Description of the attraction
Magnetic Island is a small island with an area of 52 km², located in Cleveland Bay directly opposite Townsville, has long been a favorite vacation spot for city dwellers and tourists. Today it is considered a suburb of Townsville with a population of 2 thousand people who live in 4 small villages. You can get to the island by ferry - the journey will take about half an hour.
More than half of the island (27 km²) is occupied by a national park, which is included in the UNESCO World Natural Heritage List. It is also home to a bird sanctuary and many beautiful hiking trails leading from the beaches to the island's various tourist destinations.
The Magnetic Island got its name after the compass on the ship of James Cook passing by the coast of Townsville in 1770 failed due to an incomprehensible anomaly. In the future, many tried to understand what happened to the compass, and explored the island using various instruments, but this remained a mystery. And the inhabitants of Townsville affectionately call the island "Maggie".
The island is famous among fishing enthusiasts - in the surrounding waters there are blue and black marlins, mackerel, tuna, coral salmon and other species.
Local aboriginal tribes called the island "Yunbunam" (Yunbunam), on numerous beaches their parking was located, and the aborigines themselves could travel to the mainland by canoe. Today, on Magnetic Island, you can see several aboriginal burial grounds and cave paintings in numerous bays. The folklore of the Vulguru tribe that inhabited the island tells the story of the island's long history of settlement and annual migration to the mainland.
The island is a true paradise for outdoor enthusiasts: here you can go kayaking in Horseshoe Bay, diving in the nearby Great Barrier Reef, sailing in Nelly Bay.
