Mimi & Jacques’ Bon Voyage 2

Port Douglas, Far Northern Queensland

It was a still but sticky morning looking out onto the Coral Sea. The rain gods stayed away long enough to stroll to the Sunday market here in Port Douglas.

As a bit of a fruit nerd I hoped there were tropical fruits to choose from. There were!

Similar to yesterday I was surrounded by local grown passion fruit, dragon fruit and finger limes to name a few less common fruit. I asked the vendor for a taste of another- the custard apple.

He sampled it to make sure it was ripe and I got a taste too. The artichoke looking fruit was sweet and had a soft flesh with big seeds in the inside. I found my breakfast for tomorrow!

Or maybe you’re more into rambutans? They taste similar to a lychee even though they look so different. Sweet without being too overpowering.

Throughout our visit to Australia I’ve been struck by how little noticed or mentioned the Aborigines are, especially as compared to the Māori in New Zealand. They’re not invisible, but not an integral part of society like the Māori.

I did meet an Aboriginal artist named Kel who specialized in painting carved wood. I was especially taken by his artwork on his boomerangs and music sticks. He explained you could throw the boomerangs or use them as art. On the boomerangs, if you buy them, there are no returns 😂.

He used a variety of 16 different kinds of wood for his craft. We are in the rainforest, after all, so there’s plenty to choose from.

All this market shopping can make you tighten up. A massage might just do the trick to relieve that tension.

Or pick your coconut for a nice refreshing drink made right on the spot.

After carving out the coconut into shavings the guy plops a banana in the middle with some syrup for a sweet tropical delight. He clearly has done this a thousand times!

After grabbing a quick bite at the market I headed back to keep an eye on our patient. Turns out Mimi got food poisoning last night. We think it was a funky Caesar salad since that was her dinner. She laid low the whole day and as it turned out so did almost everyone else as the tropical rains came midday and never stopped.

The streets were deserted. A good day to catch up on laundry as we prepare for the next adventure starting tomorrow.

We’ll be taking the fifth different airline on this trip- Skytrans, a small airline based in Cairns that does short hops in this part of Australia. We’ve done Delta, Virgin Australia, Qantas, Jetstar and now Skytrans.

If you’ve never heard of Skytrans, it’s no wonder. Neither had I. It’s a small operation based of Cairns. They serve metropolises like Kowanyama, Pormpuraaw, Aurukun, Bomaga and of course Prosperine, where we will fly into. Places I know everyone is familiar with! 🤣

Hey, it beats driving eight hours, especially with someone recovering from food poisoning.

After an overnight in a place called Airlie Beach, we sail for three days, We’ll be aboard Whitsunday Blue, a catamaran with a total of 8 guests. We’ve done these kind of sails before with friends and family, but never with total strangers. Here’s hoping we meet fun new friends who don’t snore, lol. We have a private king size bed and room with en-suite as we have also done.

Two concerns: we were notified the AC is broken and we’ll have fans for the three days. And the weather is looking pretty wet. Our aim was to enjoy the beauty of this place and to explore the Great Barrier Reef from a different spot further south. Wish us luck!

Why the Whitsundays? It’s known for its crystal blue waters and some of the prettiest beaches in the world. It’s a stunningly beautiful region home to a group of 74 idyllic islands. We’ll pray to the weather gods 🙏.

In leaving Port Arthur I’m disappointed we didn’t get to explore Four Mile Beach. Our hotel is right on it. The rains won this battle, but until now we’ve been darn lucky for two and a half months in Oceania. We’ll report back from a new location tomorrow. Until then G’day, mates! 🇳🇿.