Catching the earliest ferry to Magnetic Island was easy after the $33 AUD roundtrip ticket. The boat ride is nice in the early morning. I arrived on the Island and the island bus is right outside the ferry terminal, one going to each direction from the terminal and going back and forth all day. An all day pass is only $7 AUD. I arrived at my hotel, Amaroo on Mandalay. It was early and I had some time before the office opened to see if I could have an early check-in. Took a walk around the neighborhood and got koala spotting tips from neighbors. Spotted all different kinds of birds walking about, as there is lots of vegetation and not that many residents. 
The island had one road on one part of the coast which turns into a dirt road for 4 wheel drives. The middle of the island appears uninhabited, except for wildlife (including the 100 or so wild koalas on the island). The hotel is lovely with gardens and a mineral swimming pool. When the office opened, they let me check in right away. The room has everything needed. A front patio to watch birds, a back patio with a bbq and wooded area for rock wallabies, and a fully stocked kitchen. I spend the day close to the hotel in Nelly Bay and playing in the pool. 
I went to my room in the late afternoon and was visited by wallabies in my backyard. This island is paradise. Beautiful setting, friendly residents, beaches and hikes around the island, and I hear little to no crime. I met a man at my hotel that came for a few weeks vacation... 25 years ago! He now just lives at the hotel and has been married and widowed since. I walked to the grocery store and picked up food for my couple of days here. Made dinner and had an early night.
The next morning, I woke up early, had coffee and watched the birds out front. I caught a bus to the Forts Walk in Horseshoe Bay, supposedly the best place on the island to see koalas in the wild. It is an easy walk with lots to see as it heads up to an old WWII fort with spectacular views. I walked slow, looking in the Y of the tree branches for koalas as well as looking down at the path, as people are known to place an arrow in the dirt or with rocks if they spot a koala, as they don't move much or very fast during the day. 
I made it to the top of the walk with no koala sightings and dejectedly headed back down the hill, looking as hard as I could. I ran into a local who saw my camera and asked if I had seen koalas and I sadly said no. He laughed and said, "Not even the one about 150 meters back?" Wha???? My face lit up. He walked me back to see it, so I didn't miss it. There he was, all snuggled up in the Y of the tree. Grey fur matching the color of the bark and little movement makes for hard spotting. I had literally walked past him TWICE. Took pictures and then finally let him sleep in peace, heading back down the hill. 
Then spotted another little koala not far from the path who I also must have passed on the way up! He was a little more active, having trouble getting comfortable for his mid morning slumber. He finally found a comfortable spot and passed out on a branch, arms dangling down. So lucky to see two! Apparently, as the heat of summer comes, they stay farther up in the hills and aren't as visible. 
After I was done at the Forts Walk, I headed down to check out Horseshoe Bay before heading back by bus to the hotel for lunch. Then I grabbed my snorkel gear and got info from a nearby shop and headed out to the Geoffrey Bay snorkel trail. Left my stuff at the old jetty and hopped in. The visibility was not very good, but it was good to test out my leg to make sure I could dive in two days. Got out to dry off before catching the bus back and sat on the jetty, watching the nearby rock wallabies hop around. A huge ray jumped out of the water with a splash. I made it back to the hotel for the kookaburra feeding at the pool. 
One of the hotel owners feeds them every night at 5:30, which they seem to know. It was a perfect day. If visiting Australia again, I would definitely stay on this island longer, and would try to get on an S.S. Yongala Wreck dive (supposedly one of the best wreck dives where a large boat hot stuck in a cyclone and is now pretty well preserved, but only available to dive from the island a day or two a week).My hotel gave me a late check-out so I could catch the 12:15pm ferry and hop right on my 1:20 bus to Airlie Beach. I had planned on playing in the pool, but it was cloudy. So I just goofed off and packed and picked up some snacks for the bus ride (tim tams, a Fanta passionfruit cream soda, and a Bundaberg ginger beer special spiced Christmas Edition!). By the time I was going to start walking to the ferry, it was raining. The hotel owner was kind enough to give me a ride to the ferry terminal.
