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Published: September 10th 2011
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A huge cruise ship anchored off shore
no wonder it was so busy in the town! Wednesday 31st – today we were moving on but only the short distance of about 53 kms to Port Douglas (in fact it is the second shortest journey we have done towing the caravan). We were ready to leave by 8.30 so we had a last walk along the riverbank – it was serenely beautiful and very quiet.
We set off at about 9.15 and almost immediately hit busy traffic - a combination of a nearby school and the large ‘Smithfield’ shopping centre. The caravan park we had just left is on the north side of Cairns so once through that section we were soon out on to the coast road. Although a bit quieter there were lots of sharp bends and of course the usual roadworks so Graham couldn’t relax too much. Some of the views out to sea were spectacular so we stopped at the first suitable parking spot – a large, “un-official” lay-by near Wangetti. Out came the chairs and we enjoyed a tea-break in a most wonderful location. At this point there wasn’t much of a beach as it was mainly rocks and boulders but it was lovely. I thought I spotted a turtle in the
sea but as I didn’t get a photo we’ll never know! We dallied there for half an hour or more before continuing our journey but we stopped again at the Rex Lookout – an official lay-by - for more glorious views. We had already decided to stay at the Big 4 Caravan Park which is about 7 kms south of Port Douglas. Eight years ago, with the campervan, we stayed in the town by the beach but we had been warned that, these days, the town CPs are full of young backpackers and units are squeezed in like sardines so they are best avoided by old fogeys like us. The Glengarry CP was in a lovely rural setting and we were given, what was for us, a huge corner site (lately we seem to have been placed on some tiny sites so this was a pleasant change). We had a few doubts when we saw all of the small bicycles lying around the neighbouring vans. Small bikes usually mean lots of young kids and they can be noisy but we needn’t have worried. Yes, there were lots of kids around but they were all pretty well behaved. The ones immediately
next door have been on the park for a long time and actually attend the local primary school.
After a quick lunch we drove the short distance into Port Douglas, one of our favourite stops last time. It is a very “touristy” place but it is easy to see why - it’s a pleasant, modern, nice sized town with plenty of “holiday” facilities. The shops are varied and plentiful with many restaurants, cafés and pubs catering for all types of clientele. There’s a lovely beach, a great lookout, an area of parkland adjacent to the sea and a very busy marina from where trips leave for The Great Barrier Reef. There are also ample, free parking facilities. Despite its obvious popularity, mainly for youngsters, the place seemed exceptionally busy and then we spotted a huge cruise liner moored just off-shore. No doubt many of the 2000 or so cruisers were in town for the day. Despite that, it was easy for us to visit the places we wanted to see to get a feel for the town again and soon we were back at the caravan planning how we would be spending the next few days. The pool at
the caravan park looked very inviting but appeared a bit busy so we just relaxed the rest of the day away. Shower and toilets facilities were close by and involved walking through the camp kitchen to get to them. It got dark quite early and we often wonder what wildlife we might encounter on our late night walks to and from the facilities. My concerns weren’t helped by Graham reporting that he had just seen a tarantula – a bird eating spider – meandering through the camp kitchen. He said it was at least twice the size of the largest spider we had seen up to this point – a harmless Huntsman can be about 4 inches from tip to tip – and that it was hairy and fat!! The following morning, Clint, our neighbour, confirmed that he often sees tarantulas but although you wouldn’t want to argue with one, their bite is seldom fatal. Thanks Clint!!!
On the 1st September, Thursday, after a very leisurely start, we decided to have a meandering drive north just to see what we could see and how far we could get. Mossman is a town less than 20 kilometers away and we
were soon exploring the main street. The weather wasn’t brilliant so we decided it would be a bit risky visiting Daintree and Cape Tribulation today – they would be better left for another day when we hoped the weather would improve. So today we made our way to Mossman Gorge where last time Graham had swum in a fairly chilly water-hole. This time, bearing in mind it was reasonably early, we were amazed to find so many vehicles parked up there and so many people doing the advertised walks. Since our last visit, a splendid new boardwalk has been constructed giving access to a brilliant rain-forest walk as well as numerous water-holes. There were also plenty of new signs giving details of all the plants and wildlife that might be found in the area. The Gorge is clearly now a major tourist attraction and a large number of people were using the water-holes. Last time I was reluctant to swim as, just a couple of weeks before we were there, a young girl had become trapped beneath a boulder by the force of the water and had drowned. There were warning signs there about the dangers and the water seemed
very forceful today but people frolicked in the pools seemingly oblivious of any dangers. It did look inviting but we weren’t prepared to risk it so we gave it a miss. We enjoyed the walk and the scenery immensely. Having decided not to go too far afield, we drifted back into Port Douglas and drove up to the lookout which overlooks the main beach. It looked fantastic and plenty of people were in the sea so we ventured down and found a suitable parking space and meandered along the beach to a spot where life-guards were present. Graham sat on the beach and read his book but it was too tempting for me so in I went for a swim. It was quite windy and the waves were strong and very regular so swimming wasn’t easy. It was more a matter of jumping the breakers and trying to stay on my feet but it was very enjoyable.
Back at the caravan park, Graham was not to go without a swim as he went into the very inviting pool which was empty apart from a couple of sun-bathers using the pool-side loungers. Overall it had been a good day although
we are hoping for some slightly better weather for tomorrow when we plan to go to Daintree for a river cruise and on up to Cape Tribulation for a walk on the beach.
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