We have another longish drive today so decided that we would have breakfast on route, after collecting the car from the car park, packing everything up and checking out we were on the move by about 8.45, not quite as early as we hoped but not too late either. Unfortunately Townsville is being rebuilt at the moment or at least that is what it felt like as we hit a number of roadworks on the way out of town, but finally we made it and we were on the Bruce Highway again. Today’s drive is through Banana plantations and the odd glimpses of the ocean. We called in at Hinchinbrook lookout which provided a view over the coast line and the largest mountain in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area. We stopped for lunch at Mission Beach which is a wonderful stretch of sandy beach overlooking a few islands. Unfortunately it is also a place where Jellyfish live as there were a number of signs about where the Jellyfish nets were and Jellyfish survival medical kits on the side of the beach. We had a look and basically they contain vinegar to pour on wherever you have been stung! Our final stop before heading to the hotel was the Mamu tropical Skywalk, this consists of a walk through the Rainforest, a Cantilever walkway that stretches out over the rainforest, an elevated walkway where you can walk among the tops of the trees although we didn’t seem to be at the very top and finally a Tower which you can climb to get 360 views of the area which are stunning. Luckily it wasn’t too hot as we were walking round but that was probably because we could walk in the shade for a lot of it. After we finished the walk we had a quick ice cream then it was time to head to our home for the next two nights. This is called Rosegums wilderness retreat and it lives up to its name. As we drove the roads got narrower and narrower until they stopped being tarmac and became gravel drives. Luckily we only met one truck coming the other way and that was on a relatively straight bit so it was easy for both of us to pull over onto the verge. Once we reached the apartment it was all worth it as it is stunning, we have a tree top villa that is surrounded by wildlife so after unpacking the car we sat on the balcony and listened to the sounds of nature. The only small problem is that we don’t have wifi or a mobile phone signal so I am not sure when this will be posted! The good news is we have a barbecue on the deck so we will be having burgers for tea this evening!
