A Dangerous Love Affair, Magnetic Island

Spending Valentine's Day with a dark, handsome, loveable character on a tropical island resort is just about every girl's dream. If it weren't for the small yet significant detail that Hana's female, I'd have been onto an absolute winner. Nevertheless, I woke up on Valentine's morning feeling like an extremely lucky girl. I had my best friend by my side, a whole rainforest full of flowers on our doorstep and the best selection of chocolates in the world within our reach (Australia really has nailed confectionery!) 

In the midday sun it was swelteringly hot so we spent the best part of the day at our beachfront swimming pool, never more than a few metres away from the water. However, later on once it had started to cool we decided to hike up to the viewpoint to watch the sunset over the island. There's very little we love more than an amazing sunset! 

With our cameras and a few of the Essex clan in tow we went on our merry way. We'd been walking for half an hour or so when all of a sudden the track disappeared, replaced only by rock and muddy rubble. We should have turned around but the sun was falling rapidly and none of us wanted to miss this moment. In the name of love we soldiered on, fighting through cobwebs, hopping over ants nests, and praying that no fallen branches would slither away as snakes. 

Though the theme of our walk was more risk than romance, once we finally reached the top it no longer mattered. The course of true love never did run smooth. Almost as soon as the sun vanished behind the hill a silver full moon appeared in her place, shining brighter as the lights dimmed across the island. With the reflection glimmering on the water below, it really was a Valentine's view to die for. 

And as it happens, we very nearly did! I have no idea how we'd missed it earlier but on our way down we passed an 'Unstable Cliff' sign reading 'Do not go past this point. A rock fall might cause serious injury or death.' We'd known it was dangerous but hadn't realised quite how extreme. Perhaps love is blind after all, or crazy stupid at the very least!

Valentine's Day on Magnetic Island will definitely be one to remember. Though there was no real romance to speak of this year, there was certainly a whole lot of love for life and I'm the happiest I've been for a long time.