Johnny Mac's a Legend

Congratulations to the famous Johnny Mac. Johnny is celebrating 20 years as a White Water Rafting River Guide. If the talk from last nights party is to be believed, the man is a walking, talking, paddling legend! Seriously though, well done Johnny, you have trained so many guides over the years and kept hundreds of thousands of customers safe and happy. Keep on keeping on dude!!! (now I'm showing my age!)

Do you need sunshine for white water rafting?

Today I had someone ask me what the weather is going to be like over the next couple of days as he would like to go white water rafting in the sunshine. Of course life in general is better when the sun is shining but rafting is one of those great tours that you can do no matter what the weather. You can appreciate that people wanting to go skydiving or a boat trip to the Great Barrier Reef are going to be more watchful of the weather. Hopefully our visitor will be more than happy to go out on the Tully River whatever the weather because it really is a fabulous day, and yes you get wet even if the sun is shining.

What a day for a beach walk

If you were lucky enough to be in Mission Beach yesterday then you would know what a perfect day it was, especially for walking along the beach. Bright blue skies and a lovely cool breeze made the walk along Wongaling Beach as enjoyable as can be. There were so many people out in the sunshine, walking with and without dogs, building sand castles, drawing in the sand and others just soaking up the rays. The view of Dunk Island was spectacular. So if you get a chance to go for a walk on the beach then I say go for it.

Getting married in Mission Beach

Lots of people decide to get married in Mission Beach, and really why wouldn't they, as I sit here and look out the door at the gorgeous blue skies I can imagine how wonderful a beach wedding would be. I know that there were two couples taking the big step yesterday. The other great thing about getting married in Mission Beach is that your guests will have plenty of things to see and do if they stay in town for a bit of a holiday.

Beautiful View Of Dunk & Hinchinbrook Islands

Across the ocean today the view of Dunk Island is enchanting. As locals we love to whip across in the tinnie for an Ice Cream on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Get so jealous of the travelers who get to stay, apparently the restaurants are fabulous and the Spa of Peace & Plenty is so relaxing. In the distance you can see the outline of magical Hinchinbrook Island. We have had the pleasure of staying at the Wilderness Lodge, imaging skipping along the beach, sandals in your hand on the way to a magnificent feast overlooking the ocean....I've done that! Loved it.

You Know A Local Because

Here in Mission Beach today it is too easy to know who the locals are......You Know A Local Because today they are all wearing jackets, socks & shivering. It is so rarely cold here that we just dont cope. Most of the visitors and travelers seem happy, no complaints from them, they are loving the clear blue sky and sunshine.....a little chilly breeze is not putting them off. Us locals are a pack of whimps!!!

Photos Mum & Dad should not see

Sitting at the Mission Beach Information Station today, I saw some photos that Mums and Dads should not see. Remember when wee young backpackers as you travel around be careful not to upload these to the net or to send them home by mistake! Digital cameras have opened up a whole new rude world!

Flights within Australia

Hey Folks, if you are planning a trip to Far North Queensland and then a visit to Uluru (our wonderful Rock in the Northern Territory) then you really need to think about flying. The buses are way expensive and take a heap of time.....remember you can put the whole of Europe into Australia - its a big country. Add to that the fact that we have a small population, more people work in London each day then live in the whole of Australia.....so we dont have the masses of people to create cheap flights. If you are offered cheap internal Aus flights with your round the world ticket or London to Sydney flight, we believe you should take them! One girl here has just paid over $500 for a flight from Cairns to Alice Springs.

www.zazz.com.au

Oh my my my.....Steve our computer technician here at Mission Beach has found a website that is keeping him up all night....www.zazz.com.au.....this site has daily deals on great tech toys, the specials tend to start at midnight and sell out shortly after...so you have to be quick. If you need any tech toys and equipment, Steve recommends you check these guys out, their motto is "One Day, One Thingy, One Chance"

Protect your Photos

Time after time here at the Mission Beach Information Station we hear horrid stories of people who have lost their holiday photos. People leave their Cds in computers, their camera bags on buses or they get one wee grain of sand in their memory stick and bammm the lot is gone. We highly recommend that people regularly download their photos, make 2 copies of their CDs and send them home and /or upload their snaps to a website. For the sake of a few dollars, your precious holiday photos are protected.

