Port Douglas

Friday 22nd February
Since we had had little sleep, we thought that a day to relax and explore our surroundings was in order. Port Douglas is a wonderful tropical town just an hours drive north of Cairns.

Life in Port Douglas is a blend of sophistication and relaxed village life, and we felt as if we had relaxed into this tropical oasis. The beach was only a short walk from the hotel and that walk took us through natural  tropical gardens that opened out onto the beach.It was like a picture postcard.

 

 

And it wasn't long before we found somewhere to sit and watch the world go by while we recharged our batteries.

 

Needless to say, we didnt have a late night but I could hardly sleep for the anticipated excitement of the following day.

Saturday 23rd February
For as many years as I can remember, it has been my ambition to dive the Great Barrier Reef and today my dream came true; my only problem....I don't have enough superlatives to describe the day. Words like spectacular, awesome, incredible and unbelievable all spring to mind and if there was a word that could add them all together it still wouldn't do the day justice.

After being collected from the hotel and driven to the marina, we boarded the Quicksilver Wavepiercing Catamaran and set sail for the renowned Agincourt Reef at the very outer edge of the Great Barrier Reef. Here, special reefs known as ‘ribbons’ run parallel to the Continental Shelf. It is reported to be one of the very best locations to experience the full majesty and elemental force of this unique natural wonder.

Floating like an island in a Coral Sea, the spacious dual level platform was our destination. It was this platform that provided the facilities for reef viewing and my heart was set on diving.

 

After suiting up and going through the safety instruction for our introductory dive we were able to enter the water with our instructor. It was truly the most wonderful thing I have ever done.

 

The instructor took us along the coral reef and pointed out things of interest like Nimo (the Clown Fish) in its coral surround and we were even able to touch it.







After the dive we were able to go snorkeling and swimming with the fish. This too was amazing as the beautiful fish were so relaxed with our presence that they just swam amongst us as if we belonged to their world.

And there was more to do. There was a semi-submersible that took passengers along the reef so for those who didn't want to get wet, the views were unbelievable. It was in the semi-submersible that Ian saw turtle as well as reef sharks. I on the other hand went for a second dive ad saw the giant clam as well as the beautiful Lion Fish. My only regret is that we were not able to take a camera along so you will have to take my word for it.

All too soon the day ended and we were on our way back to Port Douglas. We had been so taken up with all the things to see that we were had not had the time to eat our lunch and it wasn't until we were on our way back that we thought about it. It seems that this is quite normal and all one has to do is ask the staff to put your lunch aside till you ask for it and this is exactly what we had done. On the return trip - that lasts for nearly an hour - we had a lovely lunch and ruminated on the day.

later in the evening we had a BBQ at one of the hotels facilities. We knew that we wouldn't want to go out again once we had returned so we had planned this and bought our supplies the day before.

While Ian prepared the kebabs, I relaxed in the pool - just in case I hadn't had enough water for one day.

Sunday 24th February

We started the day with a morning coffee overlooking the marina. We had been told that the local market was not to be missed but then neither was the morning iced coffee.

Just in case I complained again that my waist line was increasing, Ian took this picture to remind me of the decadence.

 

The rest of the day was spent in blistful relaxation as we wondered through the market then out along the lagoon road and back to the hotel for a swim before venturing out once again for .... you guessed it... a meal!!!