Easy connection from the ferry, as the bus to Airlie Beach picked up right from the ferry terminal. The four hour drive goes down the coast and passed lots of green farmland, a huge contrast to the outback. There were sugar cane, mango, pineapple, watermelon, and squash farm fields. We crossed lots of rivers and lagoons. We made a few stops in smaller towns such as Ayr and Bowen before pulling into the Port of Airlie. I walked to my apartment rental, which is probably bigger than my condo at home. And it has a jaccuzi tub on the balcony with a peakaboo view of the water. Off to bed early, as I want to be well rested for diving the Great Barrier Reef with an early departure in the morning.
I walked over to the Airlie Port for a 7:30am boarding. We are on a large ferry boat. We meet up in little groups around the ferry and it seems pretty well run for the chaos of all of these people who signed up to do different things. First we drop some people off on Hamilton Island. Then we pass several other smaller Whitsunday Islands and head out through the rougher boating channel. 
Finally, we reach a pontoon on Hardy Reef, part of the Great Barrier Reef. I was worried, as there are still about 75-100 people on board the ferry boat. But luckily, most people are snorkeling or on a submersible boat or taking helicopter rides. There are only six divers and two guides with our group. I was also concerned about the equipment, as I always like to see it before diving with a company, but I had to book online and they jeep their gear out at the pontoon beforehand.
But it turned out to all be quite nice, and I have my own mask and snorkel. We get two dives with am included BBQ lunch between the dives. The dives were just okay. The reef is in decent shape, with some loss from the last cyclone. The sea life wasn't great. As somewhere I have always wanted to dive, it was a bit of a disappointment. I had heard the same from others who dove from Cairns. 
I think the better way to do it would be a liveaboard boat for a few days to see more secluded areas of the reef. Still fun to get out in the ocean and dive again, though. I was better on air than the rest of the group and so by the time I came up after my second dive, everyone else was already on the ferry and I had to run on as we departed back for Airlie Beach. The seas were rougher heading back and about one third of the boat was vomiting. Ugggh... thankful that I don't seem to get seasick. I hang out in the back and chat with the engineer/boat mechanic, away from the barfersThe next morning, I had no plans. I had gone to a tour company business the night before to look at options and had some serious BS rude "service"... can you still call it service if they greet and help every one else that walks in but completely ignore you? As it was Thursday in Australia (but still Wednesday in the States), it was my Thanksgiving. As a treat to myself for the holiday, I headed back to the Port and booked a day trip to White Haven beach with snorkeling, drinks, and a BBQ buffet lunch aboard a bright purple catamaran. It was the same company as the day before, and they gave me a bit of a bargain.
It was a nice, relaxing day on the water. The boat was only about half full and the weather was perfect. First we take a stop at a secluded bay and go snorkeling. They provide us with stinger suits, and I have my own mask and snorkel. Not much to see, so I basically just chase fish around and go swimming. Then we get back on the catamaran and sail a bit more until we land at White Haven Beach. There are several other tour groups here, but it is not super crowded. There is a small hike up to a peak with absolutely spectacular views all around. It is gorgeous and like something out of a dream. 
You can look down on the bay that the boats unload at. There are views far across the water and of nearby other islands. The sand is so white against the blue water. From the viewpoint height, you can see concentric circles around a distant island from the white sand under different depths of water. Then we headed down to the beach, which had nice, soft sand. I took a pre-lunch nap on said sand before we all headed back to the catamaran for our feast. 
There are no other Americans onboard, so I celebrated Thanksgiving by myself. Luckily, lots of nice people in our group so lots of good conversation and exchange of travel tips. After lunch, we head back to Airlie Beach. On my walk back to my apartment, I did see what looked like a turkey, only with a bright red and yellow gobbler!The next day was a travel day. Checked out of my apartment and goofed off in Airlie Beach for a few hours before catching a shuttle to the airport about 40 minutes away. I caught my flight to Brisbane and then my connection to Perth. Both flights were delayed (I would NOT recommend Virgin Australia airlines... terrible service). I got in to Perth later than expected and was unsure of my plan to catch the bus and train to Fremantle. I didn't want to take the $32 shuttle or a $70-80 taxi. Luckily, someone at the airport helped me and I met a guy on the bus from Munich who was also heading to Fremantle so we could navigate it together late at night, for only $4.75! Arrived at my adorable B&B and Fremantle appears cute, safe, and pretty quiet compared to Perth (which is only a 20 minute train ride).
