MISSION BEACH
We drove up to Mission beach as we had been told it was a must to go and visit this place. They weren’t wrong we LOVED it! We firstly passed through Townsville and I have to say we were planning on stopping there but on first viewing we didn’t like the look of it plus it seemed really sticky and hot there, we have since heard the locals call it Brownsville as it is very much like the sun scorched landscape of rural Spain. So we drove through and carried on up to Mission Beach which took up about 8 hours from Airlie Beach.

It is full of luscious rainforest and you first experience all the road signs for the Cassowary birds which are a bizarre mixture of emu type birds with a rainbow face and some sort of hard axe like stone on the top of their head……not something you would want to meet in the forest!! We did see some of these birds wandering around in the wild in fact we saw a family with a small baby chick strutting along side its parents. We did see another one the following day so they do exist but they are endangered so the whole area is a reserve to these birds. This is what I loved about Mission beach, in fact it isn’t just one place but 4 places - South Mission, Wongaling, North Mission and Bingil Bay, it was still very wild and unkempt. The greenies would love it if all the people moved out of Mission Beach and made it a cassowary safety zone but that isn’t going to happen and the fact that the developers haven’t taking over this area is just amazing. This is due to the fact that they have only just gone on mains sewage and the greenies oppose any plans for developers to build anything to major down here.

It has the beauty of coconut palms covered beaches over looking serene islands off the coastline the main one being Dunk Island which you can get a water taxi over to visit for a few dollars. There is a resort on the island so you can get a cup of coffee but other than that it is a place to go to escape onto the beach for a day although I prefer looking at the island not being on it looking at the mainland…if that makes sense?? Unless you’re in a boat and sailing around them all :o)

There is a land sale boom in Mission Beach mainly due to the mains drainage coming in and like I’ve said this place is one of those rare places where it is still untouched by developers, it makes it one of the top places for us for investment purposes.

I love the fact that it still has the feeling of being a very personal sort of place where everyone knows everyone and it has a very safe sort of feel about it. At school chuck out time there are kids everywhere which reaffirms it is a family place.

We decided to go and do the reef thing from here as it is closer than up in Cairns and there is of course less people here going out on these tours from here. We set off on a fast boat out to the reef (it took about an hour to get there), once there we were kitted out with wetsuits, flippers, and snorkels ready for the off. Xara was a bit unsure and eventually we managed to get her in holding onto Roy’s shoulders who swam holding onto a safety ring. Mia on the other hand loved it as they had safety jackets for people who can’t swim very well or like me had kids and knew that they try to drown you frequently!!!!! We paid extra for a guided tour so we saw fish like the clown loach (Nemo fish to the ones who don’t know!) this was a major highlight to the kids. The guides also bring up things for you to touch or hold – mainly sea cucumbers that are like giant slugs – except for the leopard one which will thrown up it’s inside as a defense all over you and leave you covered in sticky white crap….nice!

We also had a fab lunch and a spin around in the small boat, the staff were fantastic and took great care of the kids. Xara who wasn’t that keen on swimming in the sea loved feeding the fish around the boat. This included a giant sea cod which would surface and open its giant mouth gulping the food down….amazing sight to see, this sea cod was called Dot and was pregnant at the time. There were also hundreds of other fish around mainly reef fish which were huge and would swim purely to get the food even if you were in the water and in its way, which was a bit freaky!

It was an amazing experience seeing the coral, giant clams and all the various fish up close and personal, thoroughly worth it.

On dry land again we caught up with some friends we had made along the way. It felt as though we didn’t have a spare moment to ourselves as we were invited to several BBQ’s and get togethers which was fantastic. One man we met on the reef tour turned out to work in a Melbourne zoo and was touring Oz with a load of creatures to show the local schools. It also happened he was staying out the same caravan park as us so that night he promised to introduce the kids to some of his animals………..stick insects (I could handle these)……then came the several snakes he had……followed by more snakes….followed by a funnel web spider which I had to hold for him (in a box I have to say but still not what I wanted!) and a bird spider…..followed by various types of geckos…….ending up eventually with a crocodile! By the time he had got out the various boxes and started to show the kids the animals a crowd had formed so an impromptu show occurred with around 50 odd people in the crowd.

