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!!! MI Snorkel Trail Launch !!!
Date: Sat August 18 - 2012
Time: 10:00 am
Location: Nomads (Base Backpackers) - Nelly Bay
Grab your snorkel gear and head out this Saturday to celebrate the launch of the two new Snorkel Trails on Magnetic Island!
The two trails to be officially launched this Saturday 18 August are the first of their kind in North Queensland. Come on down for a great day to celebrate:
• 10.00am: The Sea Turtle Foundation will be hosting a beach clean up. Items that are found will be recycled as part of the Magnetic Island (Bay Days) Festival’s ‘Found Object’ Weaving Workshop in September.
• 11.30am: The occasion will be launched by Deputy Mayor, Vern Veitch at 11.30 am with a FREE sausage sizzle and soft drinks provided by Base Backpackers.
The two trails to be officially launched this Saturday 18 August are the first of their kind in North Queensland. Come on down for a great day to celebrate:
• 10.00am: The Sea Turtle Foundation will be hosting a beach clean up. Items that are found will be recycled as part of the Magnetic Island (Bay Days) Festival’s ‘Found Object’ Weaving Workshop in September.
• 11.30am: The occasion will be launched by Deputy Mayor, Vern Veitch at 11.30 am with a FREE sausage sizzle and soft drinks provided by Base Backpackers.
• 2.30pm: Live music at Base Backpackers
Everyone is welcome to attend and join in on the fun.
Everyone is welcome to attend and join in on the fun.
AT: Nelly Bay Foreshore next to Base Backpackers.
See the attached poster for more information.
Some background info on the project:
Tourism Operators and Businesses Magnetic Island (TOBMI) received a $26,700 grant from the Queensland Treasury Community Benefit Fund in September 2011. The Nelly Bay and Geoffrey Bay Self-guided Snorkel Trails, give swimmers the chance to view the inshore reef corals and fish, plus the Moltke Wreck and a WWII propeller. Easily accessible from the beach, both trails look to become a favourite Magnetic Island adventure.
In a surprise discovery, TOBMI committee members, Dr Braley and Dr. Lewis, found a World War II propeller and engine block close to the co-ordinates of the trail. Dr. Braley has been hot on the trail of the history of the WWII propeller and an initial article in the Townsville Bulletin 31 July 2012 alerted some experts to solve the mystery within a few days.
“The pilot survived when the Wright-Curtiss Falcon monoplane was ditched on 5 December 1943 because of a stalled engine. It makes a picture perfect photo for snorkelers and divers on good visibility days,” Dr Braley said.
“The idea for the Snorkel Trails is to provide designated areas where tourists can view the reef, on a Great Barrier Reef island such as Magnetic Island. The plan for these trails had been presented to the Townsville Local Marine Advisory Committee over a year ago and they remain supportive of this development. Locals on Magnetic Island have certainly been confronted with lots of tourists asking where they can go to snorkel. This should help make our good island courtesy even more accurate,” Dr Braley said.
Additional information on specially designed Swim Cards relate to points of interest along the trail denoted by surface and sub-surface floats. These cards are available at participating retail outlets, and the $5 charge will help TOBMI to maintain the trails and cover it’s costs.
Dr Lindsay Simpson, Chair of TOBMI, said that the trails complemented the island’s offerings of nature-based tourism.
“With the $5.2 million walkway being completed in the next few months, what better way to explore Maggie than on foot. Sling your snorkel over your shoulder and swim off the beach to see the coral,” she said. “With the recent expansion of the National Park, we really do have the ‘Jewel In The Crown’ for visitors to the region. And there are now further reasons for Townsvillians to explore their island paradise - which is right on their doorstep.”
Tourism Operators and Businesses Magnetic Island (TOBMI) received a $26,700 grant from the Queensland Treasury Community Benefit Fund in September 2011. The Nelly Bay and Geoffrey Bay Self-guided Snorkel Trails, give swimmers the chance to view the inshore reef corals and fish, plus the Moltke Wreck and a WWII propeller. Easily accessible from the beach, both trails look to become a favourite Magnetic Island adventure.
In a surprise discovery, TOBMI committee members, Dr Braley and Dr. Lewis, found a World War II propeller and engine block close to the co-ordinates of the trail. Dr. Braley has been hot on the trail of the history of the WWII propeller and an initial article in the Townsville Bulletin 31 July 2012 alerted some experts to solve the mystery within a few days.
“The pilot survived when the Wright-Curtiss Falcon monoplane was ditched on 5 December 1943 because of a stalled engine. It makes a picture perfect photo for snorkelers and divers on good visibility days,” Dr Braley said.
“The idea for the Snorkel Trails is to provide designated areas where tourists can view the reef, on a Great Barrier Reef island such as Magnetic Island. The plan for these trails had been presented to the Townsville Local Marine Advisory Committee over a year ago and they remain supportive of this development. Locals on Magnetic Island have certainly been confronted with lots of tourists asking where they can go to snorkel. This should help make our good island courtesy even more accurate,” Dr Braley said.
Additional information on specially designed Swim Cards relate to points of interest along the trail denoted by surface and sub-surface floats. These cards are available at participating retail outlets, and the $5 charge will help TOBMI to maintain the trails and cover it’s costs.
Dr Lindsay Simpson, Chair of TOBMI, said that the trails complemented the island’s offerings of nature-based tourism.
“With the $5.2 million walkway being completed in the next few months, what better way to explore Maggie than on foot. Sling your snorkel over your shoulder and swim off the beach to see the coral,” she said. “With the recent expansion of the National Park, we really do have the ‘Jewel In The Crown’ for visitors to the region. And there are now further reasons for Townsvillians to explore their island paradise - which is right on their doorstep.”