Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia
After our two and half hour flight due north from Sydney to Cairns, and waiting for the last bag off the conveyor, we rode the winding seaside road to Port Douglas, a small resort town. The Pacific Ocean here is a light green, with the white caps due to a stiff breeze making it appear more menacing than enticing. The road is cut into the side of hills rising hundreds of feet covered with tropical forests. This is considered one of the prettiest drives in Australia. It is the jumping off point for both Great Barrier Reef cruises and tours of the nearby tropical rainforest, two of our planned activities.
Since arriving, we have explored the town, taken a long walk on a 4-mile beach, and played by the pool. We are staying in a beautiful 3-bedroom apartment/hotel. The pool is mostly covered by a canvas sunshade, making it comfortable even mid-day when the temperature is well over 80. The beach, although not very wide at high tide, is bordered by mangrove, so you don’t see any of the houses or hotels as you walk. As it is low season, (since this is a winter and vacation time resort area), no crowds on the beach or in the restaurants. Unfortunately, given how warm the water is, you can only swim in a small netted area, due to dangerous blue bottle jellyfish, whose stingers are not only very painful but are associated with death. Even in that area, there are no guarantees.
About three blocks away, next to the community center in the town park, dozens of motor homes house the cast and crew of the movie “Fools Gold�, starring well known American stars (although I had never heard of them). They are filming around town, but we haven’t figured out when and where yet. Rebecca is hoping to meet a star. I chatted with a guy from Nova Scotia who said that he was in charge of making sure the actors come out of the water alive (but that he is a star to his family).
Went to a Japanese restaurant nearby last evening. Learned that there is a cuisine called Australian Japanese, which includes deep fried crocodile and sashimi kangaroo, the latter which I tried. A rich, meaty taste and very tender.
Finished the book on the history of Australia. Twentieth century history less interesting as Australia became connected to the rest of the world and began following the foreign policies and culture of the U.S. Interesting current statistics counter my pre-existing presumption that Australia was a relatively egalitarian society: both health care and education are very much two-tier systems. About 40% of people have private insurance and have easy access to good hospital and specialty care, while the rest depend upon a public hospital system and long waits for elective procedures. About 30% of kids attend private schools, mostly religious based and substantially subsidized by the government.
After two weeks on the road, after 4 plane trips and 5 different overnight accommodations, everyone is feeling well and enjoying the fine weather. Much more excitement to come, as we look forward to the escorted tour portion of our stay in Australia.