We set the alarm for 6:30am this morning and it was not well received by this chick. I was tired. I didn't get to bed till about 11:30pm the night before and it was not enough sleep. We packed up and walked to a nearby restaurant for breakfast. It was complimentary with our hotel stay which was good. It was a buffet and they had everything...including WiFi! We stayed for about 45 min and then headed back to the hotel.
We met the tour group at 8am in the lobby and borded a bus to Coowa beach...just outside of Port Douglas. The morning itinerary was an "aboriginal experience". Our driver Scotty was a local travel guide and he told us all about the area during the one hour drive. We got to see small mountains to the west and the icean to the East along the way. At one point, we saw several wallabees resting under the trees. I got really sleepy on the bus so I admit I missed most of the talk.
We arrived at the home of Brandon, our aboriginal guide at around 9am. There we got off the bus, lathered up with sunscreen and walked to the shore. We removed our shoes and left then on the beach and then we walked a short way into the Mangroves...this was basically a green marshy area where the water from the ocean came up under the trees. We were given hand-made spears and we trudged thru knee-high water looking for crabs and other small water creatures like snails/barnacles. The whole experience was, well...gross. The water was murky so you couldn't really see where you were walking and the bottom felt like poo. There were lots of leaves and small plants growing on the bottom too, which kind of freaked me out cause you couldnt see them, but you could feel them. Some were sharp and some were just tickly. To top it all off, the mosquitos (or mossies as they say) were horrible. The "hunt" lasted about 20 min and no one even saw anything except for one crab which Hillary found, and she got the guide to spear it. I was glad to get out of there. Mangroves "all done"!
We returned to beach to pick up our shoes (there were crocodiles in the water btw, which is why we had to stay in the bushes for our hunt). We then walked to Brandon's house. On the way some of the guys tried to knock mangos out of the trees with overripe ones that had already fallen. We got a few and they were delicious.
Back at Brandon's house we sat on his deck and he served us water and muffins and a local bread (soda bread) and golden syrup, the local equivalent to maple syrup although its not maple at all. He also cooked up a bit of seafood (including our one crab and some snail-like things) in some chilli and butter. I didn't even try the seafood because I was too grossed out by the whole fishing experience.
After our snack, Brandon talked to us about some of the sea creatures he had hunted. He showed us two huge turtle shells, the blades of sword fish and saw fish, spider shells and some weapons he had made out of wood (boomerangs, knife). I learned that boomerangs are actually hunting tools, not just toys!
We left the house at about 12:45pm and got back on the bus. Scotty drove us into to Port Douglas, which was about a 20 min ride. We arrived at our accomodation, Mantra Portsea. This was a beautiful resort-like facility. It had several outdoor pools interwoven between the wings of rooms. The rooms were self-contained apartments with a full, small kitchen, a living area with a love seat and chair, and a small dining table. It was reeeeally nice. It was nice to stay for two nights too cause we didnt have to unpack for one whole day.
We checked into our rooms and I decided to take a walk into town. It was about a 10 min walk to the main street and it was hot and muggy. I was pretty soaked when I got there. I headed down to the end of the street to see the outdoor markets but it was almost 2pm and most people were packing up. I did go into one booth where a man was selling local stones. I bought a zebra stone pendant. Its basically a stone found in western Australia that lookes like it has zebra stripes when polished.
I checked out the waterfront briefly (which was beside the market) and then I gradually made my way back along the main street, stopping in shops that looked interesting. I didn't find a lot...well i found some, but it was really expensive. I bought a ring but no clothes. I was looking for a cool dress because it is so hot here thay I have regretted not having more skirts/dresses.
I got back to the accomodation about 5:30pm. I dropped my things and then went straight to the pool. I went to the largest pool in the centre of the resort. The water was like bath water but it was still nice. I met some fellow travelers and stayed about 30 min before heading back to my room.
I took a shower and chilled until almost 7pm. I then met our guide and some of the group jn the lobby and we walked back to the main st. for supper. We went to a pub called the Ironbar where they were having a special event: cane toad racing. This guy basically came equipped with 6 Australian cane toads and he had members of the crowd act as jockeys for each toad. The first toad to jump off the table and then be scopped up into a bucket by his jockey was the winner. It was a slimy, stinky event, but entertainkng nonetheless. I ordered pub food tonight for the first time in a while. I got a chicken burger and it was good. They put pineapple on it which sounds weird but it actually tasted really good.
We returned to the hotel around 9:30pm. We stopped along the way at a convenience store for an ice cream since none of the gelato shops were open (pretty much everything was closed and the street was empty).
Back at the hotel, I finished my daily blog and got ready for bed. I was in need of decent night's sleep. Reef day tomorrow!
T
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