Mission Beach and Magnetic Island
Well, I really meant to go on a blogging binge when I got back from Australia, but then I realized that the Auckland International Film Festival was in full swing. Being a girl that has a hard time resisting a festival of any type, never mind a film festival, my internet ambitions got momentarily pushed aside. It was so much fun to attend the Auckland Film Festival, partly because I had insider knowledge due to Toronto's Film Fest last September, and partly because unlike Toronto the movies almost never sold out!! It was quite pleasing to be able to wander up to the ticket booth 5 minutes before a screening and still get to see the movie. And did I mention that the furthest cinema is a 6 minute walk from the gate of my apartment building? So if you see these movies playing, please rush right out and see them. Oilcrash / A Crude Awaking, (Crude... haha.. Ummm... this documentary scared me... It's very good.) Mind Game (wonderful Japanese anime), the Science of Sleep (Is this out in North America? I'm thinking it must be. Same writer as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but this is even better because he directed it too), ScaredScared (Canadian Doc that I wanted to see at TIFF, but was sold out), Whole New Thing (Another brilliantly written Canadian film, with an unfortunately lackluster title) and last but certainly not least is the decadent French film How Much Do You Love Me?. I also got to see one of the most shockingly terrible films I've ever seen, Under the Sun of Satan. It unexplicably won a zillion awards and good reviews. My theory is that no one else understood it either, but they were too embarrassed to just say so, and so they called it brilliant. For me though, the Washington Post's opinion really hits the nail of the head (...sorry about the pun...).
But Back to the Oz Adventures!!!
In Mission Beach I stayed in a hostel in the middle of the rainforest (very beautiful) and took a shuttle to the town and beach.
Out of all the communities I visited in Australian, Mission Beach is the one community that most showed the effects of Cyclone Larry.
Apparently these green bummed ants are quite tasty, kinda like a sweet and sour candy. I decided not to try one. I had to take a photo though as I didn't know that some ants lived it trees.
Next stop, Magnetic Island. Just off Townsville, this island is a beautiful spot to hike, or lay on a beach and read.
Comments
Any insight into why it's called Magnetic Island? Did you find yourself drawn there? Hee hee, had to keep going with the pun theme of your post.
Glad to hear you caught a good film festival. Did you meet anyone from HR who might be looking to hire me? :)
I saw a bit of OilCrash during Hot Docs this spring - terrifying yes. Just saw An Inconvenient Truth the other day. Ironic to see a doc about global warming as an excuse to go to an air-conditioned theatre during a heat wave.
Oh, and it probably didn't make international news, but two tornadoes ripped through Combermere this week! No one was hurt but lots of trees and buildings destroyed. Wacky weather indeed.
Posted by: Amy | August 5, 2006 9:47 AM
Just like Amy I felt the pull of Magnetic Island! When I enlarged your beautiful photo I could almost smell the salt spray!
Glad you have such easy access to new films. Last time I was in a theatre was for March of the Penquins in Ottawa last Oct.!
Love Ya !
Posted by: Mom | August 6, 2006 2:59 PM
Magnetic Island was named by Captain Cook. Apparently the island did mess up his compass. It seems the great explore was not too thrilled with Queensland, hence such names as Mission Beach, Cape Tribulation, Mt Sorrow and Weary Bay. His personal review of the area hasn't seemed to deter the constant flow of tourists to the area.
Posted by: heatherland | August 7, 2006 10:34 PM