We said farewell to Sydney this morning. Sad to see it go, but so excited for our next adventure in Port Douglas! Before we left for the airport we grabbed a quick sausage roll (a pastry filled with yummy sausage) and a juice. Our flight was a little late (we flew into Cairns), but we leisurely made our way to the car rental place upon arrival and started the journey to Port Douglas. The car ride was touch and go because in Australia, they drive on the left hand side of the road with right side drive…a little tough for an America to get used to very quickly. Here are some shots from the drive:
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| Captain Cook Highway on the road to Port Douglas |
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| Sugar cane fields |
We stopped for lunch mid-way in a little town called Palm Bay. According to our guide book, it's a little well-to-do beach side town with calm water. That proved to be true, however, we didn't see ANYONE in the water, or on any beach we saw. The reason? 1) Jelly fish (called "stingers" here, and 2) salt water crocs (called "salties" here). Both are extremely dangerous and it seems everyone takes the precaution seriously. Here's a photo of the bay:
Unfortunately, the weather is dark and stormy here, but we're hoping it's a late afternoon weather thing and that the mornings (when we're scheduled to be snorkeling), we'll be ok.
Once we finally arrived in Port Douglas, we checked into our hotel - The Pink Flamingo. Our rooms are so cool, with a little patio courtyard area, a large patio with an outdoor shower and bath, plus a big kitchen and bedroom.
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| Outdoor shower and tub |
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| Bedroom |
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| Outdoor Patio |
The grounds of the hotel are super cool, too, with tons of flowers and trees:
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| Liliypads |
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| Pathway to our room |
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| Cool fruit-type thing |
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| Furry plant... |
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| Hibiscus |
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| Pink flamingos in our garden..get it?? |
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| Tile floor near the entrance to the hotel |
One special thing we read about in Port Douglas is a 550 pound grouper (spelled "groper" here) called George. He shows up to a little restaurant called Inlet By The Sea each night around 5 p.m. to be fed. We walked into the restaurant just as they were lowering some fish into the water for him, but there was a large crowd and the water was murky so we only got to see George's top fin and side. After that one appearance, he didn't come back :(. To make up for the disappointment, we ordered drinks! And buckets of shrimp!
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| Water swirl from George |
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| Bucket o' shrimp |
We have to get up super early for our snorkeling trip tomorrow. We're so excited to hit the reef, but cross your fingers the weather clears for us!
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