Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

PORT DOUGLAS, DAINTREE & THE CAPE TRIBULATION AREA 291
lifestyle in the Daintree. She imparts her traditional knowledge of the plants,
animals, Dreamtime myths, and Aboriginal history on a full-day tour departing
at 9:15am from your Port Douglas hotel. Passengers from Cairns transfer up on
the Quicksilver catamaran and return either by coach (northern beaches) or
catamaran (Cairns city). The trip costs A$120 (US$78) for adults and A$80
(US$52) for children ages 3 to 14 from Port Douglas, and A$10 (US$6.50)
extra from Cairns or the northern beaches. Charter and half-day tours are also
available.
OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
Some companies in Cairns that offer outdoor activities will provide inexpensive
or free pick-ups from Port Douglas hotels. See “White-Water Rafting & Other
Thrills” in the Cairns section above for details.
Every Sunday, a colorful handcrafts and fresh food market sets up on the
lawns under the mango trees beside Dickson Inlet at the end of Macrossan
Street. Stalls sell everything from fresh coconut milk to foot massages. It
runs from 7:30am to 1pm. While you’re here, take a peek, or attend a nondenominational
service, inside the pretty timber St. Mary’s by the Sea church.
The cheapest and best outdoor activity in Port Douglas, however, is to do
absolutely nothing but laze on spectacular Four Mile Beach . May through
September the water is stinger-free. October through April, swim in the stinger
safety net. Get High Parafly (& 07/4099 6366, or call the boat at 0407/996
366) offers parasailing, jet-skiing, tube rides, water-skiing, and other watersports
on the beach. Expect to pay between A$35 and A$70 (US$23–US$46) for each
activity. A boat runs every hour on the hour between 9am and 5pm from the
booking office at Berth C4 at Marina Mirage to the company’s beach location
at Four Mile Beach.
Visitor greens fees at the championship Sheraton Mirage golf course on Port
Douglas Road are A$145 (US$94) for 18 holes or A$85 (US$55) for 9 holes,
including a buggy. Club hire ranges from A$38 to A$60 (US$25–US$40).
Whacking a ball on the hotel’s aquatic driving range costs A$6.50 (US$4.20) for
a bucket of 25 balls, A$13 (US$8.45) for 50 balls, plus A$2.15 (US$1.40) for
club rental. Contact the Pro Shop (& 07/4099 5537). An 18-hole round on
the humbler but equally picturesque 72 par public course at the Mossman Golf
Club, Newell Beach Road, Mossman (& 07/ 4098 2089) is A$25 (US$16), or
A$15 (US$9.75) for nine holes.
Mowbray Valley Trail Rides (& 07/4099 3268), located 13km (8 miles)
inland from Port Douglas, offers 2-hour rides for A$66 (US$43) or half-day
rides through rainforest and sugar cane fields to Collards Falls, or to a swimming
hole in the Hidden Valley, for A$88 (US$57), including morning or afternoon
tea and lunch. It also runs full-day trips along the mountainous Bump Track,
followed by a dip in a rainforest pool and barbecue lunch at Mowbray Falls for
A$125 (US$81). Transfers from your Port Douglas accommodations are
included. Transfers from Cairns are A$20 (US$13) per person. Wonga Beach
Trail Rides (& 07/4098 7583) does 3-hour rides through the rainforest and
along Wonga Beach, 35 minutes north of Port Douglas, for A$81 (US$53),
including transfers from Port Douglas and insurance.
Bike ’n’ Hike (& 07/4099 4000; www.bikenhike.com.au) takes small
groups biking, hiking, and swimming in natural lagoons in the Mowbray Valley
in the rainforest near Port Douglas. You don’t need to be a strong cyclist to take
part. Half-day tours cost A$84 (US$55). Full-day tours cost A$128 (US$83).