Castle Hill, Fury Game, Maggie Island

The last few weeks have been relatively uneventful (thus the lack of blog posts), just a lot of classes and Townsville daily life. I am currently in my last week of classes (what?!) - time is flying here! I am in Townsville until November 20th, which means I have a week of study vacation next week, then two weeks of final exams. Exams here make me nervous, because in the Australian system, most of my finals count for 50+ percent of my final grade. There hasn't been a whole lot of assignments throughout the year, which means a lot of free time for me but not a lot to judge my progress in each class. Better start studying now!

The weather here is getting hotter and hotter - we are entering Australian summer, which means temperatures in the high 80s every day. We will often get random 5 minute downpours - this is also their wet season, although Townsville doesn't get hit as hard as the rainforest up north.

Some of my weekend escapades are as follows:

A free Townsville attraction is Castle Hill, a mountain in the middle of the city with a steep trail up to the top (there is also a road, for the pansies). Townsville residents use it for fitness - running and walking the steps before work in the morning, etc. Maren, Leah, Hope and I decided to climb it. It was a tiring climb up rock steps, but the views at the top were very nice:It was a little rainy/foggy the day we went, but you can still see 360 degree views of Townsville, and Magnetic Island off in the distance.

On a few occasions, Maren and I have been in the gym when 20 or so very good-looking guys have filed in and filled up entire rows of machines. We realized they were professional soccer players for the North Queensland Fury, who are based in Townsville. We decided we should support them at one of their games! The game we went to was against Perth, and they won! It was a very exciting game, and the crowd was really into it. One section was full of people painted green who chanted non-stop, waved flags, and were generally very rowdy. The only thing was, right at halftime, it started to POUR! Since we were already soaked, we decided to stay anyway and just deal with looking like drowned rats. We went to the afterparty because we wanted to meet the players like the flyer promised, but they took FOREVER and we ended up grabbing some free food and leaving before they arrived (if they even arrived at all).

Our favorite cute goalie in action

Maren and I in the rain

Another Townsville attraction is Magnetic Island - called Maggie Island by the locals. It is a twenty minute ferry ride from the city and is a relatively undeveloped beach and rainforest paradise. Five of my friends and I all went in on a beach house (meant for four people - we squeezed into one double and two single beds), which ended up being the same price per person as it would have been to stay in a hostel! We had our own kitchen, living room, dining room, grill, porch, and bathroom. We cooked all our own meals. First was Mexican night - we made tacos (quesedillas for me!) and Maren's famous guacamole - delicous!

Hard at work cooking dinner!

Family dinner on our porch

The next night, we grilled burgers (hamburgers for the meat eaters and fishburgers for me).

Tom manning the grill

Our house came with its own possum! These guys are like squirrels out here. This one came both nights to clean up our mess outside. They are pretty cute.
During the day, we went to the beach and relaxed. The beaches on Maggie are beautiful. They are a series of bays. I even got slightly tan! (But don't worry, dad, I applied sunscreen religiously. The sun here is brutal, and excellent at burning the tiny spots on my body that I missed sunscreening) It is almost jellyfish breeding season, so we have to be really careful when we swim. The most popular beaches have stinger nets that keep out most of the stingers - but not all! They can be really deadly, and the beaches have little vinegar stations for you to put on your stings.

Me at Radical Bay - we had to hike to get here

Leah, Maren, and Tom rented mopeds to see the island while the rest of us hiked/beached - they thought they were a cool motorcycle gang.

I got to try!

Other times, we explored Maggies extensive network of hiking paths. Some were steep and difficult, others not so much. One walk, the Forts walk, explored a bunch of old WWII forts and ended up at a high point on the island where there were 360 degree views. It was gorgeous! The forts walk is famous for the possibilty of seeing wild koalas! I looked really hard, but didn't get to see any. There was, however, a koala warning sign!

Koalas!

View from the top of the forts walk

It was a very relaxing weekend, and it was good to see Maggie up close and personal. Next week, during our study vacation (when I should be studying...) Maren and I are embarking on our Hinchinbrook Island backpacking trip. We leave Sunday and return Wednesday. Then I have four finals in the next two weeks. November 12th is our tentative dive of the Yongala, the shipwreck off Townsville.

I am hard at work planning the next leg of my journey, which begins once my time in Townsville ends - November 20th. I am doing a mini loop of Australia via bus - the plan is roughly: Townsville -> Airlie Beach (Whitsunday Islands) -> Brisbane -> Sydney -> Melbourne -> Hobart (Tasmania!) -> Adelaide -> Alice Springs -> Darwin -> Townsville. The purpose of the loop is so I can leave most of my stuff in Townsville, then just fly home from there. My flight home is on December 17th, so mark your calendars! I am nervous to travel by myself, but from my experience with backpacking/hostelling around Oz, I will most likely be able to quickly make friends. Should be quite the adventure!!!