Daintree Magic

Garry’s brother, David, and his family recently moved into their new home in Far North Queensland.  Garry and I took time out over Easter to check out their new digs and enjoy a few days of R&R.  Our itinerary kicked off with a night in Palm Cove staying at the uber-ritzy M Gallery Reef House. We then crossed the Daintree River for a night in a rainforest cabin near Thornton Beach before making our way to David and Katie’s house for two days.

Our first night in Palm Cove was a last-minute addition. We’d originally booked morning flights from Sydney to Cairns on Good Friday. However, Qantas rescheduled the flight which gave us the option to change our ticket at no cost.  We decided to rebook on the last flight departing Thursday evening (a flight that originally added hundreds of dollars to the ticket). 

We also cashed in a complimentary night’s accommodation in an Accor Hotel that’s offered annually by American Express and secured a room at The Reef Hotel. We also cashed in some reward points with Hertz to booked an SUV for four days for just a few dollars. It’s nice to see these loyalty programs actually deliver on the promise of “free stuff”.

Our flight landed shortly after 11pm and we made it to our hotel shortly after midnight.  Sadly Reef Hotel proved to be a bit of dud.  The bed was rock hard and the breakfast we ordered the following morning was dismal, to say the least.  The hotel itself was stunning.  The grounds included a lush tropical garden, a secluded pool and an expansive outdoor deck for dining that looked out over a palm-fringed beach.

Before checking out of the hotel we took a walk along the Palm Cove beachfront promenade.  The streetscape here is immaculately manicured and maintained.  We finished our stroll with a walk out to the end of the Palm Cove wharf.  Plenty of avid young fishermen were enjoying themselves. We witnessed one them catch and release a baby shark.  Apparently, you’re not allowed to keep them unless they’re more than a metre long.  I’m not too sure I’d be keen to handle a shark that big.

The Daintree proved to be as spectacular as ever.  The ferry crossing was at capacity thanks to the holiday weekend.  It took almost half an hour to get across the river.  However, once across the traffic soon dispersed.  Our first stop was the remote Cape Kimberley beachfront.  Here we spent an hour walking a stretch of the beach before heading inland to enjoy views of the Daintree River mouth from the Mount Alexandra lookout.

Our next stop was Thornton Beach where we took another stroll along its empty stretch of sand as far as the mouth of the picturesque Cooper Creek.  The Daintree’s beaches are always wonderfully devoid of people which really leaves you feeling at one with nature.  We then enjoyed a quick picnic lunch before heading north to Cape Tribulation. 

The Cape was crowded as always and it expansive, wave-fringed beach remains as iconic as ever.  However, the rainforest cabin that Garry had booked proved to be a real highlight.  We were delighted to find we’d been allocated a cabin furthest from the lodge’s main facilities.  This meant we enjoyed plenty of wildlife including bush hens, birds and iridescent butterflies.

The restaurant on site provided a huge surprise.  We dined on some world-class dishes on an outdoor deck overlooking a lush tropical stream.  It left the far more expensive The Reef House for dead in terms of quality! As it was the tail end of the wet season, several brief showers peppered our cabin overnight.  There is something truly magical about lying in bed listening to rain cascading through the rainforest outside your door.

The next morning we made our way South again stopping briefly to visit the Daintree Wild Zoo.  This slightly ramshackle affair offered up a few fauna highlights including a family of baby Sugar Possums, massive crocodiles and a pair of remarkably healthy looking Dingos.

David and Katie’s new home was spectacular.  We enjoyed two nights with the family and made full use of their expansive outdoor entertaining space.  Our first full day was spent visiting the weekend markets in Port Douglas and trying out the new coastal walkway around the town’s iconic headland.  Garry and I also discovered the delights of chocolate-dipped frozen bananas at the markets.

Our final day saw us enjoy a leisurely lunch in town before finally making our way back to Cairns in time to catch our flight home again.  Garry and I both agreed it had been a refreshing, much-needed break after an incredibly frantic period for the business.

