It’s funny this trip is called Port Douglas because we didn’t spend too much time actually IN Port Douglas. We had zero plans when we arrived here on Wednesday, June 14th. Good thing. It turned out we needed a rest and this ended up being the perfect spot for some much needed r&r. Our half way point. 

 WEDNESDAY We arrived and settled in. The house is so beautiful…the verandah and pool and gardens are nice. We could pick fruit from the trees. It is a very comfortable house which we needed since 3 of us were sick. The kids enjoyed the pool. We got some groceries and relaxed. 
THURSDAY Total chill day. Luke got sick. I was already down for the count. We didn’t do anything. Kids swam. Wes got some work done. I napped. Easy day. We needed it. 

FRIDAY It appeared we needed another day of rest. We did go get more groceries in Port Douglas, so we walked around the main street a little. Great town. Unfortunately, Elle started to get sick too, so we didn’t stay out too long. More rest. Pool. Movies. BBQ. Easy.  

House pics! All outside photos because that’s where we spent all our time. The kids enjoyed the heck out of the pool…day and night. I had to holler at them Sunday night for splashing too loud while I tried to watch The Voice. 

This house has such a great set up. We were outside all of the time.  Eat, swim, TV…everything OUTSIDE. You even have to go outside to get to 2 of the bedrooms. Felt amazing. Temperature is very pleasant. Mid 70-80s. I decided to unpack every bag and start over. Try and lighten our load a little. The laundry here is also out on the verandah, so I am all caught up on that. Able to assess what we need for the remainder of our time in Australia. I still don’t drive here and our house is pretty remote. So we have truly hunkered down. Thank goodness the house has a tea kettle and Nespresso machine. 

SATURDAY 3/5 of us were still recovering, but it was time to get out. Mascara and Motrin and I was good to go. I planned a low key adventure day…nothing too strenuous. About 30 min north of us is a car ferry over a river that brings you to the Daintree Rainforest. So off we went. What a day! It was beautiful. The ferry was fun. First, we drove to national park where there were boardwalks through the rainforest. It was so quiet and peaceful and we all enjoyed being so close to the Rainforest. It’s massive. The light peeking in from the canopy was gorgeous. It was just the right length/time for a walk. Elle started to feel better in the fresh air. This Rainforest is home to the cassowary, but sadly we didn’t see one. It’s also home to crocodiles and , thankfully, we didn’t see any of those either. 

Next, we continued north. The roads were narrow, windy and surrounded by the rainforest. We stopped at Daintree Ice Cream Co. This was the most beautiful place I have ever eaten ice cream. It’s a fruit orchard and they make the ice cream with their own fruit. You don’t order a flavor. You just get a cup with 4 scoops. Whatever flavors they have. Our 4 flavors were: banana, passion fruit, sour sop and wattleseed. My favorite was wattleseed. We spent some time just walking around the property because it had pretty plants and trees. The kids took some photos. It started to get hot and sunny. I can’t believe this is winter. 

Our last stop, was up in Cape Tibulation. A beach! This gorgeous rainforest has beaches! It was beauty overload. Sydney is “where the city meets the sea.” This area  is referred to as “where the rainforest meets the reef.” Wow. All I can say is wow. The Great Barrier Reef was difficult to photograph, but the rainforest was very cooperative! 

SUNDAY Father’s Day! Father’s Day is actually celebrated in September here in Australia. We gave Wes his gifts before we left Coogee and today we tried to treat Wes to a nice day. As I mentioned, I haven’t driven yet. So I wasn’t able to do much preparation. We made cards and let him take it easy and watch golf. We went for a very nice lunch at the marina in Port Douglas and then went to the beach. Four Mile Beach is a beautiful beach. The water was so warm! Home in the afternoon for swimming and packing. 

Monday Travel day. Sad to say goodbye to our beautiful PD home. We will all miss it. It felt like a vacation in paradise. Even the drive to the airport was pretty.  Although we had some team members feeling sick during this leg of our journey…it was heaven. Time to head south (back to NSW) for Luke’s Birthday Week in Byron Bay! 

Mind on a permanent vacation
The ocean is my only medication
Wishing my condition ain’t ever gonna go away -ZBB


*DBM