John Baird: Canada's freedom agenda - Diplomat Magazine

DELIGHTS|destinationsJessie reynoldsOur writer, scuba diving near the Great Barrier Reef, where she also found this clown fish.If you can, stay near the town’s mainstreet or near Four Mile or opt for one ofthe many inclusive apartment residences.These often have pools, kitchenettes, inroomlaundry facilities and patios whichare great for enjoying your homemadepina coladas and margaritas. The PortDouglas Queenslander has one of the bestrates, an excellent central location and,despite a lack of some common amenities(shampoo, extra towels, evening serviceand an office that closes at 9 p.m.), it’s agood option if you’re staying for morethan a few days. I found myself appreciatingthe laundry machines as you willcertainly use all your towels at least twicea day.You will find grocery marts that provideingredients for a fantastic meal. This90comes in handy when you’re ready for abreak from the astronomical prices of ameal in Port Douglas, and Australia, ingeneral. (Comparisons are easy as the Canadianand Australian dollars are roughlyequivalent.) A plate of pasta? $30. Onesmall scoop of gelato? $5. One side gardensalad? $15. Having said that, make sureyou head to 2 Fish for the barramundi dinner.Tell the restaurant’s Nick that Gerhard— a local tour guide who recommends theplace — sent you.For breakfast every day, I walked tothe Beaches Café on Four Mile Beach. Theowners are fantastic and will make whateveryou want if they have the ingredients.Show up before the 8:00 a.m. rush and getyour breakfast to go, walk 10 meters to thebeach and sit on the golden sand to enjoyyour breakfast and (heavenly) cappuccino.The tourists of Port Douglas disappearbetween 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. — due to thenumerous one-day adventures on offer.Try the scuba diving day at the Great BarrierReef with Poseidon Tours. Buses pickyou up at your hotel (regardless of whereyou’re staying in town — be out front orbe prepared for the honking horn whenthe driver arrives). We were on the boat by8:30 a.m. and ready to start diving (after avery in-depth and humour-filled lesson)by 10 a.m. when we arrived at the reef. Alternatively,you can snorkel above the reef.John De Boer, who’s been diving formore than 20 years, was our leader. Hetook all the stress out of the experienceand did everything he could to make itmemorable. I recommend doing all threeavailable dives. Each site is different. Wevisited one site with cliffs of reef that madeyou feel as though you were parasailingrather than scuba diving. The sheer sizeand the presence of sea turtles, sharks(smaller reef sharks, though we were toldto be diligent in looking for larger sharksnearby and to head towards the bottomof the reef if we did see one) gave it aprehistoric feel. Another dive was a shallowunderwater hill with more sand andcolorful fish (including Nemo). By the lastdive, you’re a seasoned pro and can enjoytaking underwater pictures.Either bring your own underwatercamera or rent one of their high-qualityunderwater Canons for $55. The advantageof renting the camera on board isthat they can simply swap your camera’smemory card and return it to you afterwards.They also offer a fairly impressivelunch.If you’re doing a half-day tour, or aretaking a day off from tours just to relax,rent bikes to tour the city, shop in PortDouglas or head 20 minutes out of townto Silky Oaks for afternoon tea. It’s a gorgeous(but not conveniently located) resortnear Port Douglas. The entrance is framedwith tall, beautiful, windblown sugar caneplants.The local community of Mossman, acity close to Port Douglas, relies on sugarcane for much of the region’s employment.With a decrease in production overthe past few years, the sugar refinery inMossman is innovating and has recentlyregistered a patent to use different, fibrousparts of the plant as a natural sweetener.The sugar-farming community works asa cooperative, using a railway that circlesthe cane fields and harvests an equalportion of each farmer’s plantation so noWINTER 2012 | JAN-FEB-MAR