Family and Friends

I get really excited when I hear that family and friends are coming to visit Mission Beach. I know there are so many wonderful things for me to show them or encourage them to do.....white water rafting, skydiving, sea kayaking to name a few of the more active options, or of course a walk along any of the walking tracks or beaches around Mission Beach or on Dunk Island.....but really it doesn't matter what we do, its just great to catch up for a quiet (or not ) drink and a good chat in a place as perfect as Mission Beach.

Visit Dunk Island

Dunk Island is Australia's most beautiful and perhaps famous Rainforest Island. It is located just 4km's from Mission Beach. There are two ways to transfer from Mission Beach, on the water taxi or the ferry. Once there you can enjoy the abundant rainforest walks and secluded beaches. This is definitely a must see when you come to visit Mission Beach.

Drongos

Well what can I say......more Drongos (love that word, it is such an ocker saying!)...3 people left their passports in Mission Beach whilst their bodies moved onto Townsville. Major ooops. Luckily they contacted their accommodation here and we were able to get the passports onto the next south bound Greyhound. Travellers tip.......treat you passport like gold!

Drongos

Drongo, what a great Aussie word, and arent there some Drongos out there. Lucky we think Drongos can be great people too.....just a little on the dull side thats all! Todays Drongos included the man who couldnt remember who he had booked accommodation with only 5 minutes ago (lucky he still had the number in his mobile phone!), the guy who forgot his bus ticket and expected to get on the bus without it (lucky we are kind and are online booking agents and can reprint tickets) and finally the lovely lady who went to Cairns without her handbag.....lucky we have a good relationship with the bus drivers and could send it on the Greyhound. Handbag and Drongo have been happily reunited. Our motto here at the Mission Beach Information Station is "be kind to Drongos"! We love it!

mission accommodation

Everyday we respond to loads of enquiries about accommodation. Mission Beach has a great range of accommodation, from backpackers to luxury resorts and loads of self contained holiday rentals. Does not matter what people are looking for, the Mission Beach Information Station is always willing to help out.

Being flexible on your holiday

Being flexible is the way to go when your on holidays, because sometimes things go awry, like missing your bus. The language barrier can be an issue at times, our traveler this morning was sure the departure time was 9.35am not 9.25am, and of course the bus was on time and left without him. Luckily the bus company changed his ticket for the next day. Back to the hostel for another day and night in Mission Beach. Not really a hardship as there a plenty of things to do, like skydiving, sea kayaking and a trip to the Great Barrier Reef.

Who cares if its raining

I think for most people on holidays rain can be considered a bit of a disappointment, but not here in Mission Beach. Here are a couple of my favourite things to do. Because its not cold, just wet, you can still walk or ride through the rain forest, which looks gorgeous with a bit of rain around, the colours are more vibrant. One place I love in the rain is only a 45 minute drive from Mission Beach and that is Paronella Park, truly a memorable place anyway but has an almost eerie atmosphere when wet, a must see. Of course white water rafting is no hassle in the rain because your going to get wet anyway.......Don't let a bit of rain put you off what could be a fabulous visit to Mission Beach.

Where can you see turtles in Mission Beach

One of my favourite creatures is the turtle, and if you go for a walk in the Licuala State Forest at Mission Beach you can see them. I spent a lovely time during the week watching them swim around. Follow the track through the rainforest, and in less than 10 minutes you will come to a bridge, look out for the fig tree, thats where you may see them.....obviously animals being animals you can't be guaranteed but the walk itself is worth the visit if they decide not to come out when your there.

Unexpected Stop

A poor fella yesterday, didnt listen to the bus driver, got off the bus for a quick visit to the little boys room and came back to find the Greyhound Bus had left without him.....ooops, no wallet, no passport, no bag, no nothing! Funny though, he did have his mobile phone, now what does that say about the world!!!! Lucky the Mission Beach Information Station folk saw him and came to the rescue. We reorganised his bus ticket (free from Greyhound) and organised to have his bags removed at Townsville where he could catch up with them. We put him up in the shop for 5 hours, he use the internet for free, we fed and watered him.....then at 7pm he left to wait at the bus stop.....with strict instructions to stay put! Hope all went well for him. We always feel for travellers who have limited English......reminds us of our overseas holidays.......alone & lost in a foreign country is a scary thing.

Bicyle Ride

Just sent 3 burly boys off to hire mountain bikes for the rest of the day. There is no excuse to be bored in Mission Beach. The lads will probably do a 6 km ride through the rainforest, dodging the wait-a-while and trying to find an endangered cassowary. All for $15 for a 1/2 day. Had 2 Irish girls do the ride yesterday, they reckoned they laughed so much they almost had a smash!! Life is good.