Australia // Queensland – Port Douglas, Daintree Rainforest and Kuranda

Evening everyone! I’m currently wrapped up on the sofa keeping nice and toasty. The weather we’ve had has been awful here – absolutely freezing, intermittent snow and storms! Its actually been quite sunny today so thats a nice change! The tulips and daffodils have started popping up in our front garden which is lovely but seems so early this year – I guess we haven’t really had super cold weather yet so hoping they don’t get killed off before they flower…

We got back from Ireland very late Sunday night but it was all worth it for the fantastic time we had. We went to the most amazing wedding and had so much fun. It was at Rathsallagh House which was a gorgeous location. It was so nice to have time off work and chill. I mean I know we are only back from Australia 6 weeks but I definitely feel like a long weekend is just what the doctor ordered! This year we are making sure we get away a few times and spread it out throughout the year – and we neeeeeeed a holiday in the summer without a doubt. Last year it was so hard not going away at all in the summer – we were saving up all our holiday for Australia which was worth it but so hard! Soooo this year we are definitely going away for 10 days to the French Riviera during the summer – no question about it! Get me that summer sun!

I had been hoping to get all my Australia recaps done in Jan but I did get Sydney done… anyways so here I am recapping our 2nd part of the trip up to Queensland!

Fav bits:

• Daintree Rainforest – make sure to cross the river and go to the Discovery Centre and up the lookout tower for some amazing views.
• Mossman Gorge
• Port Douglas – you have to go to the famous 4 mile beach and also have a walk along the main high street
• Watch the sunset and eat a bucket of prawns at the Tin Shed
• The Gatz Balancing Rocks
• If you’re going to do Kuranda go up by train and pay the extra $20 for their gold package! You get drinks, snacks and also lots of room. Enjoy the rainforest views and spot the waterfalls
• Koala Gardens in Kuranda – you get to hold a koala and see all the wallabies ❤️

Sydney was absolutely amazing, we didn’t want to leave. But landing in Cairns and getting to Port Douglas was amazing. Port Douglas was like a little paradise. The apartment we stayed in was perfect and a little bit of luxury after our Sydney place (see here). I mean just look at it! We had a comfy king size bed, a massive shower, a balcony and nice seating area and the apartments had a shared pool and BBQ area. We made use of the pool a couple times and also had a BBQ. THE BEST! I mean you can see why we loved it…

Before going to Port Douglas we made a detour to Mossman Gorge. We parked up and jumped on the bus to Mossman Gorge. It was absolutely roasting but tbh its the rainforest so we couldn’t moan too much! We decided to do a walking trail which was fairly quiet so we could enjoy the scenery and just each other – I know very cheesy but true! Not going to lie I was a little worried about walking into a spider’s web or seeing a snake but I had no need to worry – we didn’t see any. It was a peaceful little place to walk around for a couple of hrs before we got very hungry and had to go and find some lunch back towards civilisation.

Daintree was on my list as soon as we decided we were going to go to the Great Barrier Reef. I’d watched David Attenborough talking about how amazing it was and it just looked out of this world. One thing I was worried about was crossing the salty croc infested river to properly get into Daintree. Anyone who knows me well knows I’m such a wuss and crocodiles are something that scare the s*** out of me! When you stop off at beaches on the edge of Daintree there are signs which say ‘Warning! Crocodiles inhabit this area’ – the beaches were just gorgeous but I was on guard non-stop as we got down to the beach and made sure we didn’t go too close to the water’s edge. I was a little more chilled at the beaches in Port Douglas where the signs only said ‘Crocodiles may inhabit this area’ 🙈
We made sure to go to the Discovery Centre in Daintree and got there for when it opened so we could wander around without many people there. The views were just insane especially at the top of the canopy tower. Its like no place I’ve ever been… a place where the rainforest meets the sea…

The sign that scared me!

The crocodile invested river!!!

These beaches were insane…

Just look at those views…

We preferred Port Douglas to Cairns. It was such a nice chilled little town. Our apartment was lovely and we spent a couple afternoons chilling by the pool which was well and truly needed! Our B&B hosts suggested the Tin Shed for dinner to watch the sun set and it was 100% worth the recommendation. Make sure to have a bucket of shrimp along with a cold glass of wine and watch that sunset! You won’t be disappointed.
The 4 mile beach is a must! It was stinger season while we were there so they had the jelly fish nets out – the hubby had a little dip in the designated area but I just chilled on the sand watching the world go by.
On our way back down to Cairns we passed by a stoney beach which I’d recommend pulling over at – its called the Gatz Balancing Rocks and is pretty cool. People had placed rocks on top of each other all along this section of the beach so we had to add to it too!

That sunset though…

Chilling on 4 mile beach…

The views on 4 mile beach

The Balancing Rocks ❤️

We woke up early and checked out of our place in Port Douglas and drove down to Cairns for the first train up to Kuranda. We upgraded to the gold package and for us it was worth it. You get a fruity drink on arrival while waiting for the train and then when you get on the train you get allocated seats. The seats are spread out and you get given drinks and snacky food during the 2 hrs up to Kuranda. The views were just amazing. It was quite novel to sit back and admire the views while sipping on sparkling wine! We saw a few waterfalls and also got to get off the train and admire the view.
We had a couple hours in Kuranda Village and ended up taking an early skysail back down to Cairns.
We had a slow walk around the village and ended up going to the Koala Gardens which was pretty cool. We saw so many koalas and actually got to hold one! There were also freshies, wallabies and a kangaroo.
When we were done we took a stroll down to the river and took a boat trip down Barron River. We hadn’t been planning on it but it ended up being a chilled 45 mins learning about the area and admiring the rainforest from another angle. We saw lots of fish and some little turtles too!
Its quite a pricey trip but we had a lovely chilled time so if you’ve got the time to go I’d say its worth it. Now I’ve done it I wouldn’t do it if we went again – its something that if you’ve done once you’ve done it.

Those koalas…

One of the best bits of the holiday!

I’ll save the Great Barrier Reef for another day – we took soooooo many pics I think it deserves its own post. Staying out on the Great Barrier Reef was definitely an experience and something I’ll never forget…

Until next time,
Cathers xx