On a Mission !!

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DAY 350

It rained heavily in the night I mentioned to Andy that the large flap at the end of the tent needed putting down to stop everything getting wet, he muttered words like “It’s ok, I put the spirit level on it!” Ok, I thought I am not going to get much out of Andy, not that I was asking him to do it, but it is easier for him as I cannot reach the strap that holds the flap up, so I jumped out of bed, grabbed our two step stool that we use to get into bed, ran outside to place it round the back of the tent so that I could reach the flap.

With the flap down, I was able to get back into bed, and seemingly Andy was none the wiser.

After very heavy rain throughout the night, we thought we would obviously wake up to a very soggy trailer tent this morning, fortunately the sun was warm and things were mostly dry already, we folded and stacked our chairs out of the way last night knowing how uncomfortable it is sitting on a soggy seat.

As usual we had to be out by 10.00am but with our very good valued entrance into Paronella Park, we could pull off from our camp pitch, park in the car park and go in and spend another day walking around, well the truth is for your entry you have a full 365 days entrance on that one ticket, should you wish to go around it 365 times that is.

We sat and contemplated our navel, had some toast, as we were on a powered site and could use our toaster, not the solar toaster that is used for special occasions, such as when we don’t have power.

The usual process of packing away ensued and by the stroke of 10.00 Caroline was reversing the Patrol for the hitch up and all done we pull around and only had the intention of a quick walk around the museum then hit the road.

As we walked back in via the main entrance a lady who recognised us, asked us if we were doing the first walk with John this morning, we looked at each other and agreed we would, the lady said that John was an excellent guide with a great sense of humour and we would thoroughly enjoy ourselves.

We waited in the seating area with another two couples, one Dutch and one from the Baltic state of Latvia, John soon came to collect us and we all strode off.

Let me paint a picture of John, our guide, he is tall, long hair in a pony tail, that is tied up on his head, a goatee beard, something like Fu-Man Chu, and an excellent speaker. John really put his heart and soul in to describing Jose Paronella’s dream, of his Castle, his romance with Matilda, then his marriage to Margarita, John told it with such colour, enthusiasm and drama.

John is a New Zealander and is over here in Australia Studying theatre and drama, he was absolutely excellent and made the perfect tour guide.

We again went in to “The Tunnel of Love” where we saw the Micro Bats as we had the day before, but we were not allowed to take flash photography, as it would disturb the bats, but he took us in again and with the little amount of ambient light Caroline managed to get some photo’s of these amazing little creatures, without flash photography.

It looked bizarre a hundred or so tiny little bats crawling over each other, making the tiniest squeaks but this patch where they are is where spring water seeps through the concrete structure and the bats need the water to survive.

The tour finished in the Kauri Walk, we thanked him for his enthusiasm and we all wandered off.

Our final stop was the Paronella Museum, which was small but beautifully formed, it had some really good artefacts from the Paronella family and people who have been to Paronella in the distant past have kindly donated photographs which help the current owners recreate how the buildings used to look, unfortunately as Jose Paronella did not leave any blueprints (it was all held in his head) they have only a few photos and their imagination to go on.

It was time to get going, so we hit the road heading for Mission Beach, in search of the elusive Cassowary, again we have been told that if we want to see one then it will be there. Our friends the Wallaby Wanderers have been here and they sadly did not see a single Cassowary so the baton is now with us to find this elusive wild creature.

The journey is uneventful, we enjoy the fabulous scenery around us, but it soon gives way to the main highway, we join but before long our turning for Mission Beach is upon us. We were going to try and find a free (or nominal fee) camping spot, but did not see anything that we particularly liked, so we opted for a Big 4 in South Mission Beach.

I think Mission Beach is a lovely area, the beaches are beautiful, it is quite touristy here and a bustle of holidaymakers. When I pop into reception at the Big 4 I ask for one night, and she said “Only one night” I was thinking to myself, here we go, this is when she tells me that we can only book in for a week, but that was not the case, she thinks we will want to stay longer as they have a sailing regatta this weekend and the monster market on Sunday, we will see.

I am handed a map, she tells me to go and find a spot and then come back and tell her which one we chose. So off I go and check out the sites, I find a nice shady one then report back to her, book in, I am handed a brochure of information and things to do, also the amenities key for a $5.00 deposit. This lady is really nice, she has a great sense of humour and obviously enjoys what she is doing, a great welcome to Mission Beach.

The sites are quite small here and fairly close together, we have a job to get the trailer and the truck on site, the truck is actually half parked on an empty site next to us, so we hope that no one wants to take it, otherwise I have no idea where we will park.

Still once again we set up, have a little bit of lunch, do some reading, some blog work, but all the while I have my eye on that swimming pool in my view across the way. It is quite busy at the moment but I aim to be in there later, when the sun has gone down a bit and when there are not so many kids (you cannot have a decent swim with so many kids in the pool). Eventually at 5.00 I decided to head to the pool and see how cold it is, I say to Andy I may be back sooner than you think if the water is too cold.

I dip a toe in, hmm it seems ok, so I edge further in, it is cool, but not so cold as to put me off a swim, I drop in up to my waist and then just go for it. The beautiful crystal clear salt water is great, so I stay for a while and have a good swim.

After that we decide to get our dinner ready and try and eat early for a change, so tonight’s menu is pork chops, onion with garlic mashed potato, peas and gravy, followed by jelly. Washed down with a glass of red for me and a beer for Andy.

Once the washing up was done, we sat down to relax for the evening, Andy sat playing puzzle games on my Nintendo, so I decided on a game of Chess Titans on the laptop, however I don’t think it is like normal chess, the pieces seem to be able to make manoeuvres that I did not know you could, but it is a long long time since I played chess so who knows?

I catch up with a friend of ours Willemena on Skype messaging, there is no one else on Skype tonight, but soon it is bedtime anyway, so I close down and go to clean my teeth.

The campsite is not overly busy however the cabins are all booked up with people for the sailing regatta and they are all sat outside drinking and playing music, at some point the music goes off, but I have no idea what time it is.

The rain starts at some point, I have no idea how long it lasts, before long I drift off to sleep.

Our misson continues tomorrow!

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Photos

Micro Bats
Huddled around a spring water fissure.

John (Tour Guide)
Excellent tour guide