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Published: September 18th 2011
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A section of the work by local artists called 'Entwined'
The cassowary we saw on the road to Mission Beach was much more colourful (we hope it stayed safe) Saturday 10th – after our fantastic trip of yesterday we decided to have a relatively quiet day for what would be our last day at Lake Placid. We knew we would need to do some shopping at some time but we were in no hurry. As the morning went on Graham wondered if Dale and Alison, our companions from yesterday, would fancy a trip to Smithfield. Travelling in a Winnebago is especially comfortable but practicalities like shopping are sometimes difficult because of the challenge of parking such a large vehicle at or near to a shopping precinct. Alison was thrilled with the idea and Dale had some electrical items he wanted to purchase so a trip to the shops was just what they needed. We arranged to meet up at 11:00am and in the meantime Graham cleared out all the items from the rear seats of PIE which we are in the habit of storing there. At 11:00am sharp we all set off for Smithfield expecting it to be busy. Actually it wasn’t too bad and Graham was able to park under cover near to the Woollies entrance as both Alison and I had a marginal preference for Woollies over Coles.
So the girls went off grocery shopping while the boys strolled around the precinct looking for the best electrical store. All shopping exploits were successful and by just after noon everything was stacked into PIE where it was left while we all went for some refreshment at a nearby coffee house. As with yesterday, time in the company of these people just flew by but, eventually, concern was raised about a few frozen items left in the car. So we beat a hasty retreat and went back to the caravan park to unpack our groceries and replenish our cupboards.
The rest of the day, as originally planned, drifted by casually and included a brief visit to the swimming pool. Our intended journey for tomorrow wasn’t a long one so there was no panic about doing advanced preparations. Later in the afternoon we drove to Trinity Beach, just with the intention of having a stroll and enjoying the view on our last day in the area. Towards the end of our stroll our attention was drawn to an “Early Birds” sign at a nearby fancy restaurant. The grilled fish, salad and chips were particularly well priced for punters who ordered
before 6:30 and it all came with a free glass of wine. It seemed an ideal way to celebrate our time at Lake Placid so we indulged ourselves and thoroughly enjoyed it too. Back at the caravan, before turning in, we watched a bit of the latest stages of Australian X Factor – sad I know but it was actually very entertaining.
On Sunday 11th we prepared to set off for one of our more anticipated venues – Mission Beach. We weren’t in a hurry to get away as the journey was relatively short – about 150 kilometers. We were sorry to be leaving Lake Placid as this second visit had proved to be one of the most enjoyable stays of our whole trip. We had done a few really exciting trips and, unlike many of the parks we have stayed on, all of our neighbours had been particularly friendly - indeed a few of them turned out to wave us off. We said goodbye to Alison and Dale – who knows, we may see them further down the track. For now though, Mission Beach beckoned and we had to negotiate Cairns before wending our way south along the
Little and Large!
Dale and Alison's Winnebago and a slightly smaller 'Wicked' rental campervan Bruce Highway. Progress was good and soon we reached the outskirts of Innisfail, a place we had spent a couple of nights at a few weeks ago and which boasted the best caravan park we have stayed on. We remembered Graham’s enormous Aussie Brekkie at Famishes Restaurant and, sadly, we were tempted to re-visit the restaurant and to see what they had on offer for brunch. Even more sadly, we were both taken by the thought of a Famishes Brekkie – almost as bad as an Aussie Brekkie but lacking the lamb chop, the prawns and the pineapple. It was still ridiculously big and ridiculously cheap – excellent value for money. We drove on out of town, passing our favourite caravan park on the way. The road to Mission Beach from El Arish winds its way along the coast with some stunning scenery. We had just rounded a bend when we saw a large and colourful cassowary right by the road! We couldn’t stop as we had traffic behind us and by the time I had recovered from the shock it was too late to take a photo (let’s hope he stayed safe). Soon after we arrived at Mission Beach.
Saying farewell to Alison and Dale
with Gadge the dog getting in on the act It was one of our favourite locations eight years ago but has recently suffered at the hands of Cyclone Yasi so we weren’t sure what to expect. We had briefly chatted to the very enthusiastic owner a couple of weeks earlier so we were looking forward to our stay. We knew the caravan park was up and running and looking good so we booked a couple of nights and settled in although the enthusiastic lady wasn’t there and we were greeted by a very dour man who was not at all welcoming.
To be honest, whilst the facilities in the park were adequate, the rate of $43 dollars a night was excessive – they appeared to be cashing in on the excellent location but, lovely though Mission Beach is, we thought the caravan park was poor value for money. Nevertheless, the beach looked every bit as good as we remembered it and as we had already spotted a cassowary on our way in to town we looked for all the potential positives and were determined to enjoy our stay. A casual stroll to the beach at mid-afternoon was well timed as we were able to watch some sky-divers descending,
What a fabulous garden!
on the road to Mission Beach circling their way down before making perfect landings. They were all “carrying” passengers – mainly young back-packers who had paid for this sky-diving event. Mission Beach is a centre for sky-diving activities and we were to see another group practicing their manoeuvres whilst on terra-firma. It’s clearly a very popular past-time here but I resisted the temptation to enquire about prices while Graham had no interest in having a go. Back at the caravan we enjoyed a dip in the pool and both had early showers. The evening was pleasant with clear skies and very little breeze so we strolled along the sand to Clump Point – a small promontory at the north end of the beach. It was interesting but there was no sign of a cassowary.
Early Monday morning, after breakfast, we took another stroll to the beach which looked beautiful. I visited the local Post Office to send a small parcel off to the UK in time for a certain young lad’s birthday. After that we visited the Information Centre although it was more out of curiosity as we weren’t looking for anything major to do. Our intention today was to go for a short drive
A 'Famishes' Brekkie
but it was a bit too much for me around the area hoping to spot a cassowary. We had a lovely drive and visited some interesting locations but we’ve come to the conclusion that if you go off looking for a cassowary you’ll never find one. We had a walk around a fascinating spot that had footpaths through areas where there are some of the important feeding plants for cassowaries and these had marker boards. On each of the four occasions we’ve seen a cassowary it has always been “by chance” and, annoyingly, I’ve never been fully prepared with my long lensed camera. Today I had two cameras at the ready but we drew a blank. Still, at least we’ve seen four on this trip – last time, eight years ago, we saw none!
In the afternoon we had another dip in the pool and then thought about our onward journey. Once again, we had nothing planned but we had decided that this caravan park was far too expensive to hang around any longer. The bigger “touristy” places have always been interesting but, similarly, we’ve never been disappointed when we’ve stayed at some seemingly insignificant places either. Lately, places like Cardwell, Innisfail, and Atherton have all been fascinating
so we thought we may plump for another small town like Ingham, especially as we’ve never stayed there before.
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