Tags: Tourist and travel destinations. Queensland. Australia. Bribie Island. Mission Beach
MISSION BEACH EPISODE 8
By Sabine Von Graz
Hi there, here is just a quick rehash in case you have missed the first episodes from ‘The Bribie Islander’. My short stories are all about our family, Richard my hubby, Ginger our daughter and myself, going on a 15 month trip of misadventure in a “big rig” around Australia, on a mission to find the place to call home.
On arrival at Mission beach, we were so excited by all those empty caravan spaces and chose a site right next to the rainforest just to be told by the office staff that this site is not for big rigs as it is impossible to get anything more than a backpackers van into it… However Richard, with the help of the ‘not so busy onsite manager’, got in first up and parked the rig perfectly next to the slab!
Unhitching, however, did not go without a hitch! The electric legs, which lift the caravan off the car so it can be unhitched, and then lowers the van back down to an even level, (so I don’t roll off the bed) ….stopped working!!!! This meant that Richard had to crank up and down the 4.5 ton rig by hand with a crank handle! Being Friday, he was ringing around frantically to find an Auto electrician, or just any electrician willing to help us out – but no luck… looks like more muscle work for hubby! Meanwhile, my Dad had the challenge to put up his ‘extra simple’ tent, which of course was never very logical or simple as they advertise on the box….
He was in desperate need of a hand however Richard started to be swamped by work-related phone calls and Ginger got bitten again all over by Midges and needed some Soov.. This meant I was troubleshooting between, car, tent, cables, hoses and Ginger but we still managed to set up by the time the midday heat was upon us. With a big sigh of relief to see the car unhitched, I dived into that great ‘warm’ pool followed by a swim in the net on the beach!
Mission beach is very wide, with part of its sand being as soft as icing sugar and running parallel to it, behind palm trees, is a row of alternative, vibrant and relaxed bars, restaurants and shops. Actually …Mission Beach reminds Richard of the TV show ‘Death in Paradise’ playing in the Caribbean. Part of my logo tries to capture that feeling of the old sofa being left on the beach under a couple of palm trees…. all framed by a design found in a floor tile, of a round circle with part of it being drawn in full on the bottom and dotted on the top reminding me of sunrise and sunset.
Lots of those tiles can be found around Mission Beach, inspiring my own white Kangaroo tile design, which I used as a backdrop to the logo. Apart from the walks with tiles, there is also a walking path leading on the waters edge over small wooden bridges and through mangroves to a jetty. Richard went to check it out to make sure it was ok for bikes and for Ginger’s riding skills, with her attraction to trees…and Opa’s riding skills, which are hindered by the loss of balance through his sight and hearing loss, not being able to judge steps etc… Richard said it was ok as it only had half a dozen steps…
Ok ….here comes in our language challenge – one of the few challenges in our relationship… I understood Richard said…. The path only had half a dozen steps… when he actually said …the path was half steps….do I need to say more… But never you mind!!!…blind, deaf and tree challenged, we rode, pulled and dragged our bikes successfully through the forest !!! Ginger and Opa got a medal in staying upright and I got a certificate in keeping my firecracker temper in check.
As for Richard…. He was told off…poor, poor Richard… And while we were posing with a big grin on our bikes to show we made it with ease…hahaha, I was thinking, give me those smooth Bribie bike paths any time. Although this is the end of this episode, I hope you can join me in the next edition of ‘The Bribie Islander’, when we head to Rolling Stone on the ‘The Long Way Round to Bribie’!
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