We left Townsville early, to avoid the hassle of getting trapped in the caravan park because of roadworks. The first stop on our route north was by the roadside to marvel at the field upon field of sugarcane. The massive plants create a living green hedge along the side of the road and can stretch as far as the eye can see. We sent up the drone and found the geometric designs intriguing. We had breakfast at Big Crystal Creek, part of the Paluma Range National Park. We put out feet in the water but decided against a swim as it was quite early, a little chilly and just a bit concerning that we may step on a bullrout. The creek contains this freshwater stonefish which has venomous spines just waiting to skewer the unsuspecting foot, yet another Australian beasty out to get you.
We arrived at Mission Beach around lunchtime, after detours through Ingham and Tully townships. Ingham has the original ‘Pub with No Beer’ (according to the sign on the Lees Hotel) and Tully has the distinction of being the town with the highest rainfall in Australia (about 4.4 metres a year with a record of 7.9 in the 1950s) which it celebrates with a giant golden gumboot. It is also a sugarcane town, crisscrossed with cane railway tracks and dominated by two steam-belching chimney stacks of the refinery. Our Mission Beach campsite was chilled and nicely shaded with a partial view of the ocean. The beach itself is almost cliched perfection – golden sands, tropical islands punctuating the calm blue sea and coconut palms fringing the beach.
It was lovely to watch the sunrise, stroll along the beach, feast on an amazing Bingil Beach Café burger (one between the two of us), and go for cassowary spotting on the South Mission Beach boardwalks. Our first venture along the Kennedy Boardwalk (an afternoon hike) was a little frustrating as we bumped into a couple who mentioned they had seen a cassowary on their walk along the path. On our return we did not see the bird but enjoyed the coastal path anyway. To ease our disappointment, we downed a glass of wine at the fancy Elandra Resort as the sun set. The next days was spent exploring the rainforest, marvelling at the thickness of the vegetation and beauty of the fan palms, blog duties and making new friends with our camping neighbours.
The next morning, we returned to the Kennedy Boardwalk in the hope of seeing an elusive cassowary. We almost tiptoed to Luggers Beach walking as quietly as possible in case we scared our prey away. Our return journey did not bode well as we passed two groups of very chatty hikers. But nature is wonderful, and cassowaries do not seem to have much fear. We rounded a curve in the path and there, just off to the left, was our prize. The bird was not the least bit fazed by our presence, so much so we had to retreat off the path to make way for its progress. We watched it forage for many minutes before we left in peace to breakfast alone. Another delight was that we have spotted Ulysses butterflies in the region, their iridescent blue wings dancing in the air.
Next destination was Paronella Park, in Mena Creek. The park dates back to the 1920s and 30s and has a heart-warming back story about a Spanish man’s drive to create a pleasure park out of the wilderness, building much of the infrastructure and planting the gardens with his own hands. The park has had its share of troubles in its 100-year history – think fires, cyclonic storms and floods – but the current owners are passionate about the place. They have invested time, energy and money to maintain, restore and repair the buildings and grounds. We had a very entertaining tour, revisited the place for their evening lightshow and did a small drone over the castle in the morning (with permission from the owner).
Next stop was just up the road to Babinda Boulders – a free camp near the large boulders that fill Babinda Creek and make for very dangerous swimming areas (21 deaths since 1965, as a trackside sign warns). We did a fabulous long walk through the Wooroonooran National Park rainforest along part of the Goldfield Track, spooking a cassowary on the path and being startled by a surprised scrub fowl in return. It was a challenging walk, in that we had to be vigilant about the botanical nasties alongside and across the path. Vines out to trip, razor-sharp pandanus leaves waiting to slice, a variety of spike covered stems and foliage waiting to skewer skin or catch clothing and, the piece de resistance, the Queensland rainforest version of the nettle, the Gympie plant, waiting to sting! Then there were the leeches – Alistair winning the feeding fest, with four on one foot (three between his toes!), one on the other ankle and a sneaky sucker on his back. Wanda got off lightly with only one on her leg. It was fantastic to be in such a beautiful, unique and varied environment but it was not the most relaxing walk.
Had a surprise visitor in the campground the one evening – a large male cassowary wandered through … what a privilege it was to see him, and at such close quarters. That made our cassowary tally three birds in three days
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