When timing is everything

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Day 93 - Mission Beach

A quick note to wish a Happy Wedding Anniversary to ‘The Welsh’ Dave and Linda Williams. We hope you’ve enjoyed your day and that Dave is still squeezing into my purple suit!!!

Another day dawns brightly over the Australian North Queensland coastline, not quite as bright as yesterday but enough to warrant a big grin and to be grateful for being here.

We have an important Mission of our own this morning, we need to seek medical advice about Darryl's eye as it's not getting any better infact he thinks it's getting worse. The pharmacist in Mission Beach takes a look but insists we go to the Medical Centre just across the road so we do and after a few minutes of quizzical looks between the two receptionists they agree to fit Darryl in. They're really busy (although there's nobody in the waiting room at all) and have already fitted about 30 people into appointment slots that they don't have and there's only one doctor. Remarkably Dar doesn't even have to wait long and the doc prescribes drops and antibiotics for what is diagnosed as a cyst under his lower eye lid. The pharmacist deals with us straight away when we wander through the door and gives us all the paperwork, including a repeat prescription and of course the ‘stuff’. Dar now has stuff to stick in his eye 4 times a day and 2 antibiotics to take twice daily until he has finished the course. Now that you all know, perhaps you can help me bug him so he actually does just that!

Me and the one eye monster (just joking) then head up to Clump Mountain National Park and the Bicton Hill walk. The walk isn’t far, only 3.9km’s upwards but the views from the top are great and there’s a lot of Cassowary Poo around so we keep watching and hoping but we don’t see any up here.

Next stop is another visit to Lacey Creek, it was such a nice spot we thought we’d take our lunch there and of course there’s always the chance of a Cassowary sighting if we’re lucky! Our timing was just ever so slightly off! We made our way to the start of the rainforest walk and met a group of four who had just seen a Cassowary! He had been standing by the introduction sign to the rainforest walk for 10 minutes but had just that second gone back into the bush! How bloody rude! We watched, we sat, we waited, we quietly walked, we heard thudding and rustling (which was definitely him) but did we see any sign of him other than his poo? No! Well, to be fair we did find the radio transmitting kit hidden in the bush which the rangers must use to keep track of these special creatures but other than that the walk didn’t turn up anything more despite us going round the track three times!! The only thing that stopped our watch was the rain and we stuck it out until it really chucked it down, then we headed home for an ice cream, we felt we’d deserved it!

So, a short day for us today and it’s a shame the weather hadn’t been better whilst we’ve been here because Mission Beach has a lot to offer when the sun is shining. Who knows, maybe we would have done the famous ‘Jump the Beach’ skydive if it hadn’t rained!

So tomorrow we go to Paronella Park where, despite the weather the setting will be spectacular and you just won’t believe we’re in Australia!

See you tomorrow!
Dar and Sar

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