It was time to move on again, a bit of a backtrack north 3 1/4 hours to Townsville, up through Bowen and Ayr again, then we skirted around Townsville and it was all new territory – 3 hours to Mission Beach. After an hour we noticed that it was really starting to feel more tropical. The vegetation was getting thicker and taller. There were lots of sugar farms and mills. We stopped in Tully to check out the Information Centre. Tully has the reputation of being one of the wettest towns – it has mountains behind which no doubt contribute to this. They have a Big Gumboot that you can climb up inside. It is an old town and a sugar mill town. The turn off to Mission Beach was here.
We have a 1 bedroom apartment in Wongaling Beach, part of the “Mission Beach” strip. A couple of kms south is South Mission Beach and about 4km north is Mission Beach. They are all on the same stretch of beach but creeks seem to separate them and give each its own area. We are virtually over the road from the beach and when standing on the beach, you look directly at Dunk Island – 4kms away. We have been to Dunk Island twice, the last time 36 years ago, but never remember seeing the mainland so close.
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Here at Wongaling there is a Woolworths supermarket with adjoining chemist, café and BWS, all built on what was once marshy land. Behind it is what was the old shopping precinct – an L shape of perhaps 8 or 10 small shops that are now a bit sad, many empty. The shops at Mission Beach to the north are more a village atmosphere – quite a few restaurants, mostly open air, a pub, newsagent, art gallery, beach/souvenirs, real estate agent and an adventure tour outlet (sky diving, rafting etc – mostly for backpackers). The places are old, have some good paint work and tropical kitsch to make them attractive and at night the side street where most are, has fairy lights that makes it pretty.
We took a trip across to Dunk Island. There is a fellow who runs a “taxi” service across from the beach. He takes his boat (20 seats) across and back a few times a day as needed. He went over with a couple who were camping the night and 5 other women who seemed geared up to walk on the island. Dunk Island was destroyed in Cyclone Yazi in 2011 and has remained closed. A few years ago it was bought by Peter Bond (no relation to Alan Bond) and he maintains a residence and has a staff that work for him there. The public is not allowed where the resort was, but otherwise you can camp where the jetty and beach are, or do some walks around the island. The young couple camping, had been married a few weeks ago on Orpheus Island, must have been before we got there. He had proposed to her there a couple of years earlier. We decided to walk to Muggy Muggy Beach – a walk down the beach, then along a lovely track through rainforest, to the next beach. We had it to ourselves and enjoyed a swim, and then a scare that there was something in the water – perhaps a big turtle? We got out and watched it – it didn’t seem to move much, just a bit that bobbed as the water rolled over it. After 10 mins, with the tide dropping, we saw that it was a rock! Silly us. Paul had taken his little camp stove, so we boiled the billy and had tea and fruit cake looking out to sea, under the shade of a palm tree. We stopped and had a look at the resort as we walked down the first beach. It was like time had stood still. Most of the blocks had roofs off and framing showing, but a few were spared and still had colorbond intact. Sliding glass doors were either absent or had been opened and vegetation was growing in some. Ceiling fans and lights were all there with jungle outside. We remembered what they had been and where we had stayed. The pool had water in it and appeared to be being looked after, the lawns cut around it. The airstrip was also maintained. The owner is obviously using both.
What is left of the accommodation blocks on Dunk Island
It was quiet in our accommodation the first night, then the next day a group of 20 American Uni students arrived. They are in Australia as part of their course, studying environmental issues. We were talking to their teachers who said most were from Texas and found many similarities with what they are seeing in Australia and Texas. They flew in to Townsville and have been looking at the Barrier Reef, are next going to stay on a cattle station, visiting the Daintree and a couple of other stops before Cairns, and flying home. Their 2 nights here is RnR.
We had planned a good dinner – bbq chicken, marinated in kekap manis, and a beetroot, mandarin, date, mint and Persian fetta salad. I had the salad ready and Paul was carrying the marinated chicken downstairs to the bbq. The owners were chatting to us as we walked downstairs, Paul missed his footing on a strange turning step, took a big step out over the remaining 5 steps, landed on his feet miraculously, but the chicken, marinade and dish flew out of his hands and smashed on the tiles below. What a mess. The owners were so nice and did most of the cleaning up with a high pressure hose. Well, now what was for dinner? Paul set off for Mission Beach and came back some time later with a lovely pizza. He said it was so nice up there with the lights and the full moon rising over the beach, that we went up the next night for dinner. We were there at 6.30 and the place we chose was pretty crowded, but the other places were quiet. By 7.15 there were only 3 tables with people in the restaurant. Everyone must eat really early up here. It was a good dinner, in a place that had character, more so at night in the dark, open to the street, and a friendly host with a European accent and a plait (matted of course) that went below his waist.
The fellow who took us to Dunk and the owner where we are staying, have both said that it is very quiet. The real tourist season begins in a couple of weeks, but for this time of the year things are quiet. Paul spoke to the owner of a caravan park on the corner and he said that in a couple of weeks he would be completely booked out. People all start arriving and they stay for 3 months escaping winter! Glad we’ve come before the rush.
We had to spend a bit of time planning our next move/s and finding accommodation. it sounds fun saying that you have no set plan and it is fun, but you do have to decided every so often – where to and we need accommodation. We have decided to go to Palm Cove and then into the Daintree and Cape Tribulation, and so have booked accommodation.
Friday we took ourselves just north of Mission Beach (a couple of kms) to Bingil Bay and then to Garner Beach. This short strip of coast was magical. It is where the rainforest meets the road that meets the sea. We had a green jungle of rainforest soaring on one side and the blue sea on the other as we drove into Bingil Bay. Garner Beach was further on, along another beautiful stretch and ended with a totally shaded small carpark. There were massive trees (fig we think) shading the carpark and parts of the beach, lovely to sit under. Some time was spent here, leaning against a tree trunk and reading. No-one around, looking north up the coast and out to sea.
We had noticed a house cum shop on the way here that advertised fresh seafood, so we stopped by and a friendly woman said that her husband was still out collecting the seafood from Cairns and would be back later. We came back in the afternoon and he had just unloaded his supplies. There was fresh coral trout, sitting whole waiting to be cut up. We decided it was pretty special to get some so fresh and brought it home for dinner. It cooked up superbly.
Saturday we decided to investigate a couple of the rainforest walks – we drove a short distance out of Mission Beach to the Lacey Creek walking trail. It was beautiful, dense rainforest, cool with a well made dirt track, crossing the creek in several places. They keep saying that cassowaries are in these areas but we haven’t sighted any.
A coffee stop in Mission Beach at one of the cute ones, then the purchase of more coral trout for dinner.
It was such a lovely day that we came back and walked the beach opposite our place and then had a swim. The water is so warm, there was very little wind and the water very calm, although I did catch a few small waves when some sets came through. There were a few people walking on the beach but no one else swimming. It is cold for the locals!!
Jottings & Blottings 