Ain't no sunshine (Port Douglas, Queensland)

It's all the way back to 1971 and Bill Withers for today's title. Google it kids, it's a classic.

There is, patient reader, only one draw back to having a room opening on to the beach on the east coast of Australia. Dawn. It happens at the most ungodly hour and the sunshine in the tropics has an intensity to rival that of the outback. So despite me closing the blinds the sun was determined to shine through any tiny gap it cold and flood the room with blinding light. And it was only just 6am - that's 5am if you're from Sydney. Well, that's how Jayne saw the day begin. I was sad to keep the sun out and happy that it found a way in. All of this puts lie to the song, "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone" because in my world there will be an abundance of sunshine until she returns and we revert to the darkness.

The Peninsula Boutique Hotel (http://www.peninsulahotel.com.au) aside from having super-friendly, super-helpful staff, also offers a full buffet breakfast as a part of the tariff. Nice. Breakfast is served by the pool. Very pleasant. The only negative so far is the internet. It is woefully slow. We are not talking Lord Howe Island speeds but we are getting down there. As a result there probably won't be a lot of pictures attached to the posts for this trip.

Without wishing to jinx myself, all the talk of bad weather has been off the mark. It was in the low 30s yesterday and the rain came overnight. On waking this morning, everything was dry again and today is looking like a copy of yesterday.

The view north from the half-way point.

In an effort to walk off breakfast and try to balance the calorie intake with exercise, we decided we would walk the new ANZAC track. It winds itself up and around the headland and deposits you at ANZAC Park which is at the other end of Macrossan Street from where we are staying. The track is still undergoing construction but is close to completion. The surface is good, there are enough seats to stop and rest in the humid conditions, although it could do with some more signage. There were a couple of paths that joined ours but there was nothing to note where they might lead or if we should deviate from our path to the alternate one. We paused a little too long at the half-way point and Jayne was almost carried away by a squadron of mosquitoes. Expert tip: wear insect repellant and sunscreen.

Random plant. Cool though, eh?

As we climbed the gentle incline towards the top of the headland, I mistakenly asked Jayne did she need any assistance. My concern was dismissed with an attempt at bravado. "I climbed the blue track." she puffed and didn't quite draw breath again before she corrected herself. "The red track. I climbed the red track." she panted. Should you have forgotten that epic journey dear reader it can be found here: http://bradnjaynesblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/we-may-never-pass-this-way-again-cinque.html.

The end of the walk

One can't underestimate the heat or the humidity at this stage of the day. It may have been before 10am but it was 31° and 65% humidity. Before we left, I had applied sunscreen, which I detest, and mixed with sweat, it had almost dissolved my face. Sweat wasn't trickling, as the polite circles say. It was running down my back and behind my ears. Sensible people had removed their shirts, but me, no way, I'm too proud to bare my body to the world. So instead I suffered the indignity of a T-shirt glued to my body.


 Once back in the main shopping precinct, we looked for a cafe to rehydrate and have a coffee. The first few were crowded so we ended up at Cafe Ecco which turned out to be a good choice. The coffee was OK but the freshly squeezed juices were wonderfully refreshing. If you are into new age experimentation, they also had ginger and celery and other weird combinations. Recharged, we meandered back to the apartment to watch the cricket for a while before heading the QT Hotel for the smorgasbord lunch. This requires a walk down the 4 Mile Beach which should have been renamed the 6.4 Kilometre beach once Australia went metric, but it doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

A fame tree, aflame against the blue sky

We sought advice on the best method to get to the QT, thinking we would just walk along the beach and take the path inland. The best advice was that this would not be a good thing because the pathway we needed to find to exit the beach wasn't obvious. So we opted for the less scenic wander through the side streets. The '20 minute walk' probably extended to 40 and it was hot and humid but not unpleasant thanks to the breeze. We arrived at the hotel and located the bar and ordered a couple of beers, purely to rehydrate. Our enquiry about the buffet lunch we had arrived for was met with blank looks. Dinner? the bar staff questioned. I settled down with my beer and checked fb. Oops. The recommendation was for dinner.

The QT was an interesting establishment. In no particular order, it contained groups of humans that I endeavour to avoid: unsupervised small children, overweight men clad only in board shorts and overly tattooed people of either gender (and sometimes they were also overweight men) - this is Australia and Port Douglas is also a haven for the Brits, so that locks up the world of tatts. Tasteful. Um, not really. It was an interesting sideline not to be repeated.

The view north to Port Douglas

Rehydrated we headed for the walkway to the beach and found it easily. It wasn't a path I would walk comfortably after dark, but in the mid afternoon it was fine. We walked north back to Port Douglas discussing lunch - the Surf Club was on our way home. It was a little crowded because it was nearing 2pm now. There was only one decision to make. Book for dinner, head home for another hydrating beer and then to the apartment for champagne and cricket. A perfect plan. Except for Melbourne's weather. The cricket was rained out. Undeterred, we enjoyed a beer on the terrace overlooking the beach before repairing upstairs to drink our champagne and then we retired to the balcony. I know, I know, dear reader, it's a tough life.

The Surf Club dinner was a disappointment for a number of reasons. We were regulars at the Noosa Surf Club when in Noosa and expected the same standard. I don't want to be totally down on them, but, really, everything was average. After discussion we believe it's a place to go for a casual lunch. Dinner? Not so much.

Tomorrow, we have a full on day trip, so there may not be a blog awaiting you at breakfast dear reader. In which case, until the next time ...