Every now and then - we all need some beach time, you know - sand in between the toes, the smell of salt water and wind swept hair. It was time to look into a little hidden spot called Kurrimine Beach not far south from Innisfail on Qld’s far north coast.
Now I was expecting to have sleep ins, lots of good food and then maybe an afternoon beach walk, but I have come away needing another holiday. Originally I was thinking that Kurrimine was in the middle of no-where but I since found out that it is in the middle of everywhere.
I chose Kings reef Resort due to it being absolutely right on the beach, they operate a great bar and grill restaurant plus it was well within budget. From the moment you book in its a casual feel with welcoming staff and an easy process.
Kings Reef is a laid back place where shady trees and palms sprawl around the park letting you know that you're definatly in the tropical one. After setting up, and it doesn’t matter where you are in the park, it’s only a two minute walk onto the beach and the best part is that with the amount of grass around its always a no shoe day on the way to the beach.
I found its a laid back park where everybody is on the same relaxing page and it wasn’t rare to wander around the park and hearing people snoring away having an afternoon siesta. Facilities were fantastic with an ample laundry, plenty of toilets and showers and you could tell that the staff in the park take pride in their work. Around the camp kitchen there is always a buzz of activity with meals and the 4pm drink, a great way to meet one of the many campers who stay here, some have been coming to the same spot for over 20 years.
Hitting the beach out along the front of the park is a stunning area where off shore tourist islands and the great barrier reef lay. Speaking of the reef, at certain times of the year ( extreme low tide ) it is possible to walk out about 1km to parts of the reef to explore at this world heritage marvel, word of warning tho there are restrictions and its best to chat to the local council or tourism department. You can walk for miles up and down the beach at Kurrimine either on the sand or the pathway under the shade of the Coconut Palms and other tropical trees that make for picture perfect post card photos and there is plenty of seating along the way for that leg rest.
Wandering around Kurrimine I noticed that nearly every place that had a boat ( and there was a lot ) had an old tractor for beach launching. They are all different colours, ages, shapes and condition - chatting to a local fisher at the caravan park he trucks his tractor into Kurrimine every year for the fishing comps so he can take his boat offshore. Funnily enough kurrimine has the largest fishing club in QLD - even though there is just 730 residence here.
Now thinking that was all I was going to do, I relentlessly asked at the office what else there was to do around the area, with a plaretha of info thrown at me I was set for the next few days. Kurrimine Beach is part of The Cane Cutters Way, a self explore 52 km drive that starts at Kurrimine and finishes at Innisfail via the base of the mountains, where it takes you on a journey through rich cane fields that are part of this district dating back to the 1900’s.
There are wineries, rivers and waterfalls to swim and explore, the stunning heritage listed Paronella park that was built by an ingenious man named Jose Paronella who has used the power of nearby Mena Creek falls to run a small hydro station to power his 5 hectare dream property complete with waterfalls and fountains. The drive finally ends ( or starts ) at the amazing art deco town of Innisfail, claimed to be the best in Australia.
It is the largest town on the Cassowary Coast where cane and bananas are the main industry but tourism is making this town grow also. Around town the streets are jammed packed with buildings with an art deco style after they were demolished by a cyclone in 1918. The river walk is popular where cultural heritage reflects the towns style.
There are monuments to sunken ships and early discoverers, parks for the kids plus close to the town centre a Chinese Temple is the only operating one of its kind in QLD. An interesting note is that the palm trees that line the street were planted by Sir Donald Bradman back in 1931.
To the south an easy 20 minute drive to another stunning yet very popular backpacker destination, Mission Beach. With Dunk Island just a stones throw off the coast here it’s a go to place, ferries and pleasure craft depart from daily to explore the islands. With more of a population there's more services, boutique shops and eateries making it a great day out.
Around the Mission Beach rainforest areas it’s a common occurrence to see the Cassowary wandering around along side of the road or often spotted down on the beaches, unfortunately even with some local knowledge I didn’t see any real ones.
A loop road from Mission Beach north through Bingil Bay is a must do and there its an 800 metre section where World Heritage Listed Rainforest actually comes right down to the oceans edge as the road winds its way around the edges with both the ocean and forest in full view.
So after thinking Kurrimine and the Kings Reef Resort would be a great place to get away I found that within a 20 km radius there is an array of things to do, heritage listed places to explore with a little history thrown in. I will be back.