Port Douglas 10 -13th January 2017
Sorry this is late, too many activities and bad wifi!!
We arrived in the dark about midnight so didn’t get to see the beautiful coast road from Cairns. We also couldn’t remember what exactly we had booked to stay in. So we picked up the keys from a night locker & feeling shattered let ourselves into the most beautiful modern apartment. It had a large living room looking out on palm trees & a swimming pool. A spacious Kitchen area with dishwasher, coffee machine & everything you could need Including Miele cooker & American fridge with gift of box of chocolates left for us & some milk. A large balcony with large barbecue & table etc. Small utility room with Miele Washing Machine & Separate Miele tumble dryer. Into the large bedroom with King size bed, then on into dressing room for his & hers dressing room leading through to the large bathroom with his & hers sinks, spa bath & walk in shower. We were so thrilled with it Coconut Grove if anyone wants is interested in staying there
Next day we wandered out into the sunshine and had a gorgeous breakfast in Betty’s a few doors down. We arranged to cruise on the Lady Douglas hoping to spot a salt water crocodile & also arranged our barrier reef trip to the outer reef which takes two hours each way to get there. We walked around the lovely little town for a while then back to relax in our gorgeous apartment with AC for a while. It was incredibly hot outside – about 38. Later we boarded the Lady Douglas for the 2 hr Cruise.
It was a such an enjoyable couple of hours – the skipper was full of fun & interesting information about the area, boats, history & crocodiles. His hostess – Nicky (I think) from the UK!! dished out complementary drinks to all of us & laid on a small buffet as we cruised down the estuary. We were soon all the best of friends with everyone. After about 45 minutes – great excitement – the big croc was spotted!! Really amazing – I was so delighted as it had been a big ambition of mine to see one. We followed him for a while – he wasn’t interested in us at all. 3-4 metres long – we were very lucky he hadn’t been seen for a few days. A brilliant trip.
The following day, we were up at 7 am getting ready for our trip to the Great Barrier Reef. We chose to go with Quicksilver who are a big organisation as James wasn’t sure how much snorkelling he wanted to do & there were opportunities to see the reef from a submersible. This particular boat sailed out to a permanent platform where all the activities are accessed. Once docked the boat is only used for collecting the buffet lunch & the toilets. You were advised to wear a skin suit made of Lycra to protect from the stinging jelly fish. These were an extra 8 dollars on top of the $238 each for the trip. I also paid $60 for a longer guided snorkelling trip. There were opportunities to scuba dive as well (extra money of course ). You could also rent an underwater camera for $70 keeping the SIM card at the end if the trip. So as you can see it is not a cheap venture. I did not bother with the camera as I wanted to enjoy the sights without worrying about taking photos. If I went again I would go with a smaller company with a bit more personal service. We actually spent about 3 hrs on the reef as it takes a long time to get there. The buffet was good, some people were rushing for food the moment it was ready. We waited until quite a bit later & there was plenty left.
Having said all that the snorkelling was truly amazing, I just could not get enough of it. So relaxing and having all the beautiful fish, bright yellow, purple, red & orange swimming around but never touching was awe inspiring. Saw such beautiful coral as well twinkling like Christmas tree lights. I do hope I get the chance to do it again. I am so thrilled to have had such a wonderful experience. We fnished our stay in Port Douglas with a very good meal in the 2fish restaurant just a couple of doors away. Wish we could have stayed longer, it is a terrific place with so much more to see, wonderful rainforests at Daintree, beautiful beaches, gorgeous coastline to explore. Really loved this place.
Next day – Flight to Sydney & visit to the Blue Mountains.
nettiesnotes.com 