PORT DOUGLAS, AUSTRALIA
After exploring the outback of Australia, our next stop quickly became my very favourite place in Australia. We spent 5 days in Port Douglas, it is one of the prettiest places I have ever been to. As well, it is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.
We had an apartment in a beautiful small boutique hotel by the name of Villa San Michele. I would return there in a minute. The style was Mediterranean with 2 small pools and was located right on the main street where all the shops and restaurants are located.
GREAT BARRIER REEF AUSTRALIA
Our most exciting experience while in Port Douglas, Australia was going out to the Great Barrier Reef and snorkeling. As a once in a lifetime experience and part of my bucket list vacation plan we were pumped! The ride to the Reef did take awhile but I don’t recall exactly how long. Nevertheless, the views were amazing so it really did not matter to us.
We made it to the reef and to our delight this place was amazing. It was a great setup that included several amenities. A large platform that had a buffet for lunch, restrooms and entrances to the different activities were available. Also, gear for snorkeling, and places to store your belongings while you were in the water.
We tried most of the activities. The underwater submarine, underwater walk, of course the snorkeling. The only one we did not try is the helicopter due to the fact that my husband has a fear of them.
One of the reasons I loved Port Douglas is that it was a small area that you could walk mostly on foot. There were shops, restaurants, a beach at one end and Marina on the other, we absolutely loved our stay!
While in Port Douglas, we took a tour on one of the days. We had such a fabulous day! Our tour guide was amazing. First I will show a photos of the beach we visited. Australia has so much beauty but you must also beware of the dangers associated with this beauty. Everything from poisonous snakes, spiders, crocodiles, even the plants hold danger.
Our next stop was a lovely rainforest walk. We also visited Mossman Gorge where we were given lots of information about some of the plant life and dangers of such. Afterward we enjoyed a lovely Aussie lunch and we were able to take a swim in the beautiful clear waters of the gorge.
We also visited the River at Daintree and took a boat ride hoping to see some crocodiles. Unfortunately we did not, the time of day was one that they generally stay in the mangroves but it was a very cool experience.
CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA
The last stop on our vacation to Australia was a stay in Cairns. This city is about an hour or so drive away from Port Douglas, Australia, and is bigger. To be honest if I had to choose I would have preferred to stay a couple more days in Port Douglas but that is because my style of vacation is more about quaint beach towns and not so much big cities.
While in Cairns, on our vacation to Australia, we took a tour that I highly recommend to anyone. It was the “Full Day Kuranda All Inclusive Tour”. The first stop was the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Park, where we had time to explore and were treated to demonstrations and a lovely lunch.
Next on the tour was the Skyrail Rainforest Cableway. And it was amazing! As we glided up over the rainforest the views just kept getting better the higher we got. As well, we had the opportunity to alight at 2 stations along the way so we could take a lovely walk through the rainforest.
When we got to the top we derailed and were free to visit Kuranda Village at our own pace; a very unique and quaint small village consisting of a few shops and restaurants on the main road, we definitely enjoyed the experience very much.
Our option when we had finished at the village was to take the Kuranda Scenic Rail for the ride down. We decided that would be another fun and unique experience as we completed our day of touring.
And that, my friends, was the conclusion of our vacation to Australia. Hence, back we flew back to New Zealand to connect to our long flight home to Canada. Until we meet again Australia, cheers and thank you for an amazing experience!
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