Port Douglas - 2013 (overview)

This post is being written on a cold, wet day in Melbourne - the temperature at 2pm was 9 degrees. - Less than a week ago we were enjoying the warmth of winter in Port Douglas.

Why do we enjoy holidaying in Port Douglas?
First the weather. In July and August the maximum temperatures are normally in the mid to high twenties. You start the day wearing a t-shirt and finish the day wearing a t-shirt. Plenty of fresh air and sunshine. It was perfect weather for going for long walks and eating meals outside is the norm. Situated in the tropics the vegetation adds colour to the streetscape.

Four Mile Beach is another attraction. The beach is a great place to walk, or, if you are included, to cycle, or jog. There is a designated, patrolled area for swimming plus areas for other water sports.

Port Douglas is close to the Daintree Rainforest and a short drive allows you to visit Mossman Gorge while a slightly longer drive will take you to Cape Tribulation. A day trip exploring the Atherton Tableland, including Kuranda and Mareeba, is another option.

Port Douglas allows you many ways to access the Great Barrier Reef. You can travel to locations on the Outer Reef such as Agincourt Reef on large vessels such as those operated by Quicksilver or choose one of the excursions on smaller vessels to the Low Isles. Snorkelling is a major activity on these trips but there is also opportunity to view the reef via glass bottom boats.

A wide variety of activities are available depending on your interest and inclinations. For the fit and adventurous there is river snorkelling and beach kayacking as well as kite surfing. Helicopter rides provide a different view of the area and for those prepared to get up early in the morning there are balloon flights on the Atherton Tableland beginning near Mareeba - a great experience. On the other hand you can just have a relaxing day on the beach or sit by a pool and read a book. Attractions such as the Wildlife Habitat are also worth a visit.

A major feature of Port Douglas is the wide range of restaurants for all budgets. One of the must do activities is to walk down Macrossan Street and read the various menus.

There is plenty of opportunity to shop. Being on holidays there is more time to explore shops at leisure and Port Douglas has a variety of stores including clothing shops often specialising in casual wear and beachwear, souvenir stores and shops with a variety of interesting and varied knick knacks to explore. There are also art galleries with interesting items to look at. There are also specialist stores such as Blood Orange that specialises in selling jam - they also sell their produce at the markets.

The market on the Sunday morning and the smaller market on Wednesday afternoon are always worth a visit.

There is also a variety of accommodation available from backpacker accommodation to expensive resorts. On our first two visits to Port Douglas we stayed in resorts and enjoyed our stay.  Although it was easy to walk to the beach from the resorts, to visit Macrossan Street it was necessary to have a car or use the local bus. For the last three visits we have chosen an appartment as accommodation as, particularly for longer stays, it is more convenient to have access to a kitchen and laundry facilities. 

We have stayed at the Regal which is in Macrossan Street so there is easy walking distance to restaurants and shops as well as the beach and the marina. Our room has also had a spa or a jacusi 

and there is a small pool ideal for cooling off in or exercising. 

Sheryl and Bob have always been very welcoming and helpful and have provided useful information when we have booked excursions through the office.
http://www.regalportdouglas.com.au/index.php

The main reason we choose to Port Douglas is to have a relaxing holiday and to have a respite from Melbourne's winter.

Port Douglas 2013 - Food update

Staying in an apartment we had the advantage of having a small kitchen in our rooms so we did not always have to eat out.

We organised our own breakfast each morning except for one day when we decided to eat out for breakfast. We chose Cafe Ecco where Robin had Big Breakfast with the lot minus baked beans

while I had muesli, fresh fruit and yoghurt. We also had fresh orange juice.

Lunch was often at the apartment but if we were out exploring at lunchtime we would purchase a sandwich or something similar. On Sailaway a salad buffet with prawns and a selection of cold meat was provided. One day we decided to try a Mocka pie – chicken and vegetables and supreme. Another day we had lunch at The Little Larder where we had a huge turkey, brie, cranberry sauce and salad sandwich – quite delicious but a challenge to eat.

Some evenings we had dinner in our rooms while on other occasions we had dinner at some of the many restaurants in Port Douglas.

For a light dinner a chicken from Dave’s Takeaway to eat with salad proved to be a great choice. Although the grilled fish that we had purchased from the shop on our first night in Port Douglas was dry and not particularly appetizing, the chicken was excellent and we purchased this on two occasions during our stay. We also discovered that the take away tandoori chicken pizza with mango chutney, yoghurt and cashews from Rattle n Hum was a delicious option as was the salmon pizza which we purchased on another occasion. We kept salad ingredients in the fridge to eat with the chicken or pizza and there was usually enough to also have at lunch.

There are many excellent restaurants in Port Douglas with interesting menus but on this visit we decided to eat at restaurants that we knew from experience produced food that we would enjoy.

The restaurant discovery in 2010 had been Bel Cibo so this was the first restaurant we chose on this visit. I had a saffron risotto with mud crab, peas and spinach – delicious – while Robin had the special barramundi which he enjoyed. We always go somewhere special for our last dinner of a holiday so we returned to Bel Cibo and shared the seafood taster plate as an entree. We also shared the Italian flatbread with parmesan and rosemary.  I then chose the handmade pappardelle with chicken, mushroom and spinach while Robin had barramundi again. As it was a special dinner I tried the flourless chocolate cake for dessert - highly recommended.
 http://www.belcibo.com.au/

During the holiday we also had two meals at the Iron Bar. On the first occasion we shared an entree of barramundi spring rolls followed by lamb shank and vegetables for me and rissoles and mash for Robin, good hearty food. The following week we decided to return to the Iron Bar for dinner to try their tasting plate of crocodile, emu and kangaroo served with cheese and an assortment of vegetable relishes. Robin then had the barramundi and chips while I had the rissoles and mash with onion and bacon gravy – hearty comfort food.

