Mission Beach - Discover

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On the coast only near Tully (only 1.5 hrs south of Cairns) through cane fields, banana plantations and historic towns lies the hideaway Mission Beach.

The area is made up of communities stretching north from the Tam O'Shanter Point through South Mission, Wongaling, Mission Beach, Clump Point to Bingil Bay. The township of Mission Beach takes its name from the Aboriginal Mission established in the early 1900's - its history linked to the Cutten family who founded a tropical plantation Bingal Bay in the 1880s.

Today Mission beach is a popular little town with World Heritage-listed wet tropical rainforest growing down to the sea and with holiday homes dotting the hillsides. An eight-kilometre stretch of sand, the beach is fringed with coconut palms -and a good variety of accommodation.

Two shopping centres - at Mission Beach and Wongaling Beach - service the area. There is a liquor outlet at Wongaling Beach. The area’s restaurants’ range of cuisine includes French, Chinese, Italian and international .... some fully licensed, others BYO. A host of takeaways and coffee shops are also available, and ample retail outlets provide for DIY cooks.

Walking tracks ranging from 1.5km to 7km make it possible to explore the beautiful rainforest and coastline. Perhaps you’ll see the rare and beautiful cassowary, a flightless rainforest bird found only in the tropical rainforests.

Mission Beach may be secluded, but it also has the closest access from anywhere in North Queensland to the Outer Great Barrier Reef so it is also the perfect base to explore the other wonders of the Coral Sea, and the whole region:- the Great Barrier Reef, Hinchinbrook Island, Dunk Island (Day-trips operate from Mission Beach to Dunk Island), Bedarra, Paronella Park at Mena Creek, Atherton Tablelands, Cairns, World Heritage Wet Tropic Rainforest and the Gulf Savannah.

Gamefishing, sportfishing and reef fishing are all available by charter.

And for the adventurous, try white water rafting on the Tully River or tandem skydiving from 10,000 feet onto Mission Beach.

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Mission Bay Watersports is located at one of the areas most beautiful sandy beaches – just 10 mins from the city centre!

Islands

Dunk Island

is about 4.5 km offshore from Mission Beach and the largest of a group known as the Family Islands.

The National Park covers 730 ha. An airstrip, resort & farm cover the remaining 240ha in the north-west. Over much of the island, a relatively open forest of eucalypts is accompanied by an under-storey of rainforest plants including and thick, looping, coiled lianas.

Thirteen kilometres of walking track encourages exploration of most of the island's many habitats and provide an introduction to some of its animal life including more than 100 species of birds. Creeks, rainforests, eucalypt forest, rocky shore, reef flat and mangroves provide an ideal situation for nature watching.

Air service connects Dunk Island and the mainland, and a regular ferry service leaves from Clump Point jetty. Taxi boats are available from Wongaling Beach. A boat ramp is located at Mission Beach. Brammo Bay, on the northern end of Dunk, offers a protected anchorage in southeasterly winds.

Late News - After being destroyed twice over by cyclones Yasi and Larry, the Dunk Island Resort was bought cheaply by Linc Energy founder Peter Bond in 2012. ... Years later, the resort remains closed to the public, with much of it looking as if the storm blew through yesterday.

Brook Islands

are a cluster of four small, densely vegetated national park islands, Brook islands lie 30km northeast from Cardwell. An extensive fringing coral reef provides excellent snorkelling.

Camping is not permitted on the Brook Islands.

Hinchinbrook Island

is Australia's largest island national park and is separated from the mainland by the narrow Hinchinbrook Channel.

Mangroves fringe the shores of this deep channel which is scoured from sand and mud by strong tidal currents. Rising 1142m from the centre of the island is Mt Bowen, largest in the chain of rugged granite mountains.

The spectacular north face of Mt Bowen drops 1121m in cliffs and forested rocky slopes almost to sea level. From here a narrow, 8km long strip of sand, stretches north to connect with Cape Sandwich and Cape Richards. This is backed on the protected western side by extensive mangrove forests.

Information on the Islands was obtained from the Queensland Department of Environment.

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