Eco Village Mission Beach, Queensland, AustraliaEveryone said we had to visit Paronella Park https://www.
paronellapark.com.au/. We already were going to, but the constant recommendations were a good sign. On the way out past reception we encountered yet another small monitor digging around in the garden.
It was a really nice drive out to Paronella park at Mena Creek. Just like everyone we spoke to we loved Paronella. An amazing story of love, persistence and accidental rescue.
We loved the story behind the park, how it was funded (buying land, turning into a cane farm, selling it x 12), how it was built (using local cast off cane train lines), the story of his love and his family. We both especially liked the hydro plant. Amazing that it has been restored and is now pushing out power onto the grid. Our tickets are now valid for two years. Just great. We’ll go for the evening tour next time.
When we got back to Mission we kept going and drove to South Mission. It looks across to Hayman and Bedarra Islands. Very nice down there and there’s a Woolies and more infrastructure.
We spent the afternoon on the beach next to the hotel.
It was gorgeous. Yes we know there's possibly crocs in the water, and it's nearly stinger season, but we were those people who ignored the warnings and had a paddle. Not past our knees if anyone is interested.
In the bush between the resort and the beach is a building that looks like a beach bar. It’s all fenced off and we’d been told it was a set for a Netflix filming series being filmed in the area. We’d driven past another set over at South Mission beach that was actually being used.
In the late afternoon/evening we caught up with an ex-colleague who took us for a drive around South Mission in the hunt for a cassowary and Karen found three! Mission accomplished!
We finished the night with dinner at Bingil Bay Cafe. Really nice food plus the added bonus of German beers on tap.
2025-05-23