Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 6 . QUEENSLAND & THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
GETTING THERE & GETTING AROUND Sunferries (& 07/4771
3855 for Flinders Street terminal, or 07/4721 4798 for Breakwater terminal)
runs services from the 168–192 Flinders Street East terminal and the Breakwater
terminal on Sir Leslie Thiess Drive throughout the day. The company has a
courtesy coach that will pick you up from your hotel for the 10:30am ferry.
Round-trip tickets are A$22 (US$14) for adults, A$14 (US$9.10) for children
ages 5 to 15, and A$38 (US$25) for a family of five. Combination tickets combining
the ferry with an all-day Magnetic Island bus pass or minimoke (similar
to a golf cart) rental can save you a bit.
You can take a car across on the ferry, but most people get around by renting
an open-sided minimoke from the many moke-rental outfits on the island. Minimokes
are unlikely to send your speedometer much over 60kmph (36 mph).
Moke Magnetic (& 07/4778 5377) right near the jetty rents them for around
A$47 (US$31) a day. The Magnetic Island Bus Service (& 07/4778 5130)
runs a 3-hour guided tour of the island for A$30 (US$20) for adults, A$15
(US$9.75) for kids, or A$75 (US$49) for a family of four.
Out & About on the Island
There is no end to the things you can do on Maggie—snorkeling, swimming in
one of a dozen or more bays, catamaran sailing, water-skiing, paraflying, horseback
riding on the beach, biking, tennis or golf, scuba diving, sea kayaking, sailing
or cruising around the island, taking a Harley Davidson tour, fishing, and
more. Equipment for all these activities is for rent on the island at reasonably
moderate prices.
Most activities are spread out around Picnic Bay (where the ferry pulls in)
and the island’s three settlements: Arcadia, Nelly Bay, and Horseshoe Bay.
The island is not on the Great Barrier Reef, but its waters are part of the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park. There’s good reef snorkeling at Florence Bay on the
southern edge, Arthur Bay on the northern edge, and Geoffrey Bay, where you
can reef-walk at low tide (wear sturdy shoes and do not walk directly on coral to
avoid damaging it). First-time snorkelers will have an easy time in Maggie’s weak
currents and softly sloping beaches. Outside stinger season there is good swimming
at many secluded bays found all around the island. Alma Bay is a good
choice for families as it is reef free and has shady lawns and a playground; Rocky
Bay is a small, secluded cove.
Tips The Most Magnetic Experience
If you’re going over to Magnetic Island for the day, pick up a copy of the
free Magnetic Island Guide from any tourist information center or hotel
lobby or at the ferry terminal in Townsville before you go. Because there
are so many choices of activities, it will help if you plan your day before
you arrive.
There is no bank on the island, so carry cash (not every place will cash
traveler’s checks) and a credit card.
Be warned: Marine stingers make swimming and snorkeling a bad idea
from October to May except at the safe swimming enclosure at Picnic Bay.
You can do watersports on top of the water, if you wear a lycra stingersuit,
but they are quite uncomfortable in the intensely sticky summer heat
from November to March.