Blogs from Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Day 9 This morning I slept till 6 wooooo! We went for brekkie about 7:30 then headed out to Paronella Park which is a 'castle' (I use the term loosely - don't picture Buck House or anything!) which was built on the side of Mena Creek Falls by a Spanish guy called Jose Paronella! He came here in 1913 and made his money buying and selling cane farms! His dream was to build a sanctuary/retreat or restful and fun place for people out here! (It later became a place for people to come during WWII and the depression!) He was also the first person to bring electricity to the area in the form of a hydro generator thing powered by the falls! Because of this electricity his wife Margarita was able to run a cafe selling ... read more

Arriving in the early morning at Mission Beach, we enjoyed our breakfast on the cute terrace of our hostal. We decided to spend the afternoon in the very small centre of Mission Beach, which didn't had too much to offer except a good cup of coffee and internet. Afterwards, we went for a walk on the beautiful beach where we tried to improved a bit our selfie skills, but without succes. Mission Beach has the highest density of cassowaries (around 40) in Australia roaming the rainforest, but of course we haven't seen one! So our mission here has falled.... read more

Just done another day out in a boat, this time we went on a family run boat with three guys one of whom looked like Captain Jack Sparrow from The Pirates Of The Caribbean. When we turned up I thought they were a right rum lot but actually as the day went on they were really good guys and made sure that you got the most out of your day and were very knowlegable about the reef it's fish, corals and the changing environment and how we are destroying it. All snorkellers were given strict instructions not to stand on the coral and to give the crew their credit if anyone did stand on it they were picked up in the little boat and not allowed back in the water. This is because apparently most of ... read more

We had planned, as usual, to leave early on the Monday morning and get there early to have a look around before checking in. However, over the last few weeks, we had started to hear a grinding sound coming from Sheila’s front passenger tyre which had gradually got worse and worse. We suspected the brake pad had worn down and Craig had a quick look under the car and confirmed that the brake pad had pretty much worn away to nothing and had started eroding away the brake disc. It was annoying knowing that we would be selling the car within the next couple of weeks that we might now have to spend money on it, but we figured it was better to be safe than sorry knowing that we would still be using it for ... read more

Since living in Cairns, we have always wanted to visit the popular Mission Beach. To celebrate Brad's birthday, we booked a couple of nights staying at a B&B in Wongaling Beach (just South of Mission Beach). We found out long after booking this accommodation that the total solar eclipse was to happen in Cairns while we were down there, and Mission Beach was expected to only see a partial eclipse. Ahhh the irony of actually living in Cairns where the total solar eclipse was happening, but accidentally planning a trip to take us out of the total eclipse zone for that particular day. We arrived at our accommodation at about 7pm, having left after work from Cairns. The place is called Boutique Bungalows, and I couldn't recommend this place highly enough to anyone planning a trip ... read more