Day 18 - the Sept 14th - Alva beach to Mission beach

 Day 18 - the  Sept 14th - Alva beach to Mission beach

Alva beach accom cat -


Alva beach has a pleasant park, with tubular bells, outdoor drums, slides and climbing things, packaged up under the obligatory strangler fig configuration… but no coffee that we could find - So back on the road we went. 



As we did 3 years before, a visit to Townsville's Jam restaurant was a must (READERS' CHOICE 2022 - MODERN AUSTRALIAN - AGFG)


https://www.agfg.com.au/restaurant/jam-32000


https://jamcorner.com.au





We recommend probably going when your children are a little older than 3 and <1 but there was still plenty to be enjoyed.





Red curry Goat wonton - purists of regional cuisine may have shed blood over descriptions like this in days gone past - this is a hearty rendition, with the tangy sauce, robust, yet tender goat and the delicate wonton case providing a delightful structural element to the experience, if all fusion restaurants made dishes this well, peace in the kitchen is indeed possible. 




Crispy fried coconut chicken, street chilli sauce and mayo - perfectly crisp and moist inside, a dry crust design to soak up extra flavourful sauce - delish! 

Gnocchi with wild mushroom, cream, sage butter and mushrooms (not a typo, there were a lot of mushrooms) - Nastya’s favourite, deep, earthy and rich - classic combination done well. 




Sasha had barramundi and chips - which was quite a bit larger than he needed, but very tasty. 



Then on to 

Juliette’s gelateria - always good, and mama got the blood orange sorbet she craved. 

https://www.juliettes.com.au


A quick glance at some beach-side art

 

Our Townsville stopover was short and sweet.




Mission beach was booked as a 2 night stay, because Mama wanted us to have the best chance of seeing cassowaries. An article had mentioned the caravan park in South mission beach, and made it sound like there was an infestation of the rare and dangerous birds. Mission beach is home to some extensive foxtail palm forests, whose fruits are a favourite of the cassowary. 

We arrived fairly late, and did not see any hanging around. Our accomodation was well set up with a full kitchen, beachfront verandah with bbq, living room and 2 bedrooms. The cabin seemed pretty new, and it would be fair to say it was a ‘greige’ colour scheme (monotone beige), with some optimistic cassowary themed prints throughout. 

https://www.big4.com.au/caravan-parks/qld/tropical-north/beachcomber-coconut-holiday-park



The Thai restaurant that was top of the list was solidly booked out for dine in and take away, so papa and Sasha drove to mission beach for a look around. 


The village seems to be stuck in a cute little time wrinkle - Imagine Byron bay or Noosa before tourism exploded - there was a row of grocery and gift shops, and some eclectic looking cafes, restaurants and bars. Nothing worked for our take away needs, but the live music and several packed out venues showed it could be a low key party village - if Mama and papa had a babysitter, we may have done some hands-on research to test it out. The supermarket was visited for some supplies and a pasta was knocked up, then we were all Sleeping to the sound of waves before midnight. 






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