we
had plenty of time wander around the terminal and grab a cappuccino between
flights. Getting to Port Douglas -- Tropical North Queensland May 10, 2007
It's a long day's trip from
Christchurch, NZ to Port Douglas, Australia -- just two time zones, but well
over 12 hours door-to-door. The trip was long enough that we spent the a
night in Cairns on the way. We caught a 3:10 flight out of Christchurch to Brisbane, but
since security required we be at the airport two hours early, we left home at
12:40. Although I failed to put my ChapStick into a plastic baggie -- who knew it
was a dangerous "gel" -- NZ security had a free baggie for me.
The whole trip was uneventful, even with a short train excursion between the
international and domestic terminals in Brisbane. Fortunately, Qantas
Airlines rechecked our baggage after exiting customs in Brisbane and issued us boarding
passes at the same time. As the minimum airline-mandated transfer time in Brisbane
is 2.5 hours,
we
had plenty of time wander around the terminal and grab a cappuccino between
flights.
Another 2.5 hours and we arrived in Cairns. Now it was 10:30 pm, Aussie time. We had a room reserved at the Cairns Colonial Club Resort located half way between the airport and town -- over-priced, tired rooms, with an even more-over-priced breakfast. But the resort did provide free airport pick-up and a free bus into town the next morning to get our Hertz car (Avis was right there at the resort, but I guess our travel agent must prefer Hertz.)
After retrieving our baggage from hotel storage (no receipt issued or required) we drove an hour north up the coast to Port Douglas . The road was initially full of roundabouts, and then windy, sharp, curves. I was glad we didn't do the drive at night. The trip was often scenic -- empty golden-sand beaches, some strewn with lava rocks, and equally empty blue seas with islands or bush-covered hillsides nearby. Along the way we stopped at Palm Cove, a small upscale beach town. It's not clear why this area has grown into a town and other areas nearby are still pristine, but it is clear that Palm Cove is a well-heeled community. Lots of fancy condos, up-market eateries and some fancy shops.
We arrived at the well-marked, scenic Rex Overlook just in time to watch a hang-glider take off from the cliff's edge. He had enlisted two male on-lookers to help him get set, and when he and they could feel the breeze under his wings, he let the wind take him away. Just like that! He passed low overhead a few times, generating a loud whoosh, before heading higher over the inland mountain and jungle. Hopefully he eventually found a down-draft to get him back to whatever landing place he had in mind, likely somewhere along on the sandy beach below the overlook (see photo above).
May is low season in tropical North Queensland, so we arrived in Port Douglas without reservations. We had hoped to stay at a place called the Mandalay Shalimar Apts. -- it was highly rated by visitors on the Internet -- but they only had a pricey, 3-bedroom unit left. I guess we're not the only ones who use the Internet.
We found one of the many (private) Port Douglas' Info Centers and told them what we were looking for; they called The Meridian at Port Douglas for us. PD is a small town, and the Meridian was just two blocks away. We walked over to check it out -- a 3-story upscale modern apartment complex with a no-kids policy, the units all surrounding a multi-lobed, secluded swimming pool. Walk-in / stand-by rates weren't as good a deal as I had expected, and prices are definitely up there.
The manager, John, was charming, and offered us one of their honeymoon suites (with a hot-tub on the patio and a full kitchen) at a 15% discount from the price listed in our NZ travel brochure. We decided to stay 5 nights since Dick and I both had colds. Yes, I admit it, I gave my cold to Dick. Antihistamines reduced the symptoms to the occasional outburst, but we definitely needed to take it easy. Coughing and sneezing, we settled in and started to relax.