Queensland here we come

Garry and I have agreed to take Mum to Port Douglas for a tropical reef experience over the next year's ANZAC long weekend. Mum reminded me that she’s not been to Far North Queensland since 1992 (I think it was September). My parents were travelling with Bob and Phillipa Kilpatrick at the time. That's us above heading off to Green Island for the day.

At the time, I flew up from Sydney to see her and Dad. This was the first time we’d caught up face to face since I’d relocated to Australia in February 1990. I’d been so poor in those early years that every penny I earned was ploughed back into living expenses. Trans-Tasman flights simply didn’t fit my budget. 

I recall the day I came off the plane in Cairns. Mum and Dad came to greet me at the airport. I almost walked past them as I exited the gate.  I'd expected to find them in the baggage hall and thus wasn't looking out for them.  Mum burst into tears when she saw me. She was also upset that "I didn't recognise my own parents". Needless to say, I was in the dog box for the rest of the day.

Our upcoming Queensland excursion came about after I realised Mum had a pile of Qantas frequent flyer points that were about to expire. She'd earned these during our trip to South Africa last year. After a small frequent flyer point top-up from me, Mum had enough points for return flights from Auckland to Sydney. We booked some trans-Tasman flights while I was visiting her last month.

UPDATE: 2 July

For ANZAC next year I've booked us into a superb apartment overlooking the beach in Port Douglas. 

Breathtaking!

I've just witnessed one of the most extraordinary phenomena in nature. At exactly 6:38am this morning the Far North Coast of Queensland was bathed in the eerie twilight of a total eclipse for two minutes and five seconds. Without a doubt, the entire experience was worth a 24-hour dash to Port Douglas!

The experience was exactly as the photos depict it.  However, I cannot begin to describe the sensation that accompanies totality.  The sky turns a dull blue/black, followed by the sudden appearance of a glowing white ring in place of the sun's dazzling disk. It's all very surreal and truly breathtaking. Surprisingly the eclipsed disk is far larger than you expect. The sun's relative size in the sky is clearly masked by its normal, blinding glare.

I arrived in Port Douglas shortly after lunch yesterday. The town was already buzzing with anticipation.  Tourists were pouring in to witness the eclipse, including two large cruise ships, anchored just offshore. In fact, everyone on my flight from Sydney seemed to be travelling north for the same purpose.  I had originally planned to watch the eclipse from Four Mile Beach.  However, I recently learnt that the approaching high tide was likely to cover most of the shore. 

As a result, I booked a ticket on Calypso, a local tour boat.  With the weather forecast warning of intermittent cloud, a mobile viewing platform also seemed the safest bet.  This certainly proved true as clouds played havoc with our view right up until totality started.  Fortunately, the clouds parted in the final minute providing an unobstructed view of the famous diamond ring phenomenon. A minute or so later clouds swept across the sun's disk and we lost sight of the sun on the final minute of totality. We heard later the southern end of Four Mile Beach enjoyed an unobstructed view of the entire event.

As the clouds rolled in those of us on the boat used the remaining period of totality to soak up the scene around us. As we turned towards the beach, we witnessed thousands of camera flashes burst into life along the entire shoreline.  This spectacle, in the eerie twilight, was almost as stunning as the eclipse itself.  An estimated 10,000 people had gathered along the beach.  You can see them in the photo above about half an hour before the event. Everyone was clearly getting their money's worth!  

I'm totally hooked. I want to see another one. Sadly we'll have to wait until 2028 for the next eclipse visible from Australia. On July 22 at approximately 4:00pm the moon's shadow will once again sweep across Australia on a path that crosses the city of Sydney. It's incredible that astronomers can calculate its appearance literally to the second, 16 years in advance.

