Blogs from Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia, Oceania

Arrived in Mission Beach Wednesday afternoon, chilled out for a couple of hours, and booked some stuff for Cairns and then watched a film in the evening. On Thursday morning we went white water rafting!! It was such good fun. We did up to grade 4 rapids and got nice and soaked. We had a chance to float along the river too, outside of the raft, which was pretty cool. We had 2 French guys in our raft and a French instructor so they kept speaking French all the bloody time!! Luckily we also had the river medic in our boat (and even more luckily didn't need him!!) who was Australian, so there was someone speaking English to us, and he was a really funny guy, he decied he couldn't say Anwen so nicknamed her "Annie" ... read more

Ahhh tropical paradise! Originally when we planned Cairns as the longest leg of the trip outside of Melbourne I had some reservations. Specifically I wasn't sure if it would be too hot/muggy this time of the year or if it would rain the entire time, or it would end up being a complete tropical tourist trap up here. I'm happy to report that all doubts have been rendered moot and I'm quite happy that we chose to hit this area instead of the original plan (Brisbane/Gold Coast). The original itinerary for Cairns was to travel north to the towns of Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation. However the rental car rep told us about this place to the south called Mission Beach. We've been trying to do shit on the fly as much as possible so instead ... read more

There was no better word to describe today. Ouch. Talk about waking up feeling like the living dead. The hangover is spectacular - even requiring some hugging of Armitage Shanks. Not a good day. The French lady I so rudely interrupted last night appears to have disappeared this morning - I know I didn't dream her being there as her belongings are still there, but she must have made a hasty run for fresh air, given the amount of alcohol fumes that must have been coming from me. Packing is painful - turning my head upside down is not good - but soon I'm on my way to check out. The bigger worry is that I have to hire a car today to get me to my next destination, Mission Beach. A tactical Macca's stop was ... read more

And then there was three……. We started our Australian jaunt in Sydney and did the usual tourist stuff, Harbour Bridge, Opera house, open top tour bus etc. Although a big city it has a good feel with lots of green parks and ocean views, the ferry to Manly was a great way to see the harbour and as a bonus we spent a few hours lying on the beach watching surfers do their stuff. As an added bonus Liz gets to watch fit young men close up at no cost. Our plan was to head north to tropical Cairns as quick as we could to avoid the worst of the summer heat and humidity. This was to take about a week to drive and then we will slowly travel back south over the next 2-3 months. ... read more

Day 47, 25/10/11 Today was the big day I have been waiting for for such a long time and it has finally arrived. It was the day of my SkyDive. 14 000ft high in a tiny plane before being thrown out and free falling 10 000ft for 60seconds hitting speeds of 120mph. After the 60 seconds the parachute opens and you get pelted upwards before gently gliding to the floor. I even got a go at steering the parachute myself. I was up at 7:15 ready to be picked up at 8:30, it was about a 10minute bus ride to the centre where we got a 5min safety briefing and all harnessed up. We then jumped onto the bus to the airport which was about 15mins away. Straight off the bus and onto a tiny 17 ... read more

My cousin met me in Bangkok and we kicked things off in style. We headed to the State Tower, where they filmed scenes from The Hangover 2, for an overpriced cocktail on the 56th floor. It was pretty swanky and the view of Bangkok was amazing. We then went from one extreme to the other, with a speedy, ever so slightly hysterical tuk-tuk ride (poor Bec had ony been in the country for a few hours) to th Khao San Road - Backpacker Central. The area is pretty infamous, (probably thanks to The Beach, and by this time I had read the book - surprisingly good - and accidentally watched the film twice in one day) and within minutes we had encountered lots of drunk falang, several offers for ping pong shows, rats, and argumentative Thai ... read more

We have just arrived at Mission Beach, after being on the road bush camping for three days. We tumbled out of the car, hurriedly put all our electronic goods on to charge, and then gratefully leapt into the showers (admittedly the younger two more reluctantly, as they love not having to bath!). We now feel a bit more civilized and are looking forward to a few days exploring this part of Queensland. Already, we have seen quite some devastation from Cyclone Yasi earlier this year: trees uprooted, roofs blown off buildings, and roads full of pot holes. It is six months on, but one gets the impression that the memory of Yasi is still quite vivid. I have been asked by a few people what we mean by bush camping. Well, this is something we hope ... read more

August 9th Leaving Jourama Falls, we headed to Ingham for breakfast, and then to Mission Beach. The drive to Mission beach took us through the towns of Cardwell and Tully, both of which had been severe victims of Cyclone Yasi. Having driven past many state forests near Brisbane, I had expected to see rows of pine trees in perfect rows, much like soldiers on the parade grounds. However, the pine forests next to the Bruce Highway were bent in odd directions. Much of that wood would be unusable given the angles in which it had been blown. In addition to the trees at angles, many trees were uprooted and had careened into others around them. Quite a mess. This mess in the forest hadn’t prepared us for the devastation that was seen in the towns of ... read more