Sand. Palm trees. Humidity. Sun. Salt air. Sail. Beer. Yoga. Coffee. Friends. Family. Massage. Pedicure. Manicure. Sun tan. Good food. Coconut rum. A barefoot wedding. Hope.

These words sum up my recent holiday to Mission Beach, Far North Queensland. I’m a sucker for a tropical vacation, so any place where there is sun, sand, hot weather, sea and cocktails are my idea of a good time.

Even though I lived in Mission Beach for over 4 years, I still consider this to be a prime beach holiday spot. It’s the perfect place to kick back, relax and do nothing. Although my holiday wasn’t exactly to do nothing, it was great to be back in the tropics. I miss the palm trees. Nothing says tropical holidays more than coconut palms.

That’s what I love about Mission Beach. I love palms and they are everywhere, even in the middle of town. Palms and humidity…..that’s tropical Queensland!

Far north Queensland is humid and hot all summer long. It’s that stickiness that you never quite get used to….always feeling like you need a shower. Thank goodness most people have a swimming pool. The sea is off limits in the summer because of box jellyfish and irukandji. They are deadly and although there are stinger nets at North & South Mission, most locals do not enter the shallow waters between October and May.

There were many highlights during this trip but one I really want to mention here is the sunset cruise I took with a group of girls! We boarded Big Mama, an 18 metre yacht and sailed the length of Mission Beach and back. It was a chartered trip and acted like my new sister-in-law’s hen night…without the drunken crazy antics. There were no highs to the evening but that feeling of being on a boat with no agenda but to have a few drinks and some nibbles really projected me into holiday mode. The sun was setting as we glided across the calm waters near South Mission and on the way back to North Mission, we saw the full moon. Damn, it’s hard to get decent photos of the full moon from a boat!!! Don’t expect to see any here. I applaud Lisa, Stu and 8-year-old Fletcher for opening their home to locals and visitors to explore the beauty by sea. Well done!

Mission Beach is slowly recovering from Yasi, the category 5 cyclone that devastated the area in February 2011. Things are not the same as before and it may be a long time before the place flourishes again but there is still hope. The residents of Mission Beach are strong, self-reliant people who love their town. Even though I do not live there anymore, I still love it.  Mr M and I took our townhouse off the market while we were there. We also have hope.