Part 5 – Townsville – Port Douglas – Cairns – The Grand Finale
Leaving Townsville, we had another three hour drive to Mission Beach, had a quick stop off at Cardwell for a leg stretch, coffee and a bit of lunch. Over the moon to see warning signs and floor stencils, about crocodiles in the area! Arrived in Mission Beach just as it belted it down with rain. We checked in and waited for the rain to pass. It was gone as quick as it arrived. Took a walk along the beach and watched people that had paid to jump out of a plane, landing on the beach. Skydiving was the one activity that has never appealed to either of us.
We eventually turned off the A1 and we then joined the Captain Cook highway that would take us up to Port Douglas. As we hadn’t booked our last two nights accommodation, we stopped off in Palm Cove, it had been recommended to us for a couple of nights. We liked the place and thought it would be a good choice to spend G’s birthday there. Found a decent place to stay and booked it. That was all our accommodation sorted. Had a bit of lunch there and then back in the car for the final push to Port Douglas. We had booked four nights here as we wanted to do various things, GBR snorkelling trip, Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation and the Daintree Rainforest. We hadn’t booked the snorkel trip in advance as there were so many, different locations, reefs and islands. The reception desk were very helpful and gave us three decent options based on what we wanted, we took a look and went with a catamaran trip to the outer GBR. The tropical rainfall is at it’s highest in February, so we booked with a couple of days spare, just in case our chosen date was cancelled.
Day 1 – we stayed local and explored Port Douglas, the rain was on and off, off and on throughout the day and the humidity was hovering around 90%. We walked a little of the coast path then found a cafe for a bite to eat and smoothie. Browsed in the local shops and bought a few little presents for the folks at home. Went to the pool but rain stopped play, by the afternoon it had blown over and we walked the coast path from the other side and stopped off at the tiny little church by the sea. An early night as we were being picked up the next morning at 7.30am.
Day 2 – a long sail ahead on the catamaran to reach the first snorkel site on the Great Barrier Reef. It was choppier than we imagined, so we sat outside at the back to minimise the chance of motion discomfort. We were given stinger suits, however these differed from the previous trip as they had a hood and mittens, we were covered from head to toe. Lovely snorkel site with lots of beautiful coral gardens, clam shells and M even saw a black tipped reef shark. Whilst waiting to get in the sea, a turtle popped up right by the boat, put on a small display before diving back down. Once back on the boat, we had the option of taking the tender over to the Mackay Cay for a visit. As we were approaching the cay, we saw hundreds of birds just resting there and when they spotted us on our way, they quickly took flight but didn’t go quietly. The cay is small coral sand island on the northern GBR. Transferred back to the catamaran and delicious buffet lunch was served. The crew then moved the catamaran to the second snorkel location. We were both surprised how choppy the water was and used pool noodles for a bit of buoyancy. This time we saw even more fish, we both saw a turtle and M saw and has video proof of a stingray. A beautiful snorkel location. After forty minutes, that was it we were satisfied. M was feeling a little queasy from the choppy sea and a couple of mouthfuls of sea water didn’t help. Once back on board the bar was open, we had a beer whilst waiting for the others to finish up. The wind speed had increased and the sail home was slightly more bouncy. We stayed at the back again for a little bit less bounce. We eventually arrived back in Port Douglas, hot, tired and satisfied.
Day 3 – woke up to a thunderstorm and rain, however it was soon passed by. Walked down to the local market and had a browse at the local crafts/goods. Such a shame we couldn’t buy much, due to luggage space and weight! Going backwards and forwards if we should drive up to Cape Tribulation/Daintree Rain Forest, which was going to take us around an hour and fifty minutes each way. Implemented our checklist – “would we kick ourselves when home if we hadn’t gone?” The answer was YES, so we jumped in the car and set off. To get there we had to cross the croc infested Daintree River by chain ferry. Similar to the Torpoint Ferry, but a much smaller crossing and ferry. Oh and a lot dearer – around £26. Cape Tribulation is one of the only places on earth where two UNESCO world heritage sites meet. Daintree the worlds oldest tropical rainforest – estimated around 180 million years old and the Great Barrier Reef.
Day 4 – we left Port Douglas for our last two nights in Palm Cove, not far from Cairns and the airport. However on the way we went via the Mossman Gorge. Decided to do a private indigenous tour of the Kuku Yalanji land. Hearing stories of their culture and traditions. The lady that was our tour guide told us her great great grandfather was from Cornwall and settled in Cook Town before meeting and marrying her indigenous great great grandmother. One day she hopes to visit Cornwall with her three children. Before leaving Mossman we visited the national park to see the river and gorge. Next up Palm Cove.
Day 5 – the last full day in Australia coincided with G’s birthday. G had chosen to go to a local Koala Gardens for his birthday treat. On the way we stopped in the village, G got his haircut and M was browsing in a shop window. We’d seen some ceramic fish in tins, handmade in Palm Cove. As M was looking the man invited her in to the studio and offered her a coffee. M chatted for around 20 minutes before G arrived. M bought one of the fish as a souvenir and a perfect sized memento of a fabulous Australian Trip. Drove up to Kuranda, a small mountain village above Cairns. The koala gardens were pretty small but G got his koala fix, as per usual they spent most of their time napping, occasionally opening their eyes to see what was going on. We hand fed some of the resident wallabies, saw the freshwater crocs lazing around in the sun and delighted to see more Quokka’s. A pair lying together in one of the koala yards, then another single one in the next koala yard. BUT then we spotted it! In her pouch she had a joey! Just hanging around being extremely cute. Absolutely made our day, although we didn’t see any of the quokkas smiling! Back to The Ranch, we spent the afternoon by the pool, supping wine. In the evening we went out for a delicious steak, bottle of wine and rounded it off with an ice cream on the walk home. Only downside to the day, our washing got stuck in the machine in our apartment. In the middle of the night M managed to liberate it, the next morning our first stop was a launderette to dry it.
Day 6 – with heavy hearts we left Cairns on an evening flight bound for Bangkok via Singapore. What an incredible journey and Australia gave us some much more that we anticipated or hoped for!