Rick and Rae's Travels: Thurs, 15th to Sun, 25th September

We have both always wanted to go to Mission Beach and even though we had been warned that cyclone Yasi had all but destroyed the area, we still wanted to see it for ourselves. Paronella Park is only about 40kms from Mission Beach and the cyclone damage became evident just a short distance into our trip. We were booked into the Hideaway Top Tourist Park which is one street back from the beach. We made ourselves comfortable and then took a drive around the area to get our bearings. We were able to cross the road from the park and walk straight on to the beach or we could walk a very short distance down the street to restaurants and shops. Dunk Island is only 4km off the coast from South Mission Beach and is just one of many islands visible from the shore.

On Friday we had a fairly quiet day, just driving around again and we ended the day with a nice meal across the road at Fish Bites. We discovered that there is a lot of real estate for sale in the area and it is quite cheap. We think that maybe a lot of people don't want to go through cyclones again and have had enough. We noticed a sign across the road about a unit being open for inspection on Saturday ($625,000) and decided we would go and have a look. While driving around, we found Hull River just at the back of Mission Beach. Apparently the spot pictured below is called Heartbreak Hole as there are plenty of Mud Crabs to be caught but they are all undersized. There is also a large croc who lives just around the corner from where the photo was taken.

On Saturday we had a quiet morning and then went to have a look at the unit. It was very nice, with absolute beach frontage and was fully furnished. By the time we had finished talking to the agent, it turned out that we could have it for around $580,000. The current owner lives in Greece and just wanted to see it sold. It made us think for a while, but I don't think we could handle living up here during the wet and humid summer months, as it was already becoming quite steamy. Saturday and Sunday afternoons were taken up with watching the V8s while we sat outside to get some cool breeze.

We were woken very early (1:15am) on Sunday morning by our noisy neighbours. They are builders who are camped here to work on the cyclone damage. They must have been out for a drink and brought back a few mates for a laugh and a few more ales. After about an hour, a car drove off and we were able to go back to sleep for a few hours. They woke us again at around 6am as they all got together again to head off fishing for the day. A bit later in the morning we walked across the road to have a look at the Sunday markets ... much the same as any other Sunday market, but interesting nonetheless. We didn't end up buying anything but had pancakes in the park for breakfast.

On Monday we drove around a bit more, having a look at some other units and townhouses for sale in the area. We then drove about 30kms to Tully to have a look around. I believe Tully is noted for receiving the highest rainfall of anywhere in Australia. It was also the area that suffered some of the worst cyclone damage and this was obvious when we drove out to Tully Heads. We headed back into the Tully township and had some lunch before returning to Mission Beach. We drove a couple of kilometers north of Mission Beach towards Bingil Bay. It is a winding road that runs along the beach and as we rounded a corner we came across a tow-truck in the process of pulling a 'whizz-bang' (campervan) back up the bank to the road. It was quite badly damaged, having gone straight ahead on the corner and over the embankment to the rocks below. It appeared as though everyone was OK fortunately. A bit further on we were delighted to come across our first wild Cassowary. There are signs everywhere warning that they are around, but up until then we hadn't seen one.

On Tuesday Les arrived to fix the caravan brakes as he promised. After all the other expense and aggravation, he only charged us $65 including parts and the brakes are now working perfectly. I had an 11am appointment to get my hair cut and coloured - I was expecting it to be pretty expensive in this little exclusive area, but to my surprise it was cheaper than home. Later in the day we had a pleasant swim in the pool and then went to the Visitors' Centre to have a look. We booked a 3 hour/$30 each water taxi ride around the Family Islands for the following day.

On Wednesday morning I went for a walk down the street and found a swimmer top marked down from $108 to $20 ... what a bargain!! After lunch we drove over to Wongaling Beach to catch the Water Taxi. The taxi used to take passengers over to Dunk Island when the resort was operating. Due to the cyclones, the resort has closed and there is nothing left except derelict buildings and debris everywhere. Consequently, the taxi business is no longer needed, so they conduct cruises around the islands. Our first stop was to drop off a young couple on Dunk Island, near to what is left of the resort. We were to return to pick them up about one and a half hours later.

We cruised around a few more islands before having a look at Bedarra Island. There was also a resort on Bedarra that was totally destroyed. There are no plans currently to restore or re-open either Dunk or Bedarra Island Resorts. Bedarra also has some private homes on it that are in the process of being repaired. Our noisy, builder neighbours from the park were working on those homes on Bedarra the day we were cruising around. Our taxi took us ashore on one side of Bedarra (away from the private homes) so that we could swim and snorkel for an hour or so. Rick and I ventured in for a snorkel and were surprised at the amount of bricks, tiles and general building debris that was in the water. We walked along the beach and had to be careful of the broken glass, tiles, tin and general building materials that were lying around. Apparently, the water taxi business has only recently been given permission to take people onto the islands - the general public are not permitted to go ashore.

On Thursday it was the garbos that woke us at 5:30am! They seemed to spend a long time moving the huge metal skip bins around before leaving us in peace once again. We had a quiet day just generally relaxing before walking down the street for a fantastic meal at a restaurant called Fish Bites. We decided we liked Mission Beach so much that we booked in for a further three days.

It rained on and off during the night and we were woken again at around 6:30am on Friday by more garbos ... not sure why they were here again. A neighbour told us that there had been a small Cassowary wandering through the park very early in the morning. The day started quite overcast but during the morning cleared up, so we walked down the street and had a look at some of Peter Spicer's artworks at a local gallery. Rick booked in to have a haircut at the same hair salon that I went to and was told that if he didn't mind the young apprentice cutting it for him, it would be free and to come back at 1pm.

Rick rang the Electrical Company in Cairns who were organising for the new suspension in our washing machine to see if the parts had arrived. They said no, but there was a new washing machine there for us, so he organised for us to go back to Cairns on Monday at 1pm to have it installed. After Rick's haircut we went for a swim at the beach. The water was beautiful and very warm. Several times on most days, skydivers land on the beach. Even when we were at the van we were close enough to hear the wind in the parachutes as the skydivers came down on the beach a short distance away.

Saturday was another quiet day spent reading and generally relaxing. Sunday was spent washing the van and car and starting to pack up to leave the following morning. We decided we may come back to Mission Beach after our trip to Cairns as we really like the area.