 http://www.ironbarportdouglas.com.au/

Dinner at the Jade Inn was stir fried barramundi and stir fried prawns with cashews plus steamed rice - delicious.

http://jadeinnportdouglas.com/

Fish is on most menus but there are also restaurants that specialise in fish. At Finz the battered Spanish mackerel and chips was delicious.
http://finzportdouglas.com/ 

At 2Fish we enjoyed the Sunset Special – crab cakes and barramundi spring roll followed by fish and chips (barramundi and coral trout).
http://www.2fishrestaurant.com.au/ 

The best place for icecream in Port Douglas is Shakes Gelati Bar and we were frequent visitors, especially in the evening after dinner. I can recommend the chocolate sorbet in particular but there are many great flavours from which to choose.

http://www.portico-port-douglas.com/shakes_gelati_port_douglas.htm

Port Douglas 2013 - Cairns Mangrove Boardwalk

Robin went sea kayaking on Friday morning. The expedition began at Oak Beach, south of Port Douglas, and finished at Four Mile Beach covering a sea distance of approximately 12 km. They saw a variety of fish and turtles and probably a dugong, though it disappeared very quickly.

http://backcountrybliss.com.au/sea-kayak-port-douglas/

I took the opportunity to once again explore the shops and then spent one and a half hours walking along the beach before returning to the Regal for a final swim in the pool.

In the afternoon we returned to Ngarru Gallery where we purchased two paintings.

http://www.ngarrugallery.com.au/

Having packed our bags, on Saturday morning, we went for a final walk, for this visit, along Macrossan Street including the park at one end 

and the beach at the other.

We then drove towards the Cairns Airport. 

As we had a little time to spare we went for a walk along the Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk.

http://www.marine.uq.edu.au/marbot/mangrove%20watch/cairns.htm

Some of the mangroves had incredible root systems

Occasionally small crabs

and mud whelks (Telescopium) could be seen.

We then continued to the airport for the flight home.

Port Douglas 2013 - Low Isles

Our third visit to the Low Isles was another enjoyable day. The weather was perfect for the one hour sail to the Low Isles aboard the catamaran, Sail Away.  

Arriving at the islands, those wanting to snorkel did so while the rest of us explored the island or just relaxed. 

It was low tide and a group of pelicans was resting on a sand bar. 

I walked round the island looking at the patterns made by coral and shells in the sand 

and water and generally enjoying the beauty of the island. 

We spent some time watching a flock of seagulls diving to catch baitfish in the shallow water on one section of the reef. Lemon sharks were also hunting the baitfish and fins of the sharks could be seen cruising through the water in the same area. 

I also visited the display of shells and

coral, starfish and sponges found on the reef.

On the boat returning to the catamaran Brett guided the boat slowly over the coral reefs allowing us to have a great view of the coral and the fish through the glass bottom of the boat. We also saw a giant turtle but the many smaller turtles that we have seen on previous occasions were absent this time. 

After lunch a group of black tipped sharks and a couple of batfish swam around the catamaran. 
Some of the passengers went snorkelling from the back of the boat before we returned to Port Douglas. 

The trip back proved quite an adventure with water from some of the waves hitting the front of the craft and drenching those in the vicinity. Another great day.

Port Douglas 2013 - Mossman Gorge and Daintree Village

Mossman Gorge was Monday’s destination. We drove to the information centre where we got on the bus that took us to the gorge.

Since our last visit, a boardwalk has been built to reach the gorge making the area more accessible for most people. 

The walk then continues to the suspension bridge and once over the bridge walkers can take the circuit walk through the rainforest for more than 2 km. 

The path on the circuit walk can be a challenge at times but it is well worth the effort. The walk takes you through many different types of vegetation – trees, vines, ferns, fungi and variety of tree roots.

We could hear a variety of bird life in the trees and had a small lizard wander across the path but most of the rainforest wildlife was sensibly hiding, however near one of the pools a number of brush turkeys were fossicking through the dirt in the bush.

The highlight was the sighting of a large, blue, Ulysses butterfly capping off an enjoyable couple of hours walking through the rainforest.

A quiet afternoon followed including a swim in the pool. 

Another 11 km walk along the beach started Tuesday. The wind had died down so there were many more people walking, jogging and cycling along the beach. 

The yoga class had been and gone. The tide was lower than the previous walk so there was more sand visible. 

At the end of the beach we walked out on to the exposed sea bed with the furrows created by the waves and the perforations in the sand caused by the crabs.

There were no kite surfers this morning but towards the end of the walk two hang gliders passed overhead.

In the afternoon we drove north through Mossman, a town surrounded by sugar cane farms, to Daintree Village, a small group of buildings by the Daintree River. A small market is held in a tin shed and we purchased a stone pendant from one of the stalls. 

We ate a sandwich from the Big Barramundi Garden and then visited the Timber Gallery next door.

As well as having a variety of wooden items for sale the gallery had a collection of wood working tools on the walls as well as photos and posters about the history of timber getting in the region.

We then walked down to the river. 

 

The scenery is magnificent. Some years ago we took the cruise down the river to view the scenery and wildlife, including, of course, crocodiles. This time we just admired the view and returned back to the village. 

 There are only a few shops but we purchased a present for our grand-daughter before visiting Eliza’s Gallery where we found a turtle to add to our collection and a lily pad plate. Daintree Village is an interesting place to visit.

After a big breakfast on Wednesday morning we went for a walk around the town. Later we drove to the far end of the beach and as it was low tide we went for a walk across the sand banks and exposed sea bed. 

It was the first time I had paddled in the sea for a long time and enjoyed the experience.

We also revisited the Wednesday market later in the day.