Nick Atkinson found Mission Beach the perfect place to leave his troubles (and warm jackets) behind
‘You must be from Melbourne or something!’ The car park attendant spotted my unseasonably warm jacket, which was slowly cooking me alive in the humid Cairns heat.
The car park attendant was spot on – I am from Melbourne and I was delighted to have arrived in the tropical heat of Cairns, having left the chill of the Victorian autumn behind me.
Post some pretty traumatic surgery, my chosen destination in which to finish off a long recovery was Mission Beach, a wonderful spot about two hours’ drive south of Cairns, through mountainous tropical landscapes and sleepy seaside towns.
It didn’t take long for me to leave my troubles behind – in fact it directly coincided with seeing the Atherton Tablelands looming in the distance.
It’s amazing what a dose of the natural world can do for your spirits. En route to Mission Beach we pulled into Josephine Falls, about 5 kilometres off the main highway, a spectacular tiered waterfall with cooling pools for swimming, surrounded by dense tropical jungle. I really had left Victoria.
Another 60 kilometres down the road and we were at the small town of El Arish, the turn-off for Mission Beach. We were so close to our destination we could almost feel the cool water of the pool lapping at our feet.
We’d booked a beach house with the amazing Mission Beach Accommodation, dropped in to pick up the keys and headed down the aptly named Conch Street to begin our holiday.
Cue five days of beer, beach walks, outside dining, pool-plunging, reading and playing board games. Perfect.
I’d last visited Mission Beach in 2001, before the recent cyclones, and although there was still a lot of damage evident in properties being restored and uprooted palm trees, I was pleased to see the town was back on its feet and fully functioning. Must be that hardy Queensland spirit.
The town has everything you need – lovely beachside bars and restaurants, camping, a supermarket and access to loads of fantastic nature (although we didn’t see a cassowary).
The intriguing Paronella Park is a short drive away through dense banana plantations and is worth a visit, if just for its Dali-esque strangeness.
My Mission Beach highlight was getting up at 5.30am to take photos on the beach at sunrise.Every cloud has a silver lining and in fact the remnants of cyclone damage made for some stunning images and a special morning, which captured Mission Beach in its true light – a highly alluring destination by anyone’s standards.
What’s your Mission Beach highlight?
Image credit: Mission Beach, Tourism Australia; Josephine Falls, Tourism Queensland; Paronella Park, Tourism Queensland; Mission Beach, Nick Atkinson; Mission Beach, Nick Atkinson
