We don’t usually celebrate anniversaries, but we felt 40 years together was quite an achievement! Not knowing if we would be travelling overseas for a while, we booked a week on Magnetic Island, near Townsville in Queensland.

There are stingers in North Queensland! Thankfully there are netted areas, and according to locals it’s fine to swim in open waters for part of the year…I wasn’t convinced!

We also loved Picnic Bay, which had a great pier, a netted swimming area, and a friendly pub for lunch.

There’s a great walk to “The Forts”. Not too strenuous but with fabulous views back to Townsville and around the island. We made it there and back just before it poured with rain.

There’s a bus that travels from Horseshoe to Nelly and on to Picnic Bay. A very economical way to get about. There’s also a terrific walkway from Arcadia to Nelly Bay. You can do as little or as much as you please on Magnetic. It’s very relaxed and casual. We did do an afternoon cruise around the coast with Island Time Cruises, that was fun and gave us a different perspective.

We really enjoyed our week on Magnetic. It’s only 20 minutes from Townsville, you can take your car if you want to, but we chose the passenger ferry (senior rate very economical!). We stayed at a very comfortable and reasonably priced AirBnB in Arcadia, close to a bus stop and walking distance to the pub and Alma Bay. Airport shuttle from the ferry…a very well organised transport system. Perfect!