Saturday, the 27th of June, we left Cooktown and headed back towards Cairns. Sad to leave our little beach but also excited to be on the road once again. Before we knew it, we were back on the beaches we had left behind 2 weeks ago. We didn't mind though and were quite happy. We hadn't really planned on staying near the city, but ended up staying 3 nights. We stayed near the beaches just north of the city, where the weather was still hot and where the beaches were still pretty deserted. So all was well. It was great being in civilization again, and Jason had his first experience in an Irish pub. So cool!! When it came to leaving Cairns, we were so sad. It was like we were nearing the end of this trip. We knew it would only get colder, the further south we drove. We knew that if we wanted, we could be back in Adelaide within a week. It slightly depressed us both and we were willing to do anything in order for this trip to never end. We even looked in to getting work up here, for a week or so. But we had no luck..
On Tuesday, the 30th, we had to force ourselves to switch-off any bad feelings we had about heading down south again, and just get on the road. We headed down through some towns along the coast and did some more beach walks. We even started to feel so spoilt..we'd seen so many beaches and they all started to look the same.. Oh no.. But did we still manage to appreciate them?? Yes we did, especially when we reached our next destination which was Mission Beach. It was dark when we arrived on Tuesday evening, so hadn't a clue really what to expect. We'd heard that it's pretty touristy but absolutely beautiful at the same time. And the next morning, I was blown away once more. We went to explore the beach, that does the name of this seaside resort so much justice and it was spectacular! A 14km beach..wider than any beach we'd seen so far, and the sea was bluer than blue. I felt like I'd found my new home.. what a spot it was!
It was at this point where we both started to feel like we were coming back to reality. Even whilst being in such a gorgeous spot, we realized that this roadtrip will really be ending, and pretty soon too. When we set off, which is now nearly 6 weeks ago, we hadn't planned to stay away for this long. We thought we'd do a month.. but as we started to loose the feeling of being a part of real life, we also lost track of time. Being at Mission Beach, I realized that within a week, or maybe 2, we'll be back in Adelaide.. Money is starting to run out, and Jason's boss will be needing him back at work pretty soon too, as well as the fact that his homelife is urging him to come back. Also, as we continue to drive south, there'll be less and less opportunities for us to hang out on beaches all day everyday and do nothing. Travelling on a budget will get harder and harder, because keeping ourselves occupied in the hot weather is far easier. The nights are already getting so much colder and the days will soon follow suit. In Adelaide for instance, it's around 14degrees during the day. Which I have come to experience as being blooming freezing!!
Anyhow, back to Mission Beach. I was changing my frame of mind and my way of thinking. There are certain things that I'll soon be wanting to do. I have practical things that I want and need to work towards. So I'm starting to plan ahead, but not really that far into the future. The distant future is too far off. And I reckon just the fact that I'm thinking ahead is enough for now, be it for the near or the distant future. Especially considering that when I started this trip, this was I was thinking about. I wasn't planning further than the next day. Sometimes not even that. So I needed to readjust my frame of mind, and I couldn't have done it in a better place, which was this magical Mission Beach. I took a day to myself and walked the whole 14 km's down the beach. I appreciated where I was at the point of the trip and of this point in my life. I appreciated everything that's happened so far since being on this trip and since being in Oz, as I walked, I sat, I read, I wrote, I did everything that I loved doing so much, all the while realizing that once we get back to Adelaide it doesn't mean my adventure ends. But it means that the next step of this journey can begin. Yes, it did make me sad for a short while, but then I got excited. It's still the unknown.. It's still a challenge.. and it's still my journey..
It was an amazing day and it gave me a new look on this trip. It's not bad that it's ending soon, but it's a miracle that it happened..
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