Glorious morning in Port Douglas - followed by the Daintree and Cape Tribulation

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The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas ranks as one of the great drives of Australia. Once you escape the roundabouts of Cairns, the road turns into this winding, coast hugging, scenic beauty. Every so often you get a visage of an idyllic beach that only hippies and surfies dare to camp along. Would love to come back here with a convertible Grande Tourer vehicle to wind through the curves and drink in the excitement.

Port Douglas is a resort town, and a breath of fresh air. Anthony smiled as he said it reminded him of the markets and shopping strips of Balmain. We treated ourselves to the best coffee of the trip thus far (go to Café Ecco – it’s calling you). The Sunday markets were fun and were really a joy to walk amongst the musicians and local produce stalls. They had this boho-chic feel mixed with the resort style customer. Strangely felt at home there.

The feelings of home were strengthened by a telephone call from church – yes, our church called us on the loudspeaker just to see how we were. I feel very blessed to call Ryde Salvos our church family.
We headed to the beach, where Katrina and I had a refreshing dip in the Coral Sea. Only 3 days earlier the beach had been closed due to a crocodile swimming close to shore, but the locals assured us that this was only a once a year event.

Lunch in Mossman was in a small licensed café where the burgers were welcome. The boys even spied a small door in a tree across the road – it looked like strangler figs had grown over a telephone box by the roadside.

Then came the drive to the ferry across the Daintree River and we drove through yet another World heritage listed area of the Daintree rainforest. On the coastline, the rainforest gives way to the beach. Spectacular! We kept driving until the bitumen gave way to the dirt, and realised that we had reached Cape Tribulation. We played in the water, and wandered the sand. We watched a bunch of idiotic backpackers trying to set up camp on the forest edge. This stop was the furthest north we’d go on the eastern coast, and with it comes a sense of achievement. I realised as we drove that the journey itself was fun, and the adventure along the way was what mattered, not the final destination.

Song of the day: Beautiful Exchange by Hillsong

Game of the day : Did you see a Cassowary?

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