Day 4 Magnetic Island free day.

Horseshoe Bay Anchorage

Today there was no sailing just a day to enjoy Magnetic Island and catch up on some chores on Rhapsody.  Once the maintenance and cleaning was complete we jumped in the dinghy and headed to shore where you can catch a bus to take you around the island.  There was a short wait for the bus so indulged in the most amazing home-made pies from the Gelato Shop.  A day pass can be purchased for a bus ride around the island where you can get on and off at all the stops.  We decided to just go for the ride around the island for this trip.  There are some great stops around the island to explore and some fantastic walks.  We did get off the bus to visit The Fort which is the most amazing place where the Australians built a gun tower and fort to protect northern Australia from the Japanese during World War II.  How these amazing people prepared and poured concrete with the limited equipment they must have had is hard to comprehend.  Along the track we were very fortunate to see a mother koala and baby sitting up in a tree.  She did not seem at all concerned with the group of tourists taking photos.  On the return walk mother koala had crossed the track and was down on the ground and then scooted up another tree, she was amazingly very agile.  They are certainly a very special animal to see up close and in the wild.  By the time we reached the bus stop for the return to Horseshoe Bay we found we would have to wait for more than an hour so decided to do the 2.5km walk back to the bay.  It was a very easy walk with the first part through a great bush track.  By the time we reached Horseshoe Bay we felt we had earned a gelato before heading back to the boat. 

After a hot shower we headed back to the beach at 6.00pm for a dinner with the Coral Coast Rally Crew at the local pub, followed by a trivia quiz. 

Tomorrow is another free day so we will do some more of the great walks that the island has to offer.