Photos from 2002 September 30
Today I went back to Magnetic Island, with the intent of renting a car this time, and snorkel gear, and getting some snorkling in. Unfortunately, the weather turned bad (for snorkeling), in that a high wind picked up, which churned up the water and made it murky as all get out. Couldn't see more than two meters, which was rather nerve-wracking, as the waves were rather strong, and I couldn't see if I was going to get pushed by the waves into something just beyond my visibility range. Still saw some interesting coral and fish. I chatted with this swedish guy on the beach, and he said he saw a sting ray father out. Anyway, this picture is of a different beach entirely. I noticed this beach last time I was here (see 02sept27), and this time, I parked the car up by the road and decided to explore. No wonder the beach was empty; it's next to impossible to get down there! I found a way, but there was no trail.	This beach had a lot of really cool rock formations. I guess that is why they call it >Rocky Beach<. This one looked like a skull to me. I took a picture of the whole, empty beach, but I haven't got the hang yet of how to use this camera when the subject is brightly lit. The beach was completely saturated.	Here you can see what I mean about the saturation problem. Too bad. I took this one because the rock in the middle reminded me of a sperm whale.	More of how the beach got its name.
Now, this is the beach where I tried to go snorkeling. Arthur Bay. You can see the darkness of the coral to the top and right side of the water in the bay.	Same shot from the same location, only I put in the wide-angle lens. This is from the hiking trail that led up to >The Forts<, a WWII defense bunker/outpost for anti-aircraft weapons. This trail is supposed to be prime koala-spotting territory. I didn't see any.	Another shot of Arthur Bay. It was really beautiful, if extremely hot, there.	A view from the Forts trail looking down to the water.
Likewise, only with a really nice flower in the foreground.	This is the beach at Horseshoe Bay, on the far north shore of the island.	The sun is inching into the afternoon, and here you can see it glistening off water to the north of Horseshoe Bay. Yes, to the north. I am in the southern hemisphere, after all.	This was my trusty steed for the day. I rented it. Driving on the left side of the road is much trickier than you'd think.
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