Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia May 15, 2007
Port Douglas is a great place to
spend a week, as long as the weather cooperates. The town is built on a peninsula
that juts into
the Coral Sea. The town is darn close to the tropical
rain
forests of the Daintree, and Cape Tribulation.
A river guide on the Daintree River, just 30
miles north of Port Douglas, told us that this year's rainy season, December to April,
included 127 days in a row of pretty much "full-on" rain.
Not the time to visit!
May
is the beginning of the dry season, and we arrived to warm (high 80's), humid weather.
It was perfect weather for sitting by the pool and for dinners outdoors, either
along the water's edge at the scenic marina or
one of the other downtown restaurants. It's always a joy to dine
"alfresco", as we are rarely anywhere where the evenings are warm
enough. We
even splurged and ate at the
famous (and expensive) Nautilus Restaurant, one of the many places in town that Bill Clinton
visited. It's in downtown Port Douglas, but also feels like it's
in a tropical rainforest. Although
the restaurant was almost full on the Thursday night we dined there, I don't see
why. The ambiance is perhaps the draw, although it was so dark
we could barely make out the menu in the flickering candlelight. The
place seemed pretentious -- one of those places that removes your
silverware if you don't order an appetizer. The food was
good with small portions, but over-priced (they actually charged AU$1 for each glass of water!) and
the "cheap" wine was
about AU$15 a glass.
Service was fine, although Dick's soup did
arrive without
a spoon. My Sechuan duck was a nice piece of breast, but
it was served without much else. I guess I was supposed to order a side
dish or two, but I hadn't realized this since I could
barely make out the menu in the dark. As it turned out, it was fortunate that we'd ordered some crusty bread
($7 with a pat of butter and a bit of balsamic vinegar mixed with oil) or
I could
have gone away hungry!
Our first five nights were spent in a nice apartment complex (see Getting to Port Douglas), but we were finally almost over our colds and thought we'd move on. The Sheraton Mirage Resort (5-stars) is built along most of 4-mile beach, though they do not own the beach itself. The local paper had an ad offering a reduced rate on the room and 50% off food and drink. Sounded perfect, and it was. As a member of the Starwood Preferred Club, I asked and got an complementary upgrade to a refurbished ground floor Lagoon room. Our room was 50% off the rate in my travel agent's brochure! Very nice indeed. The hotel's two pools (with beach) are huge, and off-season they were virtually deserted. Kids are all still in school this time of year, so the pool time was restful and quiet. Dinner at the Sheraton's Il Pescatore Restaurant was the highlight of our 3-day stay, excellent, interestingly-prepared, high quality food at a price a bit cheaper than the Nautilus, but with potatoes and vegetables included (and then we got 50% off!). Our room rate also included full, and I mean FULL buffet breakfasts -- everything one might expect and yummy too.
One of the best things to do in Port
Douglas is go
out to the Great Barrier Reef. Unfortunately, the winds were blowing at 20-25 knots each day, and just
the thought of the long boat ride to the reef was making me seasick. Then
we saw the flyer for the Reef Sprinter to the "Low Islands". This boat
takes15 minutes to do what others do in 45-60 minutes. It's fast in and
fast out. Although the ride was anything but smooth (a bit like a rocking
horse), I took my Dramamine and got there and back feeling just fine. The
coral on the side of the Island where this boat has its concession is
incredible. You float over
many varieties of coral in all colors and in really pristine condition. Moreover, the area is sheltered by
the island, so the snorkeling was easy as the water was relatively calm.
There weren't as many fish here as in some other areas of the Great Barrier Reef, but the
incredible coral definitely made
up for it. Highly recommended.
Other activities to while away a week in Port Douglas include:
-- A walk through Mossman Gorge. A must do. The Gorge is just half an hour north of Port Douglas. It's the best rainforest walk in the area, and affords an opportunity to swim without crocodiles, although sometimes after heavy rains the intensity of water flows make swimming dangerous. I regret we didn't do the guided "dreamtime" walk with a local aborigine; there are so few opportunities to meet and talk with Australia's native people and find out about their life and culture.
-- Nature Habitat -- your admission to this nature reserve is good for three days, just ask. The free-wandering kangaroos and wallabies are friendly and can be hand fed; they are most active in the late afternoon. The koalas are fed around 3 pm, so that's when they're awake (they sleep 20 hours a day). Otherwise, there are crocs, flying foxes and interesting birds to see, all in an enclosed forested habitat.
-- A sunset cruise aboard the Lady Douglas into the Dickson Inlet. (See photo above.) An enjoyable, reasonably-priced 1.5 hour trip with a chance to see a crocodile or two.
-- A boat trip up the Daintree river out of Daintree Village. There's not much else to do in this area. Our guide was interesting and knowledgeable about the history of the area and the wildlife. We saw a few birds, but not much else. Apparently, the best time to see wildlife is at a low tide. Due to the full moon, we were there at neap tides, middling affairs which don't expose the riverbanks.
-- The Cairns zoo -- recently opened, but we didn't get there.
-- Kuranda Village and Barron Falls-- the first is a just a place to shop or eat, though there are lots of shops and it's up in the mountains so a bit cooler than on the coast, which can be quite hot in the summertime. The Falls are best viewed from an overlook at the end of a half hour, well-graded, downhill rainforest walk. Well worth doing, although at this time of year, the falls are merely a shadow of their rainy-season selves.
All these activities are outdoors, so do remember the bug spray. Although there are few visible bugs or mosquitoes, there are some sneaky little buggers around - at one point I counted at least 25 bites on my little body - and each bite carries a mean itch.
Now, if it's raining or showering, as it often does for at least part of the day, make sure you have a good rain suit or umbrella. It can pour. Alternatively, that's the perfect time to get under some protective awning or to sit on your balcony and immerse yourself in a good book.
