6 Things To Do In Mission Beach, Australia

I have been searching for a place that connects with my soul recently.

I’ve felt the need for some sort of retreat, a deeper connection with something or somewhere, and when I stumbled upon a little place along the tropical coast of Queensland called Mission Beach, I knew that I had found it.

Mission Beach is an often overlooked bit of the typical traveler route up the east coast of Australia but it has snuck up and nestled in tightly to a little piece of my heart. I have been here only five days and most of the people that have been passing through stay only for a night or two. Just enough time to do a skydive and get out.

But there are plenty of wonderful things to do in Mission Beach so, if you decide to come here, please give it a little more time.

Mission Beach itself is situated with the Pacific Ocean on one side and the lush rain forest on the other. I stayed in Jackaroo Treehouse, a hostel in the Bingil Bay area and easily my favorite hostel in Australia so far. A bit removed from Mission Beach Village, they’ve got a shuttle running frequently as the nearest place (Bingil Bay) is a half an hour walk away and town is easily about a one and a half to two hour walk.

With the rain forest in their backyard, Jackaroo was an incredible spot to stay and I found myself treasuring my morning cups of tea overlooking the yard and my afternoons lazing the day away in a hammock with a good book. There were even regular visitors popping in – from Cassowarys to Wallabies. But don’t get stuck on the property, there is lots of natural beauty in and around Mission Beach to keep you busy!

So, here are some of my favorite things to do in Mission Beach.

Hike in a National Park

There are a number of national parks nearby, including Clump Mountain and Djiru National Park – each with various hiking trails of different lengths and intensities.

You can climb Bicton Hill for it’s incredible views, a 4km circuit. Walk through the fan palms in Djiru or set out to find a waterfall. Keep an eye out for local wildlife like Cassowaries, snakes and wallabies.

Walk the Ulysses Link and Cutten Brothers’ Track

From Mission Beach Village, you can begin the 1.5 km trail along the coast, reaching Clump Point and connecting to the Cutten Brothers’ Track. You will be taken along beaches and through the rain forest from the village all the way to the jetty. Once you reach the jetty, you can continue walking north along the beach, scramble up the rocks to meet the highway and walk along the highway until you reach Bingil Bay.

After getting dropped in town by the hostel shuttle, I walked from the beach in town and back to the hostel. Along the way, you can walk along the beach and through the designated walking trail through the rain forest, past the jetty, along the winding coastal road and finally to Bingil Bay.

The entire walk from Mission Beach to Bingil Bay is about 1.5 hours. It’s a stunning walk and while it doesn’t take too long, it can easily be a day’s adventure if you want to sunbathe along the way or stop to take a million photos like me.

Get Your Adrenaline Fix

For the adrenaline junkies, skydiving seems to be a pretty popular activity around here. Everyone I spoke to had great experiences and highly recommended it. But, you couldn’t pay me to willingly jump out of a plane.

You can also go whitewater rafting in Tully, which is said to be the wettest town in Australia. They even have a giant rubber boot to commemorate it’s significantly rainy climate.

Have a Beach Day

During the summer months, the water is off limits apart from the stinger nets in place but during the dry winter months the stingers disappear and you’re free to swim without danger of getting stung.

That said, crocodiles do live in the rivers and creeks around Mission Beach and do use the ocean as their highway from one river to the next. But people do swim at Mission Beach and Bingil Bay anyway.

Even if you’re not big on the idea of going for a swim, the beaches here are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen. With soft, golden sand, a line of palm trees and calm waters, it is very easy to spend a day in the sunshine.

Pop Into a Cafe

Grab a coffee or tea in one of the cute cafes in Mission Beach. From the Bingil Bay Cafe to Dave’s Cafe to Just One More Beach Bar, the cafes here each have a unique kitschy style and great atmosphere to have a chat over a cuppa.

Relax

Probably the reason I fell in love with Mission Beach the most was that it forced me to take a minute and just chill out. While I did find there to be lots of things to do in Mission Beach it is, ultimately, a relaxing place. The beaches are long and fairly quiet, the hostel that I was at had a number of hammocks that I often found myself in for hours and a pool to take a dip and cool off.

I did a lot of reading, writing, reflecting and relaxing here and it was really what I needed to re-connect and be greeted by another burst of excitement for life and this weird, worldly adventure that I’m on.