CAN A CASSAWARY CUSS?

My next expedition took me further up the northeast coast to Cassawary country. Now I’d heard these birds could be quite aggressive if annoyed, or slightly irritated, or… just for the hell of it really. But it was worth the risk as there were some awesome places in this region. My first stop was at Ingham, just to get my bearings and refuel. Ingham is a nice little town but the best part for me was the stopover at theTIRO Wetlands.

 An RV park had been made for some 15 self contained caravans, right next to the wetlands with fresh water and a dump point. It was a beautiful place with walkways and lakes of water hyacynths. I stayed there overnight and, much refreshed, drove on to Cardwell the next day.

Port Hinchinbrook

Actually I had been wanting to get to Cardwell for some time as I remembered it from a few years before. The countryside here is lush and somewhat hilly with mountains in the hinterland around and a subtropical palm strewn coast to boot. But it wasn’t the countryside, as beautiful as it was, that drew me but Port Hinchingbrook. Some years earlier my sister had taken me to see the new marina development there with its expensive new housing, landscaped gardens and marina café.

 I had been so taken with it at the time, I would have loved to have stayed at one of the little rental cabins there. Alas, years later and in the aftermath of cyclone Yhatzes destruction of the area I had been told the boats in the marina had actually landed on TOP of the restaurant and houses. So I went to see how it was restoring itself. What I found was , in fact, nearly the same as I had seen previously. The restoration was almost complete with just the restaurant fenced off till work was done. I was glad. It is still lovely there. Cardwell itself is gorgeous. A small town on the main road with cafes and shops on the side opposite the beach and lovely parklands and walkways on the beach side. Love this place.

Murray Falls

However I had decided to do a bit of inland trekking this time, instead of just following the coast and headed up the Bruce highway till I reached the turnoff for Murray Falls. And if I thought that it was a long way to there from Cardwell, it was nearly as long again to Murray Falls! Thankfully the road was flat and bitumised  almost right to the end, where I had maybe 5km to go on a good, but bumpy, dirt road. It was worth it, BIG TIME. What a find. This, by the way, was National Parks Queensland site. I really find booking these Parks such a pain, as most are in ‘dead zones’ (no networks available for phones/ internet), yet you HAVE to book them by phone or internet. You can’t just give your money to a Ranger. And yes, of course there’s fines if you don’t book but stay there. So you can’t just turn up and say “hey, this is gorgeous. I’ll stay here tonight and willingly pay the $5.95 per night”. NO. You have to do it ahead. Way ahead. Some parks have no networks for 50kms! Really squashes the spontaneous traveler .  But whatever, this place was so beautiful. Plenty of space to Park, towering trees, peace and tranquility and… a waterfall! Oh… and an outdoor, enclosed, cold shower shed in the middle of the grounds. Yes I did try it. Yes it was fabulous, after the long hot, sweaty drive!

South Mission Beach

From there I did head back to the Beaches. Well I had to. I was   almost at stunning Mission Beach  and on a coastline right up to Bingil Bay beach. Who could miss them? Have to say I preferred the long white sands of South Mission Beach , with it’s laid back feel to the more touristy Main Mission Beach. Though there was a great vegetarian café there! Wongaling Beach, in between them, was lovely too, and Narragon Beach on the otherside of Main Mission Beach was ruggedly attractive with a deserted island vibe. Strangely, the Beach I had most wanted to see turned out to be the one that least impressed me! My friends had told me I would love Bingil Bay its its hippy ambiance.

 Well, I guess, that type of ‘hippy’ is not what I like about ‘hippy’. I found most of Bingil Bay quite ordinary and the campground there extraordinarily awful! It was grotty, disheveled and laid off more than laid back. And, can you believe they charge for this? $21 a night!!! I moved swiftly on. BTW if you do want to stay in this area there is a great caravan park at South Mission Beach- facing the beach! Or go on to Wongaling Beach where there is  Mission Beach Skydive/Bali Hai. They will let you stay in the grounds for around $15./$20. All the Beaches have views of Dunk Island but the southern beaches are best.

Taking a little ride around the Arish- Mission Beach Road is worth it too as there are great walks to be had. I went to the 2.5km Djiru Rainforest Walk there. Beautiful and free. There was also a lady selling gorgeous fruit at a stall along this road. Mmmmmm. There does seem to be a lot stalls like this here,  from here northwards. A great bonus!

I didn't stay here this night though, as it was REALLY HOT on the coast that day, (and this was mid winter?) and I needed somewhere a little cooler to rest. So I pressed on northwards.

The weight of the World seems smaller to a man at Peace with themselves
The Grey Chihuahua