Mission Beach

Clump Point, with Dunk Island in the background
see all photos »

Flew here from Brisbane late on 7 June and stayed in Mission Beach Backpackers Lodge, in Wongaling Beach for just over three weeks.  During this time the weather was terrible; it rained a lot and I even had to start wearing a jacket during the day.  Steve and I moved into an apartment on Saturday 1 July and the weather was glorious nearly every day for the next couple of weeks.  We have a 2 bedroom, ground floor apartment with a pool that we share with two other apartments.  The place is also only 80 metres at the most from the beach.

see all photos »

Since the end of June I have been working at a resort called The Horizon, in South Mission, which is up in the hills with a fantastic view of Dunk Island.  I do a mixture of a la Carte waitressing and bar work.  It's not bad and the people I work with are nice, it's just unfortunate that I haven't been able to sample all the food as it looks delicious - especially the desserts...

I am pleased to write that there has been another turnaround in the weather so despite it being winter it is warmer here than in the UK again!  I'm gradually getting back into the running thing by going for jogs along the beach and have even bought myself a bike so I can explore more of the surrounding countryside.

see all photos »

We've been to some of the many walking tracks around and seen the odd cassowary here and there; still haven't got a decent picture though as the buggers keep moving!

What else have I done besides working?  Been on a few bike rides, visited Paronella Park (built by some Spanish bloke in the 1920s), briefly went to Dunk Island, had a few bonfires on the beach, managed to have one or two evenings drinking cocktails at The Horizon and not spending much...  In the few weeks before I left (end of Oct/beginning of Nov) the weather warmed up even more and I managed to use our pool, which interestingly enough was also used by drunken guests on more than one occasion (Steve and his dad even had a midnight splash about).

View of Dunk Island from the beach
see all photos »

I finished work at the beginning of November, after having done four consecutive breakfast shifts (6am - 5pm!) and was pleasantly surprised to receive a leaving card and some presents from my colleagues.  All in all, Mission Beach was a great place to spend 5 months.