing. David managed to catch a couple of tiddlers, but threw them back in.

After the fishing it was time to go snorkelling. Adam dropped anchor right by some coral bommies. It was such low tide that in places we were floating only a few inches above the coral. There weren’t many fish, just a few brightly coloured tiddlers darting about. However, the coral was spectacular, with an amazing variety of colours and textures, totally different from reef I’ve seen elsewhere.

We headed back to Nelly Bay, my head swimming with all the variety of sights I had seen in the past few hours. Two hundred and fifty years after Captain Cook first circumnavigated the island, it still exerts a strong pull – a really (ahem)  ‘Magnetic’ attraction!