Upon reaching the Low Isles we were given flippers and snorkels to try for size and transferred to a shallow dinghy which could reach the Low Isles without grounding. It had a glass bottom for those who wanted to view the coral without snorkelling.
In the water, finally.
The currents had churned up the shallow water so visibility was poor.
We spotted turtles during our time there.
If anything the view was worse than at Fiji back in late 2013.
I'm a poor swimmer (if you can call me that) at the best of times and tired quickly in the current so I went back to shore before the others. I think this will be my last attempt at snorkelling and in future I will appreciate the beauty of coral reefs in documentaries. Ah well, now I've now been to the shallows of the Great Barrier Reef.
Even out of the water it was not comfortable in the chilling wind. There is no shelter on the isle. The tallest structure is the automated lighthouse.
The Low Isles were named by Captain Cook. The other isle is Woody Island. Weather readings for PD are actually from the meteorological station here.
There are no further pictures from this day. The journey back in the catamaran was in gloomy and rainy weather and my stomach felt queasy at times, but I made it. I rested well that night as there was an early start for the Daintree NP tour the next day.
At the marina they issued us with our boarding passes for the catamaran. Here a guide is giving us a briefing on dos and don'ts for the trip as we motored out of the marina.
The channel leads out to the open sea and we passed resorts and restaurants as we left.
Finally we were in the open sea and the crew hoisted the sails so that we would make the crossing to the Low Isles on wind power. It would take over an hour to get there.
As you can see the weather was gloomy and it rained sporadically. Here you see the peaks of the Daintree National Park.
One of the guides taking the wheel for a while.
After a breakfast of cereal and soy milk at the hostel I had the morning free so I walked into town to explore it. This is the main street, Macrossan, and the takeaway restaurant of the night before.
Looking down the main street towards the harbour. Travelling North was really filmed in PD 30 years ago.
Another section of the main street with fine dining restaurants.
In the news the southern states of VIC, NSW and SA were suffering a severe cold snap with temperatures plunging below zero inland. I counted myself lucky to be in short jeans weather, even if it rained a little.
The café with the blackboard advice. I wanted to but never got to eat or drink here, it was very popular.
But I did get to have a coffee and banana bread in the Whileaway bookshop cafe.
Soon it was time to return to the hostel for the pickup. I could have walked to the marina but I needed to pack tour necessities and it was better not to upset previous arrangements.
My first impression of Port Douglas came from the film of David Williamson's play Travelling North, which I saw in an Australian film festival while living in the US. It is a classic film with fine performances from Australian film royalty (Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Graham Kennedy and Henri Szeps). Research told me that it was a small but popular holiday resort town and an ideal starting point for tours to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree National Park. Incidentally these are two world heritage listed areas that are side by side.
The flight landed at Cairns airport around sunset. I had booked a direct transfer to PD. The hostel reception was closed but a hosteler told me to look for the key in the mailbox. I deposited my carry on luggage and walked about 15 minutes to the centre of town. As expected the streets into town were dim and quiet but got more lively closer to the main drag, Macrossan Street.
I found the restaurant that served a soft shell crab wrap and ate it in the courtyard of the local supermarket. It had started to drizzle by this time so after cleaning up, I dodged into the supermarket to buy some provisions for breakfast.
I finished off with some gelato for dessert.
A piece of sage advice outside a popular café.
I returned to the hostel for a rest. Fortunately the next day's tour didn't start until after lunch so I could take it easy.
