The girls have a REST DAY today!! For those of you who dont know much about CANA this is the day (midweek) that the officials (coaches, managers, umpires and administrators have their meetings) so there are limited games on this day.
So, we headed off to Magnetic Island. We decided to take our car "Leo Getz" with us and boarded the ferry at 8:45 and set sail at 9.00am. It was slow going and the wind was quite strong and we were heading into it going over.
When we arrived we drove to Nelly Bay to hire some dive gear (mask, snorkel and flippers) so we could all do some snorkelling - then we drove to Horseshoe Bay (large bay at the top of the island - only bay that's sheltered from the wind today).
The girls and I headed straight into the water. We're amazed at how warm it it (nothing like what we have in Tassie !!) Ian strolled along the beach checking out the hire equipment (jetski's, kayaks, ski biscuits etc) - at least that's what he told us, there were quite a lot of "babes" just starting to arrive - LOL !!
After re-applying the sunblock, we walked along to the end of the beach to do some snorkelling. I stayed on the beach to look after our gear while Ian and the girls tried their luck. Unfortunately they were unable to see anything as the wind had churned up the sand :(
We made our way back to the car and up on the grassed area just off the sand and had lunch (banana rolls & biscuits and dip). Ian then decided to hire some kayaks and he and the girls paddled in the bay for about an hour.
Kalinda and Chels were trying to get their paddling strokes co=ordinated while Ian and Claire looked like pros and were doing it easy. They were lucky enough to see some turtles while out there. Ian & Claire said a couple of them were quite big and Claire said Ian lost his hat (blew off) and as he leaned over to pick it up out of the water a turtle came up and tried to grab it - he was only just quick enough. She thought it was great.
We boarded the Ferry and head back to Townsville at 3.30pm. Kalinda's mum and dad arrived today (without Kalinda's knowledge) and met us at the hotel. She was so excited to see them and was flat out telling them all about the games, the room she she's sharing with the other girls and of course the time we'd just spent on Magnetic Island.
We all went down to Harolds Seafood (on the Strand) for tea and enjoyed relaxing before taking Chels and Kalinda back to their rooms (had to be back by 7.00pm). when we arrived an ambulance was there attending to one of their team mates - Tahlia, who was having trouble breathing and was taken to hospital for observation. Michelle said it looks like she was suffering from heat stroke - this is what happens when you dont do as you're asked and keep up the fluid intake and wear a hat at all times and apply and re-apply sunscreen. Dont reckon Tahlia will be playing the next game :(
We all drove to the lookout to checkout the night time view - simply beautiful !!
Ian, Angela, Matthew, Claire and I met Ash and Steve outside our hotel at an outdoor pub and we all enjoyed a drink while we chatted about our day and how much we're enjoying Townsville and the whole CANA experience - Ian's lovin' it !!
Claire had to be back at her room by 9.00pm - she's having a great carnival and loving every minute of it !!
Day 6 (Thursday) the girls have 2 games scheduled - one at 9.00am and another at 5.00pm. Again I'll have to swap between the two - Chels & Kalinda play Corcoran Park (Blue and Gold) - both teams they have beaten, and Claire plays Marleston and Corcoran Park - both teams they've beaten too although Marleston will be very physical and should be a close game.
Hope you like our photos from todays time on Magnetic Island - we're have a GREAT TIME !!
