Skydiving at Mission Beach

Saturday, 29th June

Stainless steel floor, pig trough drain and step ladder required to turn on the taps 

 Crab balls

Hold breath, stomach in, chest out ... 

Spot the three parachutes!

This morning, we actually removed a blanket from the bed and put it away! It has been another gorgeous day, too hot to actually sit in the sun even. The morning was spent with mundane activities such as laundry, cleaning and shopping.


Following an alfresco lunch under our awning, we set off for a walk along Mission Beach; decided to head north as this headland was much closer than the southern headland! This is such a beautiful beach, just what one thinks of as a tropical beach – golden sand (proper sand, not coral sand), palm trees, blue seas and a gentle breeze to stop us overheating. There were even a few bikini clad young ladies to add interest for one of us.

Very early this morning, we were amazed to have ten sky divers and their passengers land on the beach immediately opposite our caravan. During our walk along the beach, the plane again flew overhead, dropping another load of daredevils. These flights have continued throughout the afternoon. Unfortunately, we were unable to partake of this activity as all the flights were fully booked … One can easily imagine the look of disappointment on Himself’s face.

We had been expecting the caravan park to be fully booked, given the time of year and also school holidays, but there are plenty of empty sites. There are a few midgies about – and the showers have to be seen to be believed. I think they must have been recovered from a World War 2 camp! Although the grounds are beautiful and the tropical rainforest setting is just superb (as are all the butterflies), I do think that $43 a night is a little overpriced given the infrastructure – and $0.40 for 20 minutes use of the stove in the camp kitchen is unbelievable.

The area has recovered well, vegetation wise, from the cyclone 18 months ago – the jungle is very quickly covering all the dead trees and there are only a few headless palms in some of the gardens. However, the village does seem to be struggling a little, with many empty shops and the ice cream shop not even bothering to open at the height of the tourist season. Shan’s Chinese Takeaway still has a sign up, but that is all. The open air bars, familiar from the television series “Patrol Boat,” still seem to be doing well.

Wonderful news from home today – my niece Laura has become engaged. Congratulations to her and Tye.