Port Douglas - North Queensland

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Howdy everyone, well it is pretty hot here today, 31 degrees, but woke up to find that a 'orrible' little mossie has munched on our legs and arms overnight ! Sat here, now itching like mad and have no tiger balm to calm it. Still were not complaining, let's get that right because we've had a great day, off we went down to the marina where we booked a pontoon boat, just me and Stu, we wanted to find our own Croc's. The little boat is powered by a 10 hour electric start outboard motor, Oh yes, he is now calling himself 'Captain Troppo', you can even fish for bream, mud crabs, mangrove jack, Bararamundi and finger mark, whatever that is ! We were given instructions how to start, anchor and steer the boat, I read through the safety manual, Stu said 'don't bother, we're be dead by a croc if this thing sinks' !!! Anyhow I read it back to front, then instructed him that if we capsize we have to get to the shore sharpish and climb a blinkin tree and call for help !! I am not kidding, so safety precautions out of the way and off we go. Stu driving the boat up the marina, me a little bit weary incase he hits these hundred thousand pound boats on the way !! So I'm navigating with the map and off we go, passing ship wrecks, other boats which are anchored up, now who would want to be pulling ropes up and doing what boat people do with a load of croc's in the water ? Beats me. It reminded us of the Norfolk Broads but swampy !!! Stu is driving the boat slowly by the river's edge to see if we can find a croc laying in the sun. Were really excited, I'm like 'there's one', Stu then steering the boat over, me shouting 'keep 10 metres away, that's what the manual says' and then we find its a log !! I really need to go to 'spec savers' because I did that a few times, it's really hard because they blend in with the surroundings. 2 hours we were out there and we saw 'didderely squat'. So back to the marina we went, disappointed, but still, a good little bimble down Croc land !! but minus the Croc's !! Decided we would go to this bar at the water front, called 'On the Inlet', actually ended up going to a couple, but this one was particularly famous because 'George the Groper' came at 5.00 pm for a feed. This fish weighs 250 kgs and has been coming here for the past 20 years, so we were in luck. Whilst waiting, we were having a chat with the locals, a white bird arrived, he knows when feeding time is, looked like he knew the drill !! Then the barman came with the bucket of food and we all waited in anticipation for George !! We waited and waited and waited, getting a bit boring now !! NO sign of George, barman kept throwing the food in, NO sign of this George, the barman apologies and says he can't control nature !! Nature, we want George !! What is it with these Croc's, Whales (haven't forgotten about them) and now George the Groper. Well, guess that was the end of that, could have been a ploy to get us to buy drinks at the bar !! No need to go to those lengths !! Still, all good fun, so we decided to eat out tonight for a treat and had T bone steak during happy hour, very delicious. Love Port Douglas, there are little old buildings dating back to the 1800, we visited a little old church down at the Waterfront. You can tell it's the weekend, because the locals sit on the grass and have picnics big groups of them and it's much more quieter. They only have a population of 2,000 but can accommodate 5,000 visitors. It was a fishing village but now the main thing is tourism, trips out to the Reef and the Rainforest. Really laid back, friendly place, everyone happy to help.

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