It is this sort of thing that amazes me over here. When people start telling you they have 40 odd animals with them on tour you kind of think they are bragging and when they mention they have a crocodile you kind of think it’s a load of crap but low and behold they amaze you with these true stories…..love it :o)


We then went and stayed in cairns so that's on another threadbut then.....

Back to Mission Beach, Roy started work, I registered the kids with schools and doctors then off exploring to the nearest shopping town Tully…..horrible place to visit and I don’t think I will again as Innisfail is only 10 minutes or so further away from Mission Beach in the opposite direction. We did however go for a drive up Tully Gorge which is where you find some more water holes for a swim and a great place to camp out but it is also the place for the rapid hunters to go rafting so it can get a bit hectic with all the buses turning up full of people off to face the rapids.

Driving up through the Tully Gorge I have never seen so many bananas growing as they were everywhere and quite a sight to see.

On the Sunday we took a walk past the boat ramp following the beach along to a lovely quite bay. Having a picnic looking out onto the tropical islands on a beach all to yourself was just magical….quite speechless.

This weekend we were very lucky to be taken out by some friends on their own boat for a tour of the islands.

The main island being Dunk Island but hidden behind lay another load of islands all of different shapes and sizes offering us some fab views or tropical heaven.

The other famous isladn being Bagara which has it's 5 star resort sor the stars. There is no other method but to arrive on this island by boat and you can only go there if you have booked yourself into the resort!

We made camp a small little private beach on one of the triplet islands behind Bagara, where we swam in clear blue water. There was some good snorkelling to be had just off the coast.

Later on we set off for Dunk Island where we enjoyed a lazy lunch munching on freshly cooked fish and chips whilst washing it down with an ice cold beer. The kids played happily in the safe surroundings on the sandy beach.

THIS IS WHY WE MOVED TO AUSTRALIA! It doesn't get much better than this.....I LOVE IT!

Sasha :)

Great post, Thanks Sasha, sounds like you had a good time :D

Fab time but I've realised I've spelt all the names wrong for the islands :rolleyes:

I'm now pricing up the cost of a boat so I can go to the islands whenever I like :D

Sasha :)

So you'll be towing a huge caravan AND a boat around the rest of Oz with you?

Sasha,

I have just found the treads for your travels for the first time although i do remember your log in name from other parts of the site! Your travels sound amazing :sign61: , a wonderful experiance for all of you, and a once in a lifetime chance for your girls!

We are hopeing to be migrating this time next year :sign03: , and eventually settle in the South Adelaide area (Wullunga, Aldinga beach possibly). We plan to buy a camper and travel around the area for a while, sussing out possible locations and different schools. This means we are not planning for Charlie to be going to school straight away. How did you cope with traveling and schooling? How old are your girls? I get the idea that you may have booked them into school sometimes as you traveled, but i may have got the wrong idea completly!

Also, did you buy a camper? If so when and how?

Any tips will be very much apreciated :) !

Debbie

Debbie sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you but I don't log on very much anymore. Over here it is different witht he schooling as they are used to kids travelling so you can either arrange distance learning whilst travelling....this takes alot of time though every day which isn't great if you are travelling. We just bought loads of books for the kids to practice which was easily done at such a young age...any older then you would have to look at distance learning.

You can enrol them into the schools if you are going to be somewhere for a while but I didn't like to do this as I thought it was unfair dragging them in and out of schools so I only enrolled them once I knew I was settling down for a long time.

It is worth doing it but at the same time it is very tiring with kids in tow. We needed to settle down for ours and the kids sanity but we all still get the travel itch every now and then and keep changing our minds whether or not we should move on...nearly ended up in Adelaide for Christmas but changed our minds once again :rolleyes:

Good luck and go for it ;)

Sasha :)

I've put a couple of photos up for you all to see in the photo album section of the site.

Sasha :)

You do know how to write wonderful posts Sasha keep it up.

Dean