 

Eclipse photos: Shane Branch, Director, Hibiscus Resort & Spa

Port Douglas love affair

There’s something magical about Port Douglas. I can’t quite put my finger on it. Is it the wonderfully warm and sunny weather, even in the depth of winter? Is it the casual, friendly lifestyle the locals enjoy? Or is it the comfortable blend of quality venues and affordable alternatives offering an atmosphere more refined than your average package tour destination? Regardless, I find myself falling in love with Port Douglas each time I visit (and secretly grateful that more Australians have yet to discover its seductive charm). 

I first visited the town in 1993, spending several days relaxing with my parents. I returned again in 2002 to hang out for a week with a friend. Garry and I made our first visit together three years later. We cashed in credit card loyalty points for weekend at the gloriously opulent Sheraton Mirage. Last month we visited again, joining family and friends for the wedding of Garry’s younger brother. I’ll then be back in later in the year to witness a solar eclipse sweep through the area shortly after dawn on November 14.

Port Douglas is located 70km north of Cairns in Far North Queensland. It sits on a short coastal headland framed by a sweeping beach to the east and a sheltered mangrove harbour to the west. It offers one of the shortest transits to the Great Barrier Reef, making it a popular launching point for divers and snorkelers. Garry’s brother, David, works as a dive boat guide and runs his own diving accessories store in the town.

We had a wonderful time last month enjoying the wedding festivities. David and his fiancée, Katie, were married just offshore on the deck of the same dive boat on which they first met three years ago. It was a truly romantic moment witnessing their vows as the sun began slowly sinking on the horizon. An informal reception was later held at the popular Courthouse Hotel.

With the wedding ceremonies completed, Garry and I hired a car and headed north for a day. We crossed the Daintree River by ferry and drove up to Cape Tribulation. I’d not been up this way since 1993. At the time, getting to the Cape involved a bone-jarring journey on a four-wheel drive track through steamy tropical rainforest. Today, the same journey is made on a smooth sealed road. However, the Cape appears to have retained its rustic, eco-friendly, ”away from the crowd” atmosphere.

The last time Garry and I came up this way we only drove as far as the Daintree River itself. On that occasion we joined one of the popular crocodile-spotting tours, as well as stopping off for a tour of the Mosman Sugar Mill. During this trip, the sugar cane was still in the field, in full flower, but clearly approaching harvest time. The sugar industry's prominent role in my local economy was clearly evident as field after field of cane lined the road north.

After crossing Daintree by ferry we made our first stop at Waluwurrigga, also known as Alexandra Point Lookout. The view from the summit of this mountain pass is stunning. Travelers are treated to a breath-taking view over the mouth of the meandering Daintree River and along the wild, curving coastline. 

 Our next stop was Coconut Beach, an enormous expanse of white sand sweeping along the coast for miles. Sadly, our uninterrupted view was spoilt by a distant couple walking the surf line. I couldn’t help comparing this vast empty expanse of sand with that of the cluttered, heavily-developed beaches of the Mediterranean coast.

The beach population more doubled at Myall Beach, just east of Cape Tribulation. However, a handful of people still left us feeling alone and at peace. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said of Cape Tribulation itself. 

We arrived shortly before a busload of tourists swept across its tidal reaches. Despite their noisy presence, I can honestly say that this is still one of the prettiest beaches in Australia. There’s something wonderfully unforgettable about its verdant tropical rainforest sweeping down from a cloud-shrouded mountain to the beach’s very edge.

While the empty beaches were manna for the soul, the day’s highlight came during our return home. Incredibly, we rounded a corner and came face to face with a Cassowary shepherding two juvenile birds across the road. It was a magic moment; right up there with a Moose family we’d once encountered crossing the road in Alaska.

 

 

Our final day in town was actually spent just north of Cairns. Garry and I spent a relaxing afternoon taking the Skyrail cable car over the Macalister Range to Kuranda village. It’s an awe-inspiring 7.5km ride gliding over the canopy of pristine tropical rainforest. Your journey begins by rising over the winding local highway as increasingly spectacular views of Cairns and the tropical coast unfold in front of you. Two interim stops then break up the remaining ride. First, Red Peak Station where a boardwalk takes you past soaring Kauri trees and then a stop opposite the imposing Barron Falls.

