Blogs from Mission Beach, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 3

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

A huge hello to everyone and trust 2011 is unfolding just perfectly for you all... Hard to believe we're nearly into March already... Its been wonderful to have had a few months break from this blogging business, however must get back into it... places to go, people to meet, things to experience... isnt life just so exciting and interesting... no two days ever the same, not even two moments ever the same... So, onwards we go... If you're doing the road trip from Cairns heading south, then Mission Beach @ just under 2 hours drive is most definitely worth stopping in for, even if its just for a coffee. This very cutesy, hideaway seaside township is actually made up of four beach villages - South Mission Beach, Wongaling Beach, North Mission Beach and Bingil Bay which ... read more

Saturday 4th, we left Cairns and began the trip of a life time. Surely this is every boys dream? Isn't it? Well for the three of us this dream has been put on ice way to long! So Mikey was first to get behind the wheel and into the hot seat, where we headed for 'josephine falls' For any of you Georgraphers Josephine Falls, are located at the foot of the southern face of Mount Bartle Frere in the Wooroonooran National Park. Yes, I noted this down in my Journal as I loved the name of this place! Josephine Falls, has had 5 deaths in the last 3 years, (and DF nearly made this 6 thanks to Scott). Whilst everybody was swimming in the bottom pool the three of us ignored all warning signs and sign ... read more