Lee's Travel Blog

Mission Beach our second last leg before we head home. The start there was quite bumpy. We arrived in the evening and were luckily driven by a Courtesy Bus to our Air BnB. A bit later we walked to the center to have dinner, but almost everything was closed and we were starving. We went to a take away and got fish & chips, which were not really good.

The next day we went first of all to the tourist information center to inform ourselves about the activities in Mission Beach. Again I realized that Australia is not a pedestrian friendly country. We had to walk from the apartment to the tourist information center for about half an hour. I regretted it so much that I had not yet got my driving licence. I found the people who worked there very friendly and helpful and the centre was really a big help to arrange our program for the next days. Afterwards we went back to the center and bought local fruits in a small shop and I can tell you that the fruits were much better than the ones you buy in the supermarket.

But since we didn’t want to eat only on fruits, we walked to Wongaling, because there was the next biggest supermarket. The way from Mission Beach to Wongaling was very nice. First we had to walk through the rainforest until we came out of it and we were on the beach. Afterwards we walked along the beach and enjoyed the warm sun and the cold sea water tickling our feet. I would have loved to jump directly into the water, but since the jellyfish nets were not in the water, I didn’t want to take the risk of getting stung and let it go. While we were strolling on the beach, we saw the water taxi to Dunk island and decided to ask how much the trip to Dunkisland would cost. Since the trip was really cheap, we decided to go to Dunkisland the next day. In the evening we had a barbecue, enjoyed a warm bath in the Jacuzzi next to the rainforest and listened to the sounds of the rainforest.

The next morning we got up very early to watch the sunrise. We walked to the beach and drank warm tea and waited for the sun to warm us up with its warm rays. This morning was beautiful and I will never forget it. Everything was perfect except that it was very cloudy at the beginning and we had our doubts if we would even see the sunrise. But when we felt the first rays of sunlight on our skin we forgot everything around us and looked at the horizon without saying anything.

Later we walked to Wongalinga to take the water taxi to Dunk Island. The weather was just great that day, because as soon as the clouds had cleared, it got really hot. The way to Wongalinga was very relaxing, because we could walk along the beach until we reached the ship. The trip to Dunk Island was very short (about 10 minutes) and luckily there weren’t many people on the boat. Arrived on Dunk Island we started walking directly towards the beach. On the beach we discovered 2 fresh coconuts under a palm tree and since they belonged to nobody we decided to take the two coconuts with us. We walked a little bit until we saw abandoned houses, which were destroyed by cyclone Yasi in 2011. I was completely fascinated by the ruins and the immense destruction of the cyclone. I would have loved to go inside the houses, but since many of them were in danger of collapsing, they were sealed off.

Since we both were just being seized by the spirit of discovery, we decided not to laze on the beach, but to hike to Mt. Kootaloo, the highest mountain on Dunk Island. On the way we met only two other hikers and up at the viewpoint we met a family and a special island inhabitant. We were walking and I was busy looking up at the treetops when I noticed something jumping out of the corner of my eye in front of my shoe. I jumped back and saw that I almost stepped on a snake. I thought, luckily I did not step on it and luckily the snake didn’t bite me. The problem would have been that neither of us would have had any reception with our mobile phones and that our water taxi would not have arrived for another four hours. I thought I had learned my lesson, but you will see that this was not the last encounter with a snake. But otherwise we were always alone. 😉

At the top we had a beautiful view of Dunk Island and the neighboring islands. We took some pictures, enjoyed the view and had a little snack. After the break we decided to finally walk to the beach. But since the initial beach was not so nice, we decided to walk to Muggy Muggy Beach. Again we walked down for about an hour. On the way the scenario I mentioned before happened. Again I did not look at the path and almost stepped on a snake again. Luckily I was not punished for my mistake again. Therefore a small WARNING: Always watch your step!

Muggy Muggy Beach was much better than the initial beach and luckily we were all alone. The water was crystal clear and like a dream, but as I was so afraid of the jellyfishes that I didn’t go swimming. But as the tide was low I decided to go knee-deep into the water and watch the various corals and fishes. I saw many beautiful corals and even a moray eel. Afterwards we slept a little bit under the shade of a palm tree and at some point a couple with a guide came along on the kayak. We had a chat and we lunched together. After an hour they left and I went on a discovery tour again and discovered many small colorful fishes and again a small moray eel. In the late afternoon we walked back to the jetty and took the water taxi back to Wongalinga.

For the next day we had planned again something special. We rented bikes and drove to Charley’s Chocolate Factory. The way there was quite exhausting as it was going up and down all the time. Additionally I was annoyed by the cars that were driving very close to us. But the way was really nice, we drove almost the whole time in a national park and could listen to the nature. After about one hour we arrived there. First we saw hundreds of cocoa trees and in the middle of this forest of cocoa trees was Charley’s Chocolate Factory. The tour was very informative and exciting. The highlight of the tour was the chocolate tasting. I will go into more detail about the tour in the article Personal impressions of Mission Beach. But I can tell you one thing: You must have visited Charley’s Chocolate Factory, otherwise you will miss a hidden gem.

On the last day we decided to walk the Ulysses Walking Track. You walk through rainforest and mangrove forests and at the end of the track there is a huge beach waiting for you. But you can’t swim there, because salt water crocodiles have been sighted from time to time. So we quickly walked back to the Main Beach and went swimming there, but we never went into deep water for fear of being stung by a jellyfish. While swimming I even saw a blue spotted stingray. In the afternoon we went to the center to drink a milkshake and to look at the shops. In the evening we had a barbecue on our terrace and at the end we went to a bar to drink something and we listened to some live music. I really enjoyed the last day in Mission Beach.

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