To break up the journey to Cairns, we'd decided to pull off the highway and call in at 'Northern Queenslands premier crag' which is just outside the town of Townsville. To be honest, the topo didn't make it look that good, but we were drawn in by the chance of climbing one of the best routes on the cliff - 'Martin Direct'! However, what we'd failed to allow for was the temperatures, which were insanely high and almost incapacitating outside the aircon of the van...
We aborted the climbing plans and quickly formed a Plan B. Further up the road towards Cairns was a small detour that promised to take us past a couple of watering holes. Given that getting emersed in cool water seemed to be the only sensible option given the heat, we went to have a look. The journey turned out to be a little trickier than advertised, but provided a good little adventure! Firstly we discovered that the road was not only 'unpaved', it was also under repair...
Oh, and the tourist office also failed to mention that we had to cross a ford! Luckily water levels were low enough for us to pass today...
Despite these small obstacles, we made it unscathed to the natural 'spa pools' watering hole outside of Cardwell and wasted no time in getting in!
The colour of the water was due to various mineral deposits. Even though we had been told it was perfectly safe (i.e no crocs), we both felt a little uneasy in the water opaque waters.
But boy was it cooling!
A ridiculous Olympic diving competition soon began...
Having cooled off enough to be able to consider taking on the remainder of the drive to Mission Beach, we left the pools and bumped our way back out the Bruce Highway.
Arriving in Mission Beach felt like being in a completely different country. Palm trees and coconuts lined the beaches and the temperature and humidity were stifling.
After sorting out a campsite, we took a walk along the beach, where crabs were scuttling in and out of holes in the sand.
Finished the day off by finding a nice little wine bar at the back of the beach, with a chilled vibe and sea views. Stayed until dark before walking the two minutes back to the van. Although the light faded, the temperature remained unchanged. It tickled us to remember the shiveringly cold nights at the start to this trip, down in Victoria to now, lying on top of the duvet, glistening in sweat with the windows all open.
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