Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
shine, and the granite boulders, hoop pines and eucalypts are a fresh change from the
clichéd tropical-island paradise.
Sights & Activities
There's one main road across the island, which goes from Picnic Bay, past Nelly and
Geoffrey Bays, to Horseshoe Bay. Local buses ply the route regularly.
Picnic Bay
Picnic Bay was once home to the ferry terminal (now at Nelly Bay), and its erstwhile
hustle and bustle has been replaced by serenity-seekers and the elegant curlew, whose
spooky cries seem to carry all the way to Townsville (which there are great views of from
here). There's a stinger net during the season (November to May) and the swimming is su-
perb.
Nelly Bay
Your time on Maggie will begin and end here if you come by ferry. There's a wide range
of eating and sleeping options and a decent beach. There's a children's playground to-
wards the northern end of the beach and good snorkelling on the fringing coral reef.
Arcadia
Arcadia village has the island's major concentration of shops, eateries and accommoda-
tion. Its main beach,
Geoffrey Bay
, has a reef at its southern end (reef walking at low tide is
discouraged). By far its prettiest beach is
Alma Bay cove
, with huge boulders tumbling into
the sea. There's plenty of shade, along with picnic tables and a children's playground here.
If you head to the end of the road at
Bremner Point
, between Geoffrey Bay and Alma Bay,
at 5pm you can have wild rock wallabies - accustomed to being fed at the same time each
day - literally eating out of your hand.
