OUR FAR NORTH QUEENSLAND HOLIDAY - PORT DOUGLAS

Hello dear readers, trust you are all well.

Hope you enjoyed reading the first part about our holidays in Far North Queensland and for those who missed it, please follow the link that will bring you up to date with the rest of us.  So let me pick up where I left it, on the road, again, driving from Cairns to Port Douglas.

It is not a long drive, about 1.5 hours and all the way the road hugs the coast giving you a stunning view of miles and miles of pristine sand beaches and the water sparkling under the hot bright sun. 

Unfortunately, you will not see a single person taking a swim or just testing the water with their toes because of the dangerous presence of saltwater crocodiles.   And although I haven’t seen one, I wasn't going to take a chance.  I am so scared and totally repulsed by this creature.  Other than that, it was an easy and pleasant drive and soon we found ourselves cruising the streets of PD looking for our hotel.   

We stayed at a lovely place called Villa San Michele that was positioned right on the main drag of PD, Macrossan Street.  Luckily for us, our window was overlooking the courtyard which was exceptionally quiet.  After checking-in and unpacking our bags, we went out to have a look around.  Macrossan Street is a hive of activities,  It has everything, from the chic cafes and gelaterias to local pubs, fancy restaurants and night clubs and is peppered with retail shops where you can buy anything from locally made souvenirs to evening dresses and footwear.  I loved it from the start.

On our first night we had dinner reservation at the award winning restaurant called Melaleuca. As in Cairns, all our dinner outings and activities were booked from Sydney weeks in advance and as I watched the waiters turning people without bookings away, I felt incredibly pleased with myself.  The menu is focused on fresh local produce with a slight Asian twist which tantalises the taste buds and makes you ask for more.  All the dishes that we ordered were exceptional, especially my main course of a whole baby Barramundi (highly praised local fish) cooked in panko crumbs and served with Asian greens salad and fragrant jasmine rice which was sublime.  

As I mentioned earlier, there are two main attractions that brought us here:  The Daintree Rain Forest and The Great Barrier Reef, both are declared Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

The first on itinerary was a trip to the Daintree Forest, one of the best biologically diverse rainforests in the world and is the oldest. It is estimated to be 130 million years old which is tens of million years older than the Amazon Rainforest. This amazing site is just an hours drive from Port Douglas after that you and your car need to take a short ferry ride to get to the entry.  

Once there, you are free to drive whenever you please, exploring the richness of this magnificent natural wonder at your own pace.  As we began our journey through it, we saw multiple signs for eco-camps, single cabins, lodges and other recreational places where you can stay overnight or a few days if you like.  There were a lot of stops along the way where you can get out of the car and explore the forest up-close and personal and so we did.  The footpath was slightly elevated above the swamps to allow you to see the tightly knitted air roots of mangrove trees without disturbing the delicate balance of eco-system.

I was fascinated by the size and variety of the Staghorn Ferns growing high up on trees right under the canopies which provides it with access to the sun.  Some trees have only one, while the others host a whole family of them.  All along the path you come across information boards holding interesting facts and a description of the species growing nearby which we found immensely helpful.

After a while we stopped at one of the many cafes that you can find in the forest.  It has a lovely open area overlooking the long stretch of pristine white sand and Daintree River glistening beyond.  Unfortunately, the swimming in it was prohibited due to the presence of crocodiles.

Soon after lunch we were on the road again heading back to Port Douglas.   

The following day was my birthday.  We decided to take it easy:  late breakfast followed by a slow stroll along Macrossan Street for window shopping, visiting the local Sunday markets where we bought small gifts for our six grandchildren, a much welcomed swim in the hotel's pool and a birthday dinner at a restaurant, within walking distance, called Zinc, another example of excellent ambience, food and service.

And on Monday we drove to the marina where we boarded the Quicksilver catamaran that took us to the most anticipated adventure of this trip, Great Barrier Reef.  It was a perfect cloudless day for such an activity, there was no wind, the sea was absolutely calm and although the weather was in the high 30's, as were all the previous days, the well airconditioned boat was what the doctor ordered.  During a 1.5 hours half sailing we were served morning tea while a marine biologist was giving us a talk on the marine life on the reef and a life saver talked us through how to wear a mask and use a snorkel properly and general safety rules when being in the water.  Soon after our catamaran docked at the activity station where all the activities were conducted.   The tour also supplied a buffet style lunch that included cold and hot dishes of prawns, fish and meat and vegetarian options.

Apart from snorkeling, the company offers helicopter tours, scuba-diving, guided tours of the reef and a semi-submersible reef tour which we decided to take as soon as we arrived at the platform while we were still dry.

The sub sits one meter under water, and you get a diver's view of the reef while the sub glides through clear water revealing reef lagoons and colourful reef gardens.  I have never dived nor snorkeled in my life and was absolutely fascinated about what was happening around me.  I think I squealed when a school of fish swam by my window.

Back on the platform, we selected wet suits (S, M, L EX) a pair of fins (ditto), a mask and a snorkel.  Once we put the wet suits, we walked to the edge of platform from where we could ease into the water from the submerged steps.  We were recommended not to walk around the platform with the fins on until we sit on the steps, then we put them on, slip the masks over our faces and with the snorkels firmly tucked behind our lips, dive into the warm waters of the Reef.  Since I had no idea how to snorkel, at the beginning I was struggling with the technique.  

You are supposed to breathe through your mouth, but I forgot and inhaled through my nose and as a result my mask got sucked into my face.   While I was trying to peal it off, I gulped in extremely salty sea water that made me cough.  At last, I managed to overcome my anxiety by slowing down my breathing (I learnt that technique during yoga meditations and use it when I am about to go to sleep for relaxation) and slowly lowered my face into the water.  It was a whole new world underneath and it was amazing.  The corals are one of the worlds' natural wonders and they look magnificent.  They are given the names based on what they look like, so if the coral looks like a cauliflower, it is called "Cauliflower Coral" and the one that looks like a mushroom is be called "Mushroom Coral" etc.  

I couldn't get enough of it; I was totally hooked and didn't want to leave.  The Reef was full of fish, big and small, colourful and plain, lazy and quick and I could almost touch it.  I think that last time I experienced similar euphoria was when my husband took me on a South African safari many years ago and we saw a pride of lionesses coming to the water hole to quench their thirst after a night hunt.

I don't know how long we spent in the water but after a while even the wet suit and the hot sun couldn't save me from feeling cold and we decided to call it a day.  We climbed back on the platform, took off our suits and fins and placed all the equipment in the bins provided.  We boarded our catamaran and soon afterwards sailed back to Port Douglas.

We had fantastic holiday and I couldn't wish for a better way to celebrate my birthday.  It wasn't one of those extended holidays we used to take in the past, gallivanting around the globe for weeks at a time but it was lovely and it taught me a lesson that it is worth exploring your own country before rushing overseas to see others.  

We spent the evening packing and recounting what we saw earlier on the Reef.  The following morning, we drove back to Cairns to catch a plane to Sydney. 

Hope our holiday inspired both my local and overseas readers to visit this beautiful part of Australia.

Until then,

Anna

xoxoxo