Back to the islands
Simanderal
Michael Hughes and Ger White
Sun 5 Jun 2011 10:52
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Having had the best part of a week in
civilisation--4 days in Cairns and 3 in Port Douglas--we are back at anchor off
a small island--one of the Hope Islands--enjoying some tranquility--indeed this
is the nearest we have been to the ideal pacific island since we arrived in
Australia--beats the Whitsundays.
Both Cairns and Port Douglas are nice towns--Cairns
much the larger, shoppers paradise-- Port Douglas more quaint--both lively
places--restaurants and bars--Cairns a good place to provision the
boat.
We hired a car in Port Douglas for a couple of
days--drove up to Cape Tribulation--so named by Captain Cook (who else?) as he
came cropper on a reef near there---and we went on a boat trip on the
Daintree River to see the crocodiles--which indeed we did: these were
"salties"--salt water crocs, which can grow to 7 metres long--not the sort of
thing you want to find on a beach near you!!!
And in Port Douglas, we said goodbye to Michelle,
who has been sailing with us since Airlie--we're back to two on
board.
So to the Hope Islands, a peaceful anchorage,
entered carefully between reefs, which I think will become the norm as we head
north.
Tomorrow we sail to Cooktown--named
after.........you guessed it. He came here in 1770 to effect repairs to his ship
after his near-terminal encounter with the reef. Worth noting that, had he sunk,
Australians would probably be speaking French!!
Cooktown will be our last town before Darwin--over
a thousand miles away--whilst we will be sailing close to the Australian coast,
and anchoring most nights, there's simply nothing there. Peace
unlimited!
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