i really want a snowball!

So I spent my first day of solo traveling in Townsville, which I had been warned was not a very exciting place. It wasn't. I did stay in a very cute hostel, Reef Lodge, which was painted with sea creatures all over it and full of very friendly people. For my first morning I went to the Reef HQ aquarium, which was nice and had some gigantic fish, but was not as exciting as seeing the actual reef. After that I spent the day walking around the town and the beach and trying to find something else to do. I didn't. I went back to my hostel and watched some tv with the other backpackers. I finally understand how Deal or No Deal works, but it took about 3 people to explain it to me. Around 6 a ranger from a wildlife sanctuary showed up with a giant snake for everyone to hold and take their pictures with, which helped me add another check to my list of Australian animals I must hold and pose with. I signed up for a trip to the sanctuary the next morning to hold even more creatures. I was supposed to meet up with Aoife from my outback trip for dinner at 6, but around 7 called her cause I hadn't heard from her yet to discover that she had been trying to call me and text me for over an hour and my stupid phone that i still have no idea how it works was not giving me the messages, even though I had checked and was in an area with reception. She had just left for home so no more dinner plans. I had also been invited to go out with some of the girls in my dorm room but they had already left. I went back to tv watching and discovered that all 3 tv's in the hostel were tuned to the same show about antique hunting. I read for a while before someone put on the Devil Wears Prada dvd. It was a very exciting day in Townsville indeed.
The next morning I got up early and took the bus to the Billabong Sanctuary outside of Townsville. Most of the animals were still asleep, including a mother and baby koala who were hugging each other in a tree branch. It may have been the cutest thing I have ever seen. Around ten the nonstop shows and animal picture posing began. I listened to talks about and then held and smiled for the camera with koalas, wombats, sugar gliders, snakes, lizards, and crocodiles. The same guides lead each lecture and the crocodile show was much more exciting than the one at the huge arena at the Australia Zoo. I took the bus back to the hostel, collected my stuff, and boarded the ferry for Magnetic Island, about 20 minutes away from Townsville.
Once on the island I met Eline, from Holland, and we decided that we would walk to our hostel rather than wait for the bus. 30 minutes later as base backpackers sign was finally in sight we were regretting our decision. The hostel itself is amazing. Instead of one big building it is a bunch of little cabins on the beach. It turns out the night before the whole island had a huge full moon party and everyone was in recovery from it. I did get invited to a party at a picnic table (their words) by a group of still drunk Germans but decided to shower and make dinner instead. Eline and I then met up at happy hour and talked with some Canadian girls for a few hours, sharing some chocolate cake, and watching the just full moon at the beach. I then went back to my room and chatted with a guy from Sweden staying in my dorm about books for a little while before going to bed. Around 6 in the morning I was woken up by incredibly loud squawking birds and was beginning to like the beach cabin a little less.
I did fall back asleep a little bit before getting up for real and going for my introductory dive! Holly, my guide, gave me a little rundown on all the gear and then I suited up and walked down to the water to get started. The tank was very heavy and I am still impressed that I didn't fall over from the weight. Once in the water it was weightless though. Since it was a guided dive I had to hold Holly's hand the whole time and she did all of the work. I saw stingrays, a giant crawfish, and more rainbow coral and fish, who swam all around us. It was incredible! Holly let me swim around on my own a little but I kept floating up and she would have to yank me down again. When we got back to surface a half an hour later I was ready to sign up for a certification course. I think I will have to do it when I get to Cairns. I am in love with the Great Barrier Reef.
After the dive Eline and I took a bus to go on a hike at a national park on the island. We somehow ended up on an army forts hike rather than the hike to the beach that we wanted. It was still a great walk. The island was used during world war II and is full of old army forts and other stuff. The walk had some great views and we met a nice girl from Adelaide and ran into my Swedish roommate at the top. Eline had had enough walking so she caught the bus back, but I really wanted to see the beach so I hiked up and down a very steep road to Florence Bay, which was definitely worth it. I lay on the beach and read for a few hours before beginning the arduous hike back up and down the hills. On the way one car stopped and sprayed me with squirt guns which was much appreciated. I made it back to the hostel and went straight to the kitchen for food to find Eline with a half eaten package of Tim Tams that she forced me to take away from her. They are the best cookies ever. Well I am off to shower away the sand and grab some dinner and enjoy more of the beach!