Day 25 Cairns to South Mission Beach - 147 kms

Cairns has been our base for the last 13 nights. As a family we've been here twice before, each time its a playground abundant with possibilities. I'm afraid to review my bank statement to find out just how much we've spent here... but I cant think of one experience that wasn't worth it (yes even the skin eating fish!).




















Cairns performed a signature move and lured us into the Casino... not to gamble, but to attempt the roof top zip line and ropes course. Heaps of fun and super hot sweaty work under the dome. Tom excelled on the ropes course. Meanwhile poor Josh was feeling a little green for most of the day. For a while we thought it maybe gastro... huge relief the little guy came good.

So far all of our journeys have been northward. For the first time we turn south on our way to Mission Beach. You can see from the photos and map its proximity to Dunk Island. Dunk was slammed by a cyclone some years ago. Tourism ceased and South Mission beach also caught a cold. Apparently new investors are planning development on Dunk bringing optimism to the tourism operators











Oh I almost forgot, on our way we stopped at a fresh water swimming hole at the town of Babinda. The setting was beautiful, however the water was a tad cold and infested with bogans... so we didn't hang around too long - but important to record it as a notable stop. We had been here once before and recommend the longer walks to some of the natural features... I guess were in a bit of a hurry to get the van out of the heat and to our destination. We did also stop to give the van a much needed bath. Me being somewhat of a neat freak when it comes to vehicles, got much satisfaction from blasting off the bird crap and debris. I took even more joy from applying a protective clear coat to the rear and leading edges of the van... Ah simple pleasures are the best (and Dad would be so proud!)

Once we arrived at SMB, we set up camp and took to the beach. The water was around 22 degrees and we instantly fell in love.

This is view from our camp site - perhaps around 40-50 metres from the water. No one here seems to be worried about crocs venturing into the camp grounds despite story people being taken not far north of here.

Dunk island in the background. Josh exploring and chasing crabs. Check out how fast these little guys move - never seen something so small move so quickly. 

On arrival we were given the chance to walk the grounds of the caravan park to choose our site. Not long after the encounter in the below video, Em checked out the park amenties and was startked to see a long, green frog leg dangling from under the toilet rim. We've seen a lot of large insects and lizards here in a only our first few hours here... Reckon I might use the caravan bathrooms a little more.

I was pretty pleased to see a vendor on the beach with boats and jet skies for hire. We'll certainly take one of the small boats out to explore the islands. The operator tells me the sea and winds are calm in the mornings, plus there's mobile coverage and jet ski's to rescue us if anything goes array - i'm sold! But tomorrow we'll be taking it very slow as we recharge, perhaps an adventure for day 27.

PS if anyone knows how to post in the comments section, please share with the broader audience how you did.