Port Douglas and beyond

After a great flight to Cairns the “wheels fell off”….”I am sorry Mr. Nowlan but we don’t have the 8-seater available for you that you confirmed and there is nothing I can do about it….” Oh really…luckily, my friend Dean was beside me with an attempt to settle me down. After just having dealt with a few days of a stressful move with a few problems and having to say goodbye day after day, we were really looking forward to a few stress-free days hanging out in Northern Queensland…but no.

After a few phone calls and heated discussions with a travel agent, Hertz (the good guys), a travel wholesaler and RedSpot Car (never rent from these guys), we had our People Mover and we were off to Port Douglas. An hour later, we arrived at the most fantastic house nestled in the hills surrounding Port Douglas called Mt. Panorama (www.beachvillas.com.au/mtpanorama). These pictures capture the feel of the place – comfortable, relaxing – the kids have been living in the pool and the pool table on the veranda has had a good work out. Our family tradition of “cocktail hour” while on vacation served as a means to allow Kristen and I to drink while treating the kids to pre-dinner snacks. This has been enjoyed on the veranda and down on the pool deck.



On Sunday we went into Port Douglas to the Sunday Market on the shores of the Coral Sea and bought fresh prawns, coconut, papaya and other local produce. We have taken advantage of this great kitchen here. After the markets we headed north and stopped into Mossman Gorge and then into the beaches of Cape Tribulation. The main walking circuit at Mossman Gorge was closed so we just had a short walk to the river which was nice. Back onto the Captain Cook Highway and across the Daintree River via the cable ferry. While it was a warm day, we did encounter rain on and off today through “the world’s most diverse rainforest (and a UNESCO World Heritage Area) but when we arrived at Cape Tribulation the clouds broke and we had nice sunny weather for our beach picnic and run along the beach. Despite the signs which told us that there were crocs in the area, the kids felt the need to play at the water’s edge. There were other kids there as well so statistics tell you that someone else’s kid will go first….croc humour.



Back to Port Douglas with a stop along the road to the Daintree Coffee Company for some local coffee beans that the coffee drinkers declared great, we were back at Mt. Panorama for some fresh pasta and giant tiger prawns and good Aussie plonk. It’s enough to make you forget about the bad customer service that greeted us a few days ago.