Cassawong Cottages

The next lodging stop after Magnetic Island came on Mission Beach. Before we left Oklahoma Wade booked four nights at Cassawong Cottages. It is a fantastic little place with indoor and outdoor cooking facilities, a large bathroom, a living area AND a washer & dryer. HOOOOOOORAY! Our first laundry stop of the tour. All three of us showered and happily put on clean clothes before dinner that night. Meals on Mission Beach were fantastic. We hit the local Woolworth’s just after checking in, and Wade cooked the following meals during our stay: spaghetti and meatballs, calamari, steak, and chicken quesadillas. We also had some yummy sandwiches as a sandwich press was discovered under the cabinets. Even breakfasts were lavish as Emma’s dad loves cooking pancakes, and one morning he even cooked us fried eggs and ham. I’m getting hungry reminiscing about all those great meals.

Now after reading the above, one might think all we did on Mission Beach was eat, but we did oh so much more. Cassawong came with a mascot, Archie. He was a fabulous dog who made the rounds of the cottages morning and night. He’d show up at our door with a tennis ball in his mouth, and Emma would run outside and they’d play for a good while. In fact, our Woolworth’s stop included a purchase of meat strips . . . TWICE! When someone from the cottage headed to the beach, Archie followed. He loved Emma., even ran out into the sea when he thought we were letting her play too far from shore. We did spend a good bit of time at the beach as it was just across the street from our cottage, but we also went on a rainforest walk, walked through a banana plantation, played a couple of games of Monopoly (and then vowed not to play at home as this game does not bring out the best in a couple of highly competitive members of our family), flew a kite, watched a few movies, read and just enjoyed each other’s company. This was definitely one of the more relaxing parts of our journey thus far, and we were all sad to leave.

Emma’s part: I loved the rainforest walks there were so many geckos. Archie is A good dog he loves me he loves the beach and fetch . We watched Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets.

Mom again: Cassawong gets its name from the word Cassowary, a large black bird with a blue crest and a red waddle found in the region. A poisonous spike is found on its foot. Driving into the Mission Beach area we kept seeing warning signs but no birds. The same happened on our exit. It was really getting frustrating. “The Cassowary’s closest living relative is the snipe”, Wade quipped. As we were leaving the area we saw a few cars pulled over and pulled over as well. BINGO! We finally saw a Cassowary in the wild.

Be sure to note the new grin Emma's sportin' in the pic of her with the banana flowers.

Cat Poo Coffee Anyone?

Note: the following description is shamelessly stolen from Frommer’s Australia 2009.

"If strong coffee is on your mind, head to Herveys Range Heritage Tea Rooms, about a 40-minute drive west from Townsville. This is one of only a few places in the world you can by kopi luwak, or what the locals call “cat-poo coffee”. To explain: The catlike luwak, or Asian Palm Civet, which lives in the coffee growing regions of Indonesia, likes eating ripe coffee cherries, but does not digest the inner bean, which can later be retrieved from its droppings. The beans are washed, dried, and roasted lightly so their complex flavors are not destroyed. Tearoom owners Allan and Michelle Sharpe sell it alongside exotic teas and Australian fare such as scones, cakes, meat pies, and other home-style dishes. "

My friends, Wade was giddy with anticipation as the plane descended over Townsville. The only stop we made before Herveys Range Heritage Tea Room was at the Europcar counter. Emma and I were happy to help him eat the nachos and cheesecake, and she even took a sip of coffee toward the end after Dad added some milk, but we left most of the experience, dubbed “Coffee Loo Puke” by Emma, to Wade. It was an experience he thoroughly enjoyed. Said it was some of the smoothest coffee he’d ever tasted. I refrained from asking him if he thought that was because the cat had the runs . . .

Magnetic Island

Named because of the interference Captain Cook’s compass experienced as he neared it, Magnetic Island was a spectacular, albeit brief, stop for our trio. The island was not on our original “must-see” list, but when we were leaving Brisbane a member of Virgin Blue’s flight staff told us if we were going to Townsville we should at least make a day trip to Magnetic Island. We considered staying on the island both nights we would be in the area, but Bungalow Bay had availability only on our second night, so we spent the first in Townsville and then headed over to the island on the ferry first thing the next morning. Townsville itself was a cute little place, but as they were preparing to host the Townsville 400 over the weekend we got out just in time.

