Port Douglas

Time for a swim on our own beach

Port Douglas is only 60kms north of Cairns. If the Great Ocean Road is Australia's best drive, then this is number two. We quickly clear the northern suburbs of Cairns, pass the turnoff to Palm Cove and straight away we are driving alongside the turquoise blue Coral Sea. It is like this all the way to Port Douglas, with the road winding past deserted beach after deserted beach. It is a hot day, and doesn't take long before we have to put our footprints on one of those beaches. We find a suitable parking space for the car and van, then into the van for a quick change, and into the warm tropical waters. Heaven! The ability to just change the schedule in the blink of an eye, is what makes our journey so special.

It takes us 2 and a half hours to drive the 60kms, to our next home, The Pandanus Caravan Park in Port Douglas. It is only a short walk into town and the main beach, and apart from the noisy backpacker lodge next door, is very nice.  The sites are spacious and the park is almost empty, as most of the "southerners", have now well and truly started their homeward journey.

Port Douglas has grown enormously since we were here more than 20 years ago, but has lost none of its charm. Development has been closely monitored. No high rise here. Just classy resorts set among the palm trees. The main street is an amazing collection of restaurants, cafes, pubs and shops, and is alive with people day and night. It also now has a good supermarket, so no need to go out of town to shop. It is the gateway to the outer Great Barrier Reef, and there is a flotilla of craft, of all shapes and sizes, motor and sail, all trying to get your dollar for the trip of a lifetime. On land it is the gateway to the beautiful Mossman Gorge and the World Heritage listed Daintree Rain Forest. So much to see and do. If you like Noosa, you'll love Port Douglas. We sure do. It has an ambience and feel we really like.

Daintree River Ferry Crossing

We took a drive to Cape Tribulation to see the wonderful Daintree Rain Forest. This entails a drive north through the sugar cane town of Mossman, where as luck would have it the markets were on. The setting, under the magnificent Rain Trees was worth the stop in itself! The markets were small, but we did pick up a couple of presents, and some more fresh produce. We are buying our produce at roadside stalls and markets whenever we can, as the quality is fantastic, and the prices so cheap.

Creek crossing on the
Cape Tribulation Road

Fantastic Cassowary Road Sign

A few kilometres north of Mossman we take the Daintree Ferry turnoff, pay the hefty $22 return fare, and cross the river for the drive to Cape Tribulation. It is a beautiful drive, with the rain forest descending down the mountains to the edge of the sea. These are the oldest rain forests on earth, and are World Heritage listed. Along the road are a couple of lookouts to see the surrounding countryside. We also find an exotic Ice Cream Farm, that makes yummy ice cream, from all the exotic tropical fruits, that only grow in the tropics. Of course we sample a couple! Then further down the road is the Daintree Discovery Centre, with the 23m canopy tower and aerial walkway. We take the audio tour which is very informative, and yes we made it all the way to the top of the tower. The drive through the rain forest is one wow after another, and we love the Cassowary warning signs, that are around every corner. The Cassowary, a large flightless bird up to 2 metres tall, is critical to the survival of the rain forest, as it is the only bird large enough to spread the larger seeds around the forest. We make it all the way to Cape Tribulation, and find a lovely restaurant in the rain forest called Whet, and enjoy a lovely lunch of Reef Fish, before heading back down the road, to the second Ice Cream Farm we spied on the way up! At this one, the ice cream was better, and cheaper! On the way home we stopped in to look at all the various beaches, such as Wonga Beach. They are all similar with a palm fringed beach, and huge yellow signs, saying "WARNING/ACHTUNG Saltwater Crocodiles can cause injury or death. NO SWIMMING!"

Now that;s a water hazard!

Most of our days are spent lazing around Port Douglas, taking walks to the beach for a swim. We do our usual sticky beak at the local real estate scene, and this time it paid off, with a 2 for 1 voucher for golf at the magnificent Sea Temple Golf Course and Resort, where the remaining units are marked down 50%! We told them we had sold up in Sydney (the eyes light up!), we got to look at a couple of nice places, told the girl how much we loved our golf, and hey presto, one golf voucher! We did enjoy the golf, though the water hazards are really punishing. You not only lose the ball and a penalty stroke, you can get eaten! Apparently there is a resident crocodile who inhabits the lake next to the 12th. We both hit really straight drives, and didn't upset him at all.

John heading to the Reef

One of John's reef photos.

John did a wonderful day trip to the Outer Barrier Reef. Carol is not big on snorkellingsnorkelling only, rather than go with one of the mega boats, that cater for diving as well. It is about 1.5 hours out to the reef. The crew, which includes a marine biologist, provide fantastic commentary on the coral and marine life. Morning tea, afternoon tea, and lunch, are all included. I teamed up with an American guy named Jim, who was on a motor bike tour around North Queensland. He was a really interesting guy, and we had a great day sharing stories about our respective countries. He had snorkelled in Mexico, but was blown away by the Great Barrier Reef. I hired an underwater digital camera, and was able to take some great shots of the coral, so Carol could share the wonderful experience, without getting wet. It was a fantastic day.Carol also did the shops of Port Douglas proud.

Back on dry land, we also did a drive into the Mossman Gorge, which is again a magnificent drive and walk into the rain forest. The track winds along the beautiful Mossman River, and there are fantastic swimming holes all along the way. It is popular with locals and visitors alike, as it is crocodile free! The water is freezing, which really surprised us, so we just dipped our feet in to cool off! Again there are raised walkways, designed to keep people on the path, and limit damage to the forest. They obviously have big plans for the whole National Park, as an enormous Visitor Centre is currently under construction, and looks like it will be ready for the 2012 dry season.

The birds fill the sky.

Another really amazing phenomenon in Port Douglas, is the bird life. Around dusk the sky is filled with huge flocks of lorikeets and other birds, coming home for the night. The best place to see this is right in town. We took up our vantage spot on the verandah of the Court House Hotel. Initially they come in small groups, then the groups swell in size, and finally there are 1000's. The noise is deafening!  and then it is all over.

In addition to the birds, the fruit bats also start their nightly migration. Most nights we would sit out beside the caravan and look skywards as the birds flew into town and the bats flew out of town. It is quite a sight to see.

Sitting beside the caravan one evening, I was given a first hand reminder of why it was such a good idea not to take our caravan to the top of the cape. A caravan that was arriving, caught my eye because of its unusual colour. As I looked closer I realised it was a Traveller Penthouse, similar to the van our friends Julie and Ron have. The colour was due to the red dust! I went over and started a conversation with the owner, who came from Erskineville, and he was very happy to tell his storey. The caravan was a mess. All the legs were missing, a broken window, and there were huge dings and stone chips all over the place. Even the gas bottles were dinged! The caravan was just over 2 years old, but was a wreck. Red dust was everywhere, inside and out, and their 2 year old 200 series Landcruiser was much the same. He told me he had spent an extra $20,000 getting the van ready for "off Road". It looked to me like he needed to spend that again to get it fixed! He told me that the road was in the worst condition for years, with corrugations 20 - 25 cms deep, and littered with large rocks. He only went one way! He brought the caravan and car back, from Seisha, by barge, to Cairns, something he had booked a year ahead. Apparently they load all the 20ft shipping containers onto the barge first, then lift all the cars and caravans on top, strap them down tight, then 36 hours later you arrive in Cairns, having enjoyed a 5 star cruise with 35 other guests. Thank God we flew!!

The 8 days in Port Douglas has flown by. It is time to pack up and head for Cooktown, our northern most destination. We will definitely be back for a longer stay. We really feel at home here, and our weather has been exceptional.