Watch out for the falling coconuts as you make your way through the palm trees to the beach!
Now, I have a thing about beaches... my criteria for a perfect beach means that there cannot be a road by it — it should be reached either through palm trees, sand dunes, climbing down a cliff, etc. but not be visible from a road.
I just don't think you get that 'beach seclusion' just-me-and-the-waves feel if there is traffic trundling by.
My other main criteria that have to be missing are pebbles. Sorry, I'm sure I have now offended the entire population of Brighton, plus the rest of Sussex and Kent I am sure, but pebbles are just not acceptable as a beach (and I feel OK to say this as my formative years were spent on such beaches — although have now moved to live by a 'proper' (sand) beach, I might add!).
So: palm trees + sand = perfect.
Other ingredients for a perfect beach also include: warm (ish is OK, just not nail biting freezing) water; decent depth of sand strip (you see I take this quite seriously) between the edge of the beach and the water; not too crowded (and by this I mean not very crowded at all — i.e. you go for a walk and see a handful of other people, not sardines of sunbeds lined up); and a view.
The 14km of Mission Beach doesn't get very crowded in the other direction either. The only problem we had was remembering which palm tree we came onto the beach next to — they all look the same!
For a beach to have a view I mean something like a bay curving round, or some islands offshore (and yes, I count the Isle of Wight in this when I am at home!). So, all this said, Mission Beach is pretty much perfect.
Mission Beach is actually 14km of stunning palm-fringed sandy beach, made up of North Mission, Wongaling Beach, South Mission, and a few more smaller beaches either side. It's a 2-hour drive south of Cairns, which means it's in Tropical North Queensland and therefore best visited actually in our summer (— if you head up there in Jan, Feb or March expect it to be VERY hot, probably very wet and worse case extremely — as in cyclones visit — windy).
A prime spot at the Shrubbery Taverna for lunch and a bottle of James Squire amber ale
'Mission' as it's called (and how I will now refer to it, as it saves on the typing!) is an ideal spot, in my opinion, for a real bit of Aussie beach R&R. It's not a busy resort in the way that, say, the Gold Coast is (which I really don't like as a destination, and reminds me of my criteria for a bad beach — high rise buildings — nothing visible above the height of a palm tree please for me to enjoy a beach please!).
So, more about Mission — essentially, it is a few groups of residential areas next to a totally spectacular stretch of beach, with enough shops and eating/watering holes to allow a different option for dinner for around a fortnight, I would say. With a bit of BBQ self-catering in between, I could quite happily stay here for a month or more, so don't miss out and only spend a couple of days here if you can manage it.
Planning Your Trip
You don't have to be rolling in it to have a 'top dollar' experience in Sydney...
There is also loads to do here, apart from walk up and down the expanse of beautiful (have I mentioned this enough already?) beach here. From tandem sky-diving (I will do it one day... I say this every visit..), white water rafting, kayaking around offshore islands, barrier reef diving and snorkelling trips, to less demanding rainforest boardwalks, and the obvious 'reading of book on veranda' options, there is a lot to distract you from the beach in Mission if you need or want to be. Not that I can see why you need a distraction, but if you do, it is there.
So with all this focus on the beach, it would be wrong, I think, not to stay within sight and earshot of the waves, which is why the Sejala Beach Huts fit the bill perfectly.
You'll probably spend a lot of time relaxing on your beach hut veranda, listening to the waves, and watching the 'Jump the Beach' parachutists land just yards away (if they're on target!)
The Sejala Beach Huts are in North Mission, which is the 'main town', if you like, of Mission (it's not that big!). A 10-minute walk/stroll along the road or beach (don't worry you can't see the road from the beach!) brings you to the village green with cafes/supermarket/shops. This means that your daily stroll can provide you with lunch/cake/coffee, and either a review of menus for dinner or some food to cook on the barbeque back 'at the hut'.
How long could I stay the beach hut? — oh, at least a week. Although if I was staying longer, I would fancy an upgrade to the actual Sejala Beach House next door...
Cosy, cute and comfortable — you get a well-stocked kitchen and BBQ, real coffee, air con, and you also get a fun (if you like that sort of thing!) open-air bathroom
Don't be alarmed that the huts really are just that — wooden huts. They are very well equipped, and have all the 'mod cons' you would expect of a decent apartment. There is air con (important!), and a little kitchen with enough equipment to rustle up simple meals and help prepare accompaniments to a BBQ. Most importantly, this means that there is a fridge to keep beers cold, of course!
Each of the Sejala beach huts can accommodate 4 people, as there is a double bed and a sofa bed — but this isn't somewhere you would share with friends, I wouldn't say! It's definitely a couples place, although no reason why you can't stay here with your kids as long as you don't mind them being in the same room. Young kids, I am sure, would love the fun of the place!
The best baublely-beaded hangers I have ever seen!
There is lots of nice attention to detail in the huts, with the towels, for example, having the mad 'tribesman head' motif on it, and the best baublely-beaded hangers I have ever seen! Ha ha.
The veranda is the place to be, I would say, to just peer through the palm trees and stare out to sea with the sound of the waves easily audible. And even there on the veranda is another nice touch with a simple, beautiful glass bowl of water and floating petals to decorate the table.
Remember to close the shutter of the open-air bathroom at night (you can just see it above the wash basin open an inch or so) or you may be sharing your bathroom with small creature visitors!
If you must do chores, then you can use the guest laundry at the Castaways hotel, just a couple of minutes' walk away. And if you need a pool (have I mentioned the kilometres of beach already?) then there is one tucked away in the jungle foliage at the back of the Sejala beach huts plot. I would imagine that if you ever did want to use the pool, you would have it to yourself (I never saw anyone in it!).
One thing to bear in mind is that the bathroom, while most definitely unique (it has a corrugated metal shower surround!), is also 'open'. There is a huge cantilevered 'shutter' that can open up the side of the bathroom as much as you want (dare!). This is all very wonderful, and makes for a spectacular setting for your daily rituals, but just remember this is also a way in for creepies! You may well get a little bit more 'wildlife' than you bargained for — goes with the tropics — so just bear in mind that you might have the odd extra guest if you open up the bathroom!
I truly love Mission Beach for the laid-back, tropical, spectacular stretch of beach that it is. I love the Sejala Beach Huts for the fun, but luxurious, well located (see map of Mission), Mission-beach-front, places to stay that they are. If only we had beach huts like this on the 'front at home...
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