 

During our ride, we arrived in time to see the famous Kuranda railway pull up on the opposite side of the Barron River gorge. The train stops here on every journey to give its passengers time to step out and view the falls at close range. I’ve taken this journey several times and still recall how inspiring the view is from this vantage point. We enjoyed a late lunch at Kuranda, with much of the town to ourselves, as the last train back to Cairns had already departed. Before long it was time for us to retrace our steps along the Skyrail and onto the airport for our flight home.

We flew Jetstar home. It the first Jetstar flight for both of us. We were pleasantly surprised by the experience. At check-in we were reseated in an exit row, with nobody occupying the middle seat. As a result, we enjoyed plenty of leg and elbow room all the way home. Even Garry had to admit our inaugural Jetstar experience had proven far better than the ugly Easyjet frat house jaunt we’d expected.

A life is a mirage

In June 2005 I cashed in some Starwood loyalty points for a Queen's Birthday weekend at the Sheraton Mirage in Port Douglas. I've always wanted to give this resort a go. Therefore, an opportunity for Garry and me to do so on the cheap was simply too good to pass up. 

When the resort first opened in 1987, it was considered one of the South Pacific’s most exclusive destinations. It cost a reported $100 million to build and transformed, literally overnight, a sleepy coastal town into a playground for the rich and famous. In the years since, the likes of Bill and Hillary Clinton, Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, Luciano Pavarotti, and Leonardo DiCaprio have all stayed there.

The resort boasts a golf course, expansive beachfront access, and a sprawling network of ten artificial lagoons that give most rooms a stunning water view. Our room was tucked away in a quiet corner with a sheltered balcony looking out over one of the smaller, more secluded, lagoons. The room’s only downside was its southern-facing aspect. As a result, it received very little direct sunlight for most of the day. You can see Garry hanging over the balcony in the image above (and me delivering a rather convincing whale simulation).

Sadly parts of the resort seemed to show their age. I recall some of the decor felt a little out of place and fittings in the public spaces looked a little tired despite a supposed refurbishment the previous year. However, the food was excellent including a dinner we enjoyed at a fusion-style restaurant near the golf course.

We ultimately enjoyed a four-day long weekend in Far North Queensland. We kicked off our vacation with a night at Reef House in Palm Cove on Friday 10 June, followed by two nights (three days) in Port Douglas, and a final night in Cairns. The Reef House kindly upgraded us to one of its larger Verandah Rooms overlooking its tropical gardens and courtyard swimming pool. It was refreshing to sit on its open deck looking across to the beach as we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast the following morning. Winter in far North Queensland is definitely my idea of the perfect "cool season".

We made the most of our rental car by visiting Mossman Gorge, driving north as far as the Daintree River, and driving up to Kuranda (rather than catching the train which was undergoing maintenance at the time).  However, driving the coastal escarpment was an experience of its own. As the road zigzagged its way up the hillside the narrow coastal plain slowly revealed itself. While in Kuranda we also drove to the Barron Falls lookout on the outskirts of town. The falls were barely flowing the day we visited. Although the exposed rock face was still an impressive sight.

The termite mounds along the road heading north also caught our eye. In the years since we've subsequently seen them many times in the Northern Territory and Central Queensland. It's fascinating to look back at how something like this became a familiar sight at some point. It's obvious from the many photos we took in the Daintree area that they were a rather unique, and memorable, vacation highlight.

Perhaps the only disappointment we experienced was our final night's accommodation at Cairns Queens Court.  We had an early flight home on Tuesday so I booked us into a cheap Cairns hotel on Monday evening to save money. 

This proved to be a false economy as the hotel's $69 "budget" room turned out to be a backpacker hostel set-up. We had a private room but, to our horror, it only offered a communal bathroom for showers and amenities. It was a real comedown after living it up at the Mirage.

Final night aside, all in all, this quick weekend dash was a wonderful way to kick off our final months in Australia as we prepared to relocate to London.