Had a great night sleep in the Fremantle B&B. The bed is the most comfortable I have had in Australia and the owners seem to go out of its way to make you feel at home.
Breakfast of french press coffee, orange juice, greek yogurt with honey and fruit jam, and a fruit cup and then met up with the Munich guy from the bus the day before to wander the town. We walked to the ferry terminal and along the waterfront to the Roundhouse, an old jail. Next, we walked over to the Fremantle Market, which is open Friday-Sundays. 
The Market was pretty small and geared mainly to tourists, with some produce, meat, and cheese stalls. We walked around the town more, which is cute with it's older buildings with wrought iron balconies and full of coffee shops and restaurants. We walked over to the old Fremantle prison, built by convict labor from 1852-1859 and used as a colonial prison, military prison, and maximum security prison which was finally shut down in 1991. 
We went back to the Market for lunch at a busy Japanese ramen shop, Dosukoi, that we had seen earlier (my new Munich friend lived in Japan for a while). It was quite good. We watched a few funny street performers around the Market while waiting for our spot at the lunch counter. After our yummy lunch, we walked out to South Beach, but it was windy and not all that nice.The next morning, the guy from Munich and I had a booked tour at 7am. He had heard of this place in the desert called Pinnacle Desert in Nambung National Park which is about 3 hours north of Perth. We had looked in to tours the previous day, but only one large tour bus ran on a Sunday and only left from Perth. The train didn't run early enough on Sundays, so we would have had to share a $60AUD taxi ride to get from Fremantle to Perth. The booking company called a woman who ran a private tour, and she agreed to come pick us up in Fremantle.
The private tour only cost us about $15 more dollars each after the cost of the taxi and seemed a way better option than a big tour. We set out at 7am, for the about three hour drive. We pass plenty of bush and grassland with cattle farms, peppered with colors of late wildflowers and bright yellow-orange flowers on what they call the Christmas Tree (because of when they bloom). 
We make a quick stop in Lancelin, a small fishing and agricultural lime production town on the ocean, for coffee and a croissant. Continuing on, we start seeing large sand dunes which are a stark white (like mountains of sugar or snow) and the landscape gets more sparse. These sand dunes are supposedly mobile with the Western Australian winds and move up to thirty-nine feet in a year. 
We arrived at Pinnacles Desert and visited the Interpretative Hall first to learn about the area and the theories to where the pinnacles come from (there has not been a consensus yet). We walked across the amazing desert spotted with columns and pillars, ranging in shape and size up to 4m high. Our guide gives us plenty of time to roam around. It is other-worldly. There are structures that are little/tall, pointy/rounded, light/dark, solid/holed. 
There is even one that looks like Edvard Munch's "The Scream". As we are getting ready to leave, we spot an emu as it is running across the desert. Of course, I chased it around for a bit... boy, are they fast! Our guide showed us the little, red berries the emus like to eat. Being on a private tour is nice because she is flexible on the time schedule when random things come up.
Speaking of random things, we left the Pinnacle Desert and stopped at Cervantes, a small nearby town known for its lobster fishing, for lunch. We were talking about animals when the server came over to take our order and she said "Did you see what those women have in that baby pram?" 
I had seen them pass me with the stroller, but didn't pay much attention. There were two baby kangaroos!! Ahhhhh!!! They were orphaned, one when the mom was hit by a car and the other a pinky. They were raising them until a nearby sanctuary had room for them. AND THEY LET ME HOLD ONE!! I couldn't contain my excitement. I have had so many happy moments, but unexpectedly getting to snuggle a baby kangaroo is WAAAYYYY up there. After our amazing lunch (the fish and chips were quite good, as well), we watched some wind surfers on a nearby beach and then headed to Lake Thetis for stromatolites. Very cool, as I did not even know what they were. 
