Blogs from Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 33

Beautiful Port Douglas February to October 2006... read more

Fri 21. Queensland. Cloudy one day, rainy the next. Spruiked in Mossman to great effect. Returned to Port Douglas. Jim and Amy (older generation) on beach very supportive. Sat 22. Sitting dockside binoculared cat with small flag. David, Katherine, Bronte and Emily of Townsville and Cairns flying SC&B in the river! They dingyed ashore where I sat. Later spruiked viewpoint and walked where birds thrived. Bright red bib and rear the standout. At top photos taken and going out. Sun 23. Cavalcade on the lookout. People knew me from Perth. Stories, aussie perspectives, Kiwis want a new flag too. One got sticker for van around Australia. Fathers with babies, mothers with children. Life. Sea eagle passed by. Mon 24. Toward Cooktown over ranges with no rainfall. Savannah. Dry creekbeds. Termite mounds. Road just sealed, roadkill. Rockbound ... read more

Have spent the last 2 weeks at Dougie's Resort in Port Douglas. Getting trapped at Dougie's is a common problem as no-one who stays for longer than a few days seems to be able to get away from the place. So I have decided I have to make my break for freedom and will be heading on on Wednesday. Have had a fantastic couple of weeks and made some good friends so I will be sad to leave, but at the same time, the longer I spend here, the less time I will spend in the rest of Oz. Since my last entry I have got a job working as a kitchen hand in a place called Cactus Bar. So now I'm an expert dishwasher and I make a mean pizza! So have been dividing my ... read more

Sun. 9. Early shower and spruik. Bloke wanted flag so I delivered on way out of town. Road less travelled. Not by aussies but. Natonal Park, long lake, Lilly Pilly tree fruiting. Massive support for SC&B. Winding road to Port Douglass. Hang gliding at scenic lookout. I was mobbed for stickers. Many women and older men keen. Several waxed almost poetic, one rapturous. To engender such articulated emotion an amazing feeling to see. Major scene in Douglass. Good spruik sidewalk pub holiday mood. Beer and saw some AFL. Another bloke gave number to call, he wants a big flag. Mon. 10. What can I say stickers sprouting around the country. Many from Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Tassie, taking them home. Newspaper article Thursday!?--!-? Walked four Mile Beach. One guy to show sticker to Paul Keating. Serious ... read more

So, finally, after all the days of storms, the winds drop enough, and the sun comes out, and we make it to the Great Barrier Reef. After all the waiting, there's an awful feeling it must be an anticlimax, particularly when we arrive after a one and a quarter hour boat trip feeling somewhat seasick (good thing we didn't travel when the sea was supposed to be rough). Once in the water, there is no sense of anticlimax. The coral and the fish are fantastic - and yes, we did find Nemo! They are luminous in the sunlight, and more varieties than you can imagine. Even when you've been over the same spot for 2 hours, you are still seeing a new type of fish or coral every minute. The squid are scary though - they ... read more