Page 42 - Tropic Magazine Issue 34

TROPIC • SPECIAL FEATURE

Designed

to explore

LET’S DRIVE SOUTH
1. Credit: Mission Beach Tourism
The region south of Cairns 2. Credit: @theleftlaners
has all the drawcards without
the pomposity.

Words: Renee Cluff
1
Have you ever met a person who is so
quietly confident they don’t ever need The reef’s right here
to crow? The region between Cardwell You don’t need a boat to enjoy the EVENTS
and Babinda is just that, in a location. Great Barrier Reef in the south. THU 24 MAR - SUN 27 MAR
The stunning scenery, world-class fishing, At Mission Beach, you can snorkel Feast of the Senses | Innisfail
Indigenous culture, tropical produce and straight from the mainland at Coral A tropical food festival
quickest routes to the reef are just the Bay, which is home to giant conch MORE feastofthesenses.com.au
beginning. Each township has its own shells, sea slugs and colourful
character and vibe, while the local wildlife reef fish. It’s within five kilometres MAY
blends into the mix seamlessly. of Mission Beach and just 20 metres Feast of the Three Saints | Silkwood
A road trip can involve camping, offshore. Another fantastic option is Australia’s longest-running
a stay in a quaint bed and breakfast, the Frankland Island chain, which is religious festival
or a luxury hotel. This region has every accessible from Deeral. Getting there MORE feastofthethreesaints.com.au
option, each showcasing the real star involves a cruise down the Mulgrave
here: the landscapes. You can easily get River and out through Russell Heads. AUGUST
in amongst it, without any crowds or any Before you know it, you’re on the Cardwell UFO Festival
stress – enjoying everything from hiking fringing reefs of Normanby An event celebrating the mysterious
to swimming to indulging in some of the Island spotting turtles, octopus Cardwell Lights, or C-Files
finest flavours of the tropics. and clownfish. MORE cardwellufofestival.com.au
In this special feature, we shine a
spotlight on the south, covering off on all MORE franklandislands.com.au SUN 18 SEP
its secret treasures. missionbeachtourism.com.au On a Mission Multi-Sport
Adventure Race
Chasing cassowaries A triathlon of mountain bike
riding, paddling and running
While the Southern Cassowary can MORE cmclub.org.au
be found throughout the Wet Tropics,
they are particularly prevalent on the OCTOBER
coast between Tully and Cairns. Babinda Harvest Festival
Celebrating the end of the
Tropic tip Your best bet for spotting annual sugar crush
one of the prehistoric birds is at Etty MORE babindaharvestfest.org
Bay (or the Mission Beach tip!).

The gumboot wars

Every year, the communities of Tully and Babinda battle it out for the title
of Australia’s wettest town. Babinda currently has the highest mean annual
rainfall at 4,279.4mm (Tully’s average is 4,095.1mm). However, Tully still
holds the crown for the highest-ever annual rainfall, at 7,925 millimetres
in 1950. Don’t forget your brolly!
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42 • Tropic • Issue 34