Apparently, the oldest living fossils growing only 1mm a year, some are believed to be 3.7 billion years old. They live in salty conditions, 1.5 times saltier than the ocean, which is created in the lake by evaporation from the wind. On the way home, I finally spotted a wild kangaroo we passed in a sand pit by the side of the road (and also saw two more emus). Our guide was wonderful, super informative and accommodating and I highly recommend her. It was such an excellent, unexpected adventure!
And on my final day, I checked out of my lovely B&B, who held my luggage for the day. Hopped on a ferry to Rottnest Island to visit quokkas, a small marsupial I had seen on the internet years ago and fell in love with. There is a bus around the island, but it is infrequent and everyone said I needed to rent a bike to see the island. Most of you know bike riding is not one of my strong points, to put it mildly. And the last time I had been on a bike was about 15 years ago. I decided to suck it up and try the bike. In the rental line, I met a very nice woman who lived in Fremantle and had been to the island previously with her family to camp and snorkel. She laughed at my trepidation on a bicycle and offered that we go around the island together. 
It was fabulous, as she knew all the spots and snorkeling with a buddy is always safer. She made she to bicycle slowly as I got used to riding a bike. You have to stop every once and a while any way to enjoy the views and hit the brakes for the occasional lizard who was sunning themselves on the warm road. 
We visited a spot with multiple ship wrecks until the current got stronger. There have actually been twelve shipwrecks around the little island since 1842 due to the strong currents, complex reef system, and proximity to the port in Fremantle. The current started getting pretty strong and bumping us around. I don't think either one of us wanted to get bumped up a against the wrecks, which were shallow in areas. 
So we hopped out and headed to another spot she wanted to try. The second area was great! It was a sea grass and coral protected area with lots of fish hiding out and swimming through the sea grass. We snorkeled for quite a while, until I got cold and she got hungry. 
And I finally found my favorite, a nudibranch, right before coming in! The snorkeling was surprisingly better than any I had done anywhere else on this trip. My new buddy shared her lunch with me and lizards came to play with us (almost got in her bag). We biked around the rest of the island. Saw the salt lakes, the lighthouse, and enjoyed beautiful vistas. But most importantly, we saw quokkas! 
In fact, there is no way you can come to this island and NOT see quokkas. They are EVERYWHERE. They are adorable and curious, seeming to have a smiles on their faces. Some are lounging on the road, some are sleeping in the grass, some are eating pretty much whatever they can get their hands on. Some even had young ones with them. Another one even got in to it with a peacock. Well, technically, the quokka couldn't have cared less and just continued eating whatever he found that was apparently too close to the peacock's territory. 
The peacock spread out his plume and made this rattling noise with the feathers. He turned around, stomping his feet and ruffling his back feathers. I was initially a bit frightened for the quokka, but the he just kept shoving food in his mouth. Maybe it's my spirit animal? (there is a photo, but the video with sound is better). My buddy had an earlier ferry than me so we returned the bikes and headed to a bar/restaurant overlooking the water. We enjoyed a beer while watching a large stingray swim close to the shore. Quokkas run around under your feet, looking for handouts. 
We said our goodbyes and I spent the next hour and a half playing with quokkas. I tried to get a selfie with one, but I am terrible at selfies and it was always blurry and/or half of one of our faces. Closest I got to a selfie was with the one that came up and licked my knee, as if to say goodbye before my ferry to take me back to Fremantle.I grab my bag and my lovely B&B let me take a quick shower, even though I had already checked out. Leaving Fremantle, I was treated to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen, as a proper goodbye. I would really like to come back and do more of Western Australia some day. And now for the long journey home: Train and bus from Fremantle to Perth, flight from Perth to Sydney. Train to the international terminal, flight from Sydney to LAX, and then flight from LAX to Seattle. See you soon, hopefully!
Trip photos are up online or you can view them as a slideshow.
Love,
Betsy
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