The journey from Townsville to Magnetic Island took eighteen minutes by ferry. Fortunately, this was not enough time for me to get seasick as I’d forgotten where I packed my meds. Must locate those before we head out to the Great Barrier Reef! Upon our arrival we rented a small “topless” (pictured) which we used to explore the island. Driving around the island we reminisced about our time in Skopelos last summer. There were many similarities, but this stop afforded us views of many more creatures. We lodged at Bungalow Bay in Koala Village where we slept in a small A-frame bungalow and awoke to the sounds of various birds. Emma pointed out that we hadn’t had a wake-up call that grand since our Amazon trek in Peru.

The staff at BB host three wildlife tours a day, and, of course, the Watki took one. On the tour we were able to see and interact with many animals native to Australia including the endangered Black Red-tailed Cockatiel, Koala, Wallaby, Baby Crocodile, Blue Tongued Lizard, Bearded Dragon, and a Carpet Python. It simply amazes me to watch my reptile loving daughter handle these creatures. As many of you know she’s been asking me for an iguana for over a year now. While I’m not open to that idea exactly, I must admit I’m beginning to do some research on reptiles as pets. We thoroughly enjoyed our walk through the village, including viewing some animals we didn’t touch like the Golden Orb Spider, Ulysses Butterflies and Fruit Bats. Perhaps our most exciting animal encounters, though, came as we explored on our own the beaches of Alma and Horseshoe Bay. As we were leaving Alma Bay we saw an echidna walking along the sand near the playground. After several steps he buried his head and began eating ants. Just past Alma Bay we saw Rock Wallabies among the cliffs. AND, on the beach at Horseshoe Bay we watched a Koala walk along in the sand. He was young and probably lost but oh so very cute!

At dinner we discovered that one of our wildlife tour guides, Jordon from Seattle, doubled as our waiter, and we took his advice in ordering dinner. Who knew hostel food could be so yummy? This was one of our favourite meals thus far -- excluding those cooked by my amazing husband, of course. I love this man always, but especially when he’s relaxed and in “experimental chef” mode. At BB Emma had spaghetti bolognaise, and Wade and I split a Chicken Parmy (lightly breaded chicken breast covered in marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese) and Rogan josh curry. In addition to fantastic food, dinner brought us some new friends as we met a family from Amsterdam travelling together for two months. Their daughter was just about the age Emma was when we moved to Belgium and watching them with her brought back memories of early travels for our little family. They, however, were camping everywhere they went which we find admirable but are unlikely to imitate anytime soon!

Oh, and last, but certainly not least, Emma was visited by the Australian tooth fairy at Bungalow Bay. Be sure and look closely at the photos in an upcoming post about Mission Beach, and you'll see her new grin.

GRRRR....having trouble posting photos. The beach is calling us (or maybe that's Emma) . . . will try again later.

Elephant Encounter Photos

Okay - these didn't load in the order I wanted them too, but at least you can view a bit of our experience. Note the way Bindi is animatedly talking to Emma in the background of the photo of Terri feeding the elephant. Amazing kid.

Emma the Jungle Girl

Crikey! Our trip to the Australia Zoo was INCREDIBLE. We went twice, and while both days were FANTASTIC I must admit the first one takes the cake. While at the Crocoseum, we won an Elephant Encounter . . . . . . WITH THE IRWIN FAMILY! That's right, Wade, Emma & I spent time with three Asian Elephants AND Terri, Bindi & Robert Irwin. Those of you who know Emma well know what an animal lover she is, but you may not know that she has multiple episodes of Bindi the Jungle Girl on our DVR. Interacting with the elephants was AMAZING. We brushed dirt off of them, scrubbed their toenails & even hand fed them bits of corn on the cob. Elephant tongue does not feel like I had imagined it. Yes, sadly, I had in fact imagined it. The Irwins were so incredibly friendly & down to earth. Bindi and Emma chatted it up as animatedly as if Emma were chatting with Harrison or Daisy (friends from home). I am so impressed with the Irwins and what they do. Sure, I'd seen episodes of The Crocodile Hunter, but I have a whole new respect for what it is they are doing for the world now. And, my little animal lover has become a true Wildlife Warrior. I'd love to write loads more but I'm running out of internet time. I'll post photos of the encounter ASAP.