TOP TEN REASONS TO VISIT MAGNETIC ISLAND

There are estimated to be over 800 wild Koalas on Magnetic Island, which is only 5 miles long; making Magnetic Island an awesome place for Koala spotting.  There is an abundance of eucalyptus trees on the island and if you look up in the trees enough you will be sure to spot one.  Both times I have visited the island I have spotted several Koalas while doing the Forts hike (read all about the hike here).  It’s such an amazing experience to be able to spot these adorable animals in the wild, and there’s only one other place in Australia where’s I’ve been able to spot them in the wild.

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Diving the Great Barrier Reef was something that was high on my Bucket List for years, and luckily getting to the GBR from Magnetic Island is a fairly quick boat ride away; only 45-60 minutes.  The part of the reef we went to was very healthy and there were no other dive boats around which was a huge bonus, as diving the GBR from Cairns normally means crowded dive sites and lots of large boats full of tourists.  Read about my experience diving the GBR here.

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Magnetic Island has tons of awesome wildlife, including Rock Wallabies.  This unique species of wallaby lives in the boulders right near the coast and come out at sunset to feed.  If you head to Geoffrey Bay around sunset you’ll find these adorable creatures are coming out to grab a bite.  You can feed them if you’d like but be sure to only feed them approved foods.  In my experience they absolutely love apple slices! Read more about feeding the rock wallabies here.

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My inner eight-year-old was over the moon when we discovered this unique mode of transit around the island, so we had to do it.  These little cars are so fun to drive! They come in all different colors and all of them are manual which is so fun to drive zipping up and down the hills on Magnetic Island. You can rent similar cars from several places, however we rented from Topeless Magnetic.  Read more about my experience driving the Barbie car.

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The first time I visited Magnetic Island we stopped by the Bungalow Bay Koala Village; an adorable little sanctuary and accommodation located on the island.  We saw that they offered a ‘Breakfast With Koalas Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays.  Unfortunately it didn’t overlap with a day that we were on town, and I was bummed we didn’t get to do it. 

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The cool thing about Magnetic Island is that there are snorkel trails in several of the bays that are really easy to swim out to.  These trails offer some nice coral and some gorgeous fish.  If you want to venture further, I highly recommend booking a day trip to visit the GBR to snorkel there as well.

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Magnetic Island is known as a bird watchers haven because of the wide variety of species of birds that can be found here, many of which are rare to see in the wild.  I really enjoy seeing the different types of cockatoos and parrots, which are known to come really close to you, to check out what you’re eating for lunch.

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There are tons of walking and hiking trails around the island that offer a wide range of gorgeous views.  My favourite hike is the Fort Walks hike, which takes you up a hill to the top of an old fort from World War II.  Along the way we spotted several wild Koalas and the top offers a stunning 360 view of the island and the surrounding waters.

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I’ll never forget the time I was swimming in Nelly Bay and a family was fishing not too far from me. Within 5 minutes of them casting their lines the daughter caught something! She reeled in a huge barramundi which is a very tasty fish, and they took it home for dinner.  Needless to say, there is some great fishing on Magnetic Island and also some really great boat trips you can take to fish a bit further out.

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We visited in September and then again later in the year in April and both times we had sunny, warm weather.  If you are trying to go somewhere with great, tropical weather then Magnetic Island is your place to go.