Saturday, 3rd March 2018
We woke up to a bright sunny day – so this meant that the rains only came for 24 hours prior to our visit and stayed away for the 24 hours we were there.
We had everything packed and ready to start our drive by 9.30 – at first Gerry wanted to do some mileage and head straight to Cairns but that would mean that we would spend all day driving as it was some 350 km further north. Although we don’t drive on the fast motorway but rather have been taking the Bruce Highway A1, I think I have had enough of driving or actually sitting as a co-navigator. So we decided our next stop to be Mission Beach and we would spend 2 nights there to recuperate from all the driving!
We are now in the Wet Tropics, meaning there are quite a lot of mosquitos – mossies – and even though I have been using insect repellant spray, my feet and legs are covered with bites! And it makes sleeping very uncomfortable as I wake up scratching my legs……… And Gerry has none of these annoying mossie attacks!!! The worst part is when the tiny mosquitoes attack you – midges – as you can’t see them!
Again our drive took us through sugar cane plantations and now there were also banana plantations. Interesting to note, is that the bunches are already enclosed in plastic bags – I guess that’s to keep the birds off the fruit – will need to look this up. Behind the plantations, there is the rain forest – so verdant and fresh. We could see that there was quite some rain that had fallen as some of the younger sugar cane plants looked as though they were planted in a rice paddy!! Still lots of water around and we followed the signs saying that the A1, Bruce Highway was open up to Cairns.
On the way, I had read that there was a waterfall close by if we turned off to the left – the Jourama Falls National Park – and took a look at this waterfall. However as soon as we turned off there was a sign board that the road was closed due to floods. Well we thought we would drive as far as we could get, especially as there hadn’t been any rain now for more than 24 hours. The road was not more than a sealed track and as we got closer there was a gate placed to say that the flooding was dangerous to cross. We got out of the van to get a better look at the overflow and indeed the power and strength of the rushing waters would have been too much even for our van. So we took a couple of pictures and turned back to get back on the Bruce Highway.
Back in the van, I was feeling really sleepy, especially as the sun was shining through the windscreen. However further on the road, Gerry noticed that there were signs to a lookout point and we both agreed that it would be good to get out of the van for a while. This was the Hinchinbrook and Panjoo Lookouts. From here, we had an awesome view of the Hichinbrook Island that is the biggest island National Park. On one of the boards, we learnt that hundreds of millions of years ago, Australia was cloaked in a temperate rainforest as part of the super-continent, Gondwana (made up of South America, Africa, India, Antartica and Australia. Australia broke free and drifted northwards carrying with it ancient ferns and cycads and some of the first primitive flowering plants. The mountains provided moist refuge for the rain forest species to survive and so from such ancient origins, the Wet Tropics is a living museum containing plants, which have hardly evolved since the break-up of Gondwana. And there we were, admiring this beautiful and awesome scenery!
When we were done with taking in this magnificent landscape, we continued our drive, which was only like some 30km to Mission Beach and our campsite, The Beachcomber and Coconut Beachfront. However these last 30 km, we noticed another road sign to beware and mind a great big bird – the cassowary – we hand’t seen that one yet so we were wondering whether we would encounter such an Australian native!!
At the camping grounds, there were enough sites to choose from, as there were hardly any guests. This was a fantastic park with beautifully landscaped gardens full of palm trees and tropical flowers. We got ourselves settled in and Gerry really wanted to have a swim in the ocean. I was not too keen as this is also where the stingers are present and as I have already been a victim to all the little midges and mossies, I didn’t want to be come a stinger victim too!! However the camping grounds had an area in the ocean which was protected by a net so that the stingers could not get in, so with some trepidation, I did join Gerry in the sea – but the tide was out so we really had to go far out in the sea before we could swim a few strokes. I felt happier when we got back to our park and I could swim our swimming pool.
Because we had had a late lunch, we were not really in the mood of getting any dinner so we had a few snacks with a glass of wine and before we knew it, it was time for bed. Tomorrow we will be staying at this wonderful camping ground and enjoy a relaxed Sunday……
