Blogs from Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia, Oceania - page 14

Do you remember Christopher Skase... well... when he arrived in this little sleepy seaside village in the 80's to build his Sheraton Mirage... Port Douglas suddenly found itself in the spotlight... a star was born... literally... overnight... People came from far and wide... celebrities, hollywood starlets... why even an ex president or two... In fact... a certain Bill and Hillary were having a quiet and private holiday right here when they received that fateful call on 09/11... Of course Mr Skase has long left our shores... 1st becoming a fugitive and running off to Majorca in Spain, and then leaving this planet permanently... Port Douglas however lives on... its very much still a fabulous little exclusive spot to come for a few days... Not a great deal happening here, but when you need time out from ... read more

Well we finally slowed down enough, and got to the famous Four Mile Beach here in Port Douglas. The weather was overcast in the morning, but by noon had cleared, so we slathered on the SPF 1400+ and risked going out for an hour. The sun was great, the water here is incredibly warm, good surf - everything you could want for a beach day. Oh, and ice cream cones afterwards! No stingers, crocs, mozzies, spiders, snakes or other "annoyances" in attendance. Tonight we had to clear out three days worth of beer and wine allotment which hadn't been consumed yet. Somehow the potato chips and chocolate cookies have run out, but there is excess yoghurt and fruit left in the fridge. Tomorrow we leave for Alice Springs, and the tour of Uluru (the real name ... read more

Hi all, Left Cairns yesterday and drove up to Port Douglas for 4 days of R and R before heading off to Alice Springs in the Outback. This time the Best Western pulled through and we have a nice kitchenette off the beaten path. Port Douglas is a lovely area, quite similar to Wailea in Hawaii. Today is a organizing day... laundry... groceries and such. The dive trip was fabulous. In the next blog entry I promise we will have some pictures... including some of Steve and I underwater with our gear. We saw some amazing marine life, including sharks. The sharks that hang out that part of the barrier reef are not killer sharks, but to see one is pretty amazing. During our night dive we were doing a safety stop about 5 metres below ... read more

Tuesday 5th October - Saturday 9th The last time we left you we were just killing time before heading off on the next leg of our journey, over to the Queensland coast. We spent the day pretty much doing the internet, laundry, coffee thing whilst soaking up some sun on the Darwin waterfront....it's a tough life. On our last evening in Darwin we met up with our friend Tina again and organised some Thai take out so we could chill out at her place. No air con so not very chillin.....still 35 degrees and 90% humidity! Managed to organise a blind date for Tina whilst collecting the meal....what a friendly place. Mixed feelings about leaving Darwin. Love the laid back vibe but not sure if we can handle the heat and humidity anymore. Hope to come ... read more

24/09/10 - Sydney 7am Jelly Bean breakfast. Caught the ferry to Sydney and met Nicloe outside the Opera house (a friendly Tasmanian girl) who took our picture and proceeded to give us a personal travel itineray for the next 2 months. Walked to Darling Harbour with my dysfunctional navigator, who after taking us to a dead end announced that he had taken the same wrong turning the last two times he was here. By the time we found our way to the harbour we were ravenous so it seemed the perfect time to try something new. We had kangaroo! Yep that's right, no more Skippy. It was a large steak with sweet potato mash and was lovely. Kangaroo is similar to beef but richer and mmmm mmmm good. Had a walk around the Harbour and went ... read more