Latitude 16 Mowbray by the Sea Port Douglas

... enough time to take a shower and freshen up because we were due to attend a "Hens and Bucks" party for Debra and Steve. Despite the raunchy name, it was actually a tame affair. Port Douglas is a very small resort town - not a whole lot to do here. There are approximately 15 other guests here for the wedding. For the first part of the evening, the girls separated from the guys. I have no idea what the guys were up to (probably trouble); but the girls ended up at a ...

... for an energetic morning. However, by 7:15 the guy had not arrived and we asked in reception. They were apologetic but had forgotten to inform us that he had already been in long before 7 and called the lesson off because it was too windy!
We therefore had a morning to wander the beach, this time with the tide well out. The extent of the pristine white beach is really stunning and walking the soft sand, nice and firm nearer to the water, was a delight. We were often the ...

29 June 2009 to 19 July 2009

Cairns – Port Douglas – Cooktown – Cairns

Now that we've hit the east coast we feel as if we have lost our travellin’ mojo a bit as this is all familiar territory to us now. We know Cairns quite well after having been here three times now so we don’t feel inclined to do any of the touristy stuff.

We’ve got a list of jobs to do though – get Murray’s battery ...

Well today I decided enough was enough and we went up through the Daintree rainforest on the car ferry to the Discovery Centre which was good but a little overpriced for what it was - but everything up here seems that way. By the time we'd finished my leg was holding up okay so we went on up towards Cape Tribulation. A very green drive but windy ...

... in the hills for our first stop. The gorge was absolutely stunning, with crystal clear water meandering around smooth boulders. There was a calmer section of water there so we went in for a swim which was really fun. The water was really cold and refreshing (too cold for Crocs thankfully) and we swam up to an impressive rapids section of river. We then got changed and piled back on the bus. On the way back we stopped briefly at the Alexander Ranges Lookout to get ...

Hi all Thanks for the messages; lovely to hear from you all. This is our last night in Port Douglas and we've had a great time. We've been out on the Great Barrier Reef snorkeling which was brilliant. The seas were pretty rough and it felt a bit like a roller coaster in the sea at times but once we got in the water it was amazing. We saw lots of fish and had a marine biologist on board who did a tour for us. We had to wear delightful stinger suits and if I ...

... have handled it!! And since we are talking about the weather... SWAMP ASS. this is the most humid place on the face of the earth and between us we have touched most parts of this world and nothing, i mean nothing, compares to the wettness that is upon us. it is sucking the life from us but we are holding on for your entertainment. Oh! and because of the deadly stingers(jellyfish- irikanji) we cannot go to the beach and swim in ...

... the screams I noticed a woman had fallen between the train and the platform! Along with another passenger I ran over and we helped the woman out. Fortunately other than being somewhat shocked she appeared to be ok and I left it to others to apply kind words and sympathy (yeah I know what you're thinking) and rapidly made off to the viewing platform to get my full frontal pictures of the majestic falls. I only got half way along the platform when the whistle ...

... Sheila didn't like the first room we were given at the hotel so they arranged to move us whilst we went for a look round. One of the first things we discovered was Cane Toad racing in the local bar, the second, although I didn't tell Sheila this, was that a rat ran across the floor of the restaurant where we ate our meal last night - not that the place was rat infested, it just lived in the bush alongside the ...

... of our private bbq and made bbq bacon butties. That was a rare treat, we usually left before having breakfast. We decided to go to Holloways beach, our favourite spot from last time. It's a really quiet locals beach with a stinger net (marine stingers are all over the place along this part of the coast from November to May - they have vinegar dotted about the beaches just incase) when we were in Bowen, just about to go for ...