19th - 24th October 2020
On our way back from Cairns we decided to explore a couple of the tourist spots on the way back to Mission Beach. One of the spots was Babinda Boulders which is a spectacular spot with huge granite boulders found along Babinda Creek. The walk through the rainforest along the crystal clear creek is beautiful and the huge boulders with water running over them is truly amazing.
We then headed a few km’s down the road to Josephine Falls. You again walk through the rainforest to viewing platforms that overlook the beautiful falls. It must be a spectacular sight after the rains. You could swim at the bottom of the falls in the crystal clear waters but we didn’t, but there were plenty of people having a swim.
During the week we decided to have a look at Charley’s Chocolate tour which shows how chocolate is made from seed through to the chocolate process. I must admit i had no idea before hand what sort of plant chocolate originated from so it was a good learning experience. They take you for a walk through the orchard and factory and tell you about the history of chocolate – Very interesting !! But best of all is getting to taste the many varieties of chocolate that they make. YUMMY !! The tour also provided lunch which was an enjoyable home made hamburger cooked up by the local Mission Beach Lion club – delicious !! A most enjoyable and tasty morning !!
Since we have been staying the Dunk Island View caravan park we have been admiring the beautiful island of Dunk Island in the distance. We decided that Friday the water looked calm enough to make the crossing on the local Dunk Island Water Taxi. We booked the trip for 9am and the water so beautiful and calm. The trip across only took us about 15 minutes. On arrival we wandered along the beach and through a dense rainforest up to the Mt Kootaloo lookout which was approx 2.6km up a huge hill – as Jeff pointed out why is everything up hill ??? Haha maybe because you need to be up high to see !!! Oh how worthwhile the walk was, the views out over the many island and the stunning blue water is just breathtaking. It was hard to drag ourselves way from the view but we then wandered down (so much better down hill – haha) to Muggy Muggy Beach for a much needed swim to cool off. Even better was the fact that we had the whole beach to ourselves. All to soon it was time to head back to the jetty to catch the 3.30pm pick up for our return back to Mission Beach which was much different than it had been earlier in the day – Very lumpy water – glad it was only a 20 minute boat ride back to the beach !!!!
We have decided to stay another few days at Mission Beach as the weather and beautiful beaches and rainforests are just so beautiful – AND also in the hope that maybe, just maybe we will see a CASSOWARY !!
