Mission Beach - Simply stunning!!! - July 2014

We pulled up out the front of the caravan park where our friends Mark, Vanessa, Will, Charlotte & George were staying. It looked pretty full and we didn't think we would fit and then a bus drove out, so Brad went and worked his magic again getting us a pretty good deal for the next week. These guys had the best site at the park for kids, right at the front with a big patch of grass to play on and right across from the beach.

Mark has a tinny and Brad was pretty keen to do some fishing so they spent the first afternoon fishing, while all the kids had a swim in the pool.

So happy to be back in a pool!

The next day we spent the morning at the beach, Lucy was very happy at this beach it was so beautiful with just soft sand, no shells, no crabs, no seaweed etc so she happily went in the water with her surf mat and astounded me with her confidence in going out and riding the perfect kid sized waves. It also happened to be Will's birthday and the kids were very excited to be invited to his birthday!  The kids had a great evening playing together but it cooled down really quickly so we headed across to light a fire on the beach to warm up. This certainly brought the crazy out of the kids, ours especially, they danced and sang in the dark for ages, before hunger set in and we went back to the CP for dinner and birthday cake. We had a great day helping you celebrate your birthday Will, we hope you had a great day too!!

The next couple of days were just spent relaxing and enjoying the great company. Mark and Brad went out fishing again this time bringing back some delicious spotty mackerel for dinner - sooo yummy!!! We met a guy doing a trip along the coast with his microlight and watched him take off on the beach. The kids spent a bit of time at the skatepark. Vanessa and I met a lady from Switzerland here for 6 weeks with her 2 kids. It was so interesting listening to her talk about her country. In Switzerland you have to get permission from parliament to take your kids out of school to travel, which is why they were only here for 6 weeks over their summer school holidays. Lucy was keen to get on her surf mat again, but every time we tried over the next couple of days, it was very flat with only very small waves.

One day we went to Kurramine Beach, Mark had offered to take us to the King Reef to do some snorkelling. Chloe stayed on the beach with Vanessa, while Brad, Lucy, Mark and I went out. Lucy didn't end up getting in the water but she loved the boat ride. I attempted to snorkel, which I have done years ago with no problems, but I had panicked a bit so gave up after awhile and stayed in the boat with Luce while the boys snorkelled. 

The Turtle Ness, Chloe & George made

We then went for a bit of a drive to Josephine Falls, a beautiful spot with a bitumen walkway all the way to the falls. The kids managed 5kms previously over reasonably rough terrain and didn't fall once, a couple of metres in on a smooth flat surface and Chloe falls over and skins her knee. We calmed her down and manage to get her to walk the rest of the way to the bottom part of the falls but because there is a small amount of blood on her knee she mopes and sooks, so we leave Brad and Lucy and go back to the car to get a bandaid. Miraculously just the thought of a bandaid seems to fix her, where she could barely manage to walk before now she runs all the way to the car, gets a bandaid and runs all the way back to Brad and Lucy and up to the top lookout. On the way back to the car (for the 2nd time) Chloe and I run ahead and spot a hollowed out tree that we decide to hide in to try and scare Brad. They were further behind us than I realised and a group of other people walked past first. The first couple of people spotted us so I said hello, unfortunately 1 of the girls hadn't seen us and when I said hello she screamed and jumped a mile. It was hilarious but I did feel really bad. We stayed in place waiting for our next victim, which was supposed to be Brad but unfortunately was Lucy. I'm still laughing about it writing this, but I'm not looking forward to the payback.

The next day Mark and Vanessa went out in the boat and we had a great morning with George, who is the most entertaining 3 year old I've ever met. Brad went out in the boat in the afternoon and we had a feast of shark, flathead and spotty mackerel for dinner.

The next morning was a rainy one so Brad took the opportunity to give Bruce a wash. By the afternoon cabin fever had hit and the rain had stopped so we went to a nearby jetty to do a bit of fishing. 5 kids on a jetty was not exactly a relaxing afternoon, but after awhile the girls and George found some squid lures in Marks tackle box and happily sat still and played with them, (they didn't have hooks) and we could relax without thinking we were going to loose a child over the edge. Unfortunately we didn't catch any fish.

The sun came back out on our last full day so we spent the morning doing a couple of short rainforest walks and the kids spent the afternoon in the pool.

Can you spot the spider?

The rain came back the next morning as we sadly said our good-bye's. Thanks guys for a fantastic week we, ate loads, drank heaps and had the best time. Mission Beach is so beautiful it has definitely made the list of places to holiday at in the future!