Port Douglas, Australia - A winter escape

We seem to have had a particularly rainy winter this year and after a while that gets depressing.  So it was with a spring in my step and a smile on my face that I boarded the plane for Port Douglas in tropical North Queensland, Australia, in search of some warmth and sunshine. I was traveling solo for a week of relaxation and adventure with a plan to alternate my days doing adventurous things on some and blobbing out by the pool with a good book on others.  I have to say that my arrival at Cairns airport was the best and smoothest arrival I have ever had anywhere.  I was through customs and immigration and had my suitcase in hand in 5 minutes flat.  What a joy!  And a timely reminder of the misery of the two and a half hours it took to negotiate Houston airport earlier this year. What a contrast and such a great, stress free start to my holiday.

The drive from Cairns to Port Douglas (population around 3200) takes about an hour and follows a spectacular coastal road with waves crashing on golden beaches on one side and a mountain range cloaked in dense rain forest on the other. It is a stunning landscape.

Four Mile Beach Port Douglas - photo by Malcolmj

The road entering Port Douglas is lined with huge African oil palms, grown at his own nursery by the late Christopher Skase, the notorious Australian billionaire and fraudster who developed the Sheraton Mirage Resort in 1988.  Tourism to the Great Barrier Reef had started to turn the once sleepy fishing village, with a population of just 100 in 1960, into a holiday spot in the 1970s but it was really Skase who set Port Douglas on the map as a holiday resort and his avenue of palms was one way of ensuring an impressive welcome.  Nowadays the town's population doubles during winter when the temperature is generally around 28-29 degrees and the days are fine and sunny. Summer is the rainy season and can be way too hot with temperatures in the 40s.

 Four Mile Beach

The old sugar cane wharf on the Estuary, Port Douglas

One of the things I love doing most on holiday is walking so as soon as I had settled into my accommodation I was off. Port Douglas has one long main street which runs from one side of a small headland to the other, the glorious Four Mile Beach, on one side, and the estuary and marina on the other. This is Australia and crocodiles abound.  It is safe to swim in the life guard controlled part of Four Mile Beach but not in the estuary or Marina area, that is if you don't want to be crocodile dinner! Fortunately this is not stinger season.  Stingers are the lethal box jelly fish which fill the sea off Four Mile Beach in summer and make  swimming there a deadly exercise.

Right: Stinger warnings on Four Mile Beach with handy bottles of vinegar in case of stings, but, beware, a Stinger can kill you.

Don't be fooled, the popular out back themed Iron Bar is new

The main street, Macrossan Street, is lined with shops and restaurants and has a laid back, resorty vibe to it.  I had heard there was a market on Sundays so made my way to Anzac Park on the estuary side of town.  It was a typical market with stalls selling jewelry, souvenirs, hand crafts, fruit and vegetables, a pleasant place to browse. I couldn't go past the plump, golden, Queensland pineapples.

Next I was tempted by a sign to a lighthouse and took the short track up the hill, past the Courthouse Museum, (which unfortunately was never open during my stay) to have a look.  I am a bit of a sucker for light houses.  I find the idea of a light glowing a warning across the sea very romantic. I was expecting a tall slender,  white column but instead  found something very utilitarian. I was disappointed but nevertheless, if it is effective as a warning it doesn't matter what it looks like.

The Court House Museum

The Port Douglas light house

Needing a rest I stopped for a while at the picturesque and lovely little church of St Mary's by the Sea right at the water's edge in Anzac park.  Small, romantic, historic and beautifully restored, it is easy to see why it is so popular for weddings.

St Mary's by the Sea

Tired out from my 3am start I headed back to my hotel.  Night falls fast in the tropics so it was dark by 6.30pm and  I had about a 600 metre walk from the main street home, nevertheless I felt very safe.  There were plenty of people out strolling and my route was lined with resorts and hotels.

I fell into bed for a deep sleep pleased at my choice of Port Douglas and looking forward to some fun adventures ahead.

#portdouglas