Port Douglas City Sights and Beaches

We have enjoyed the last two days exploring Port Douglas and its surrounding area. Yesterday, we drove north through Mossman to the tiny town of Daintree on the banks of the river by the same name.

Along the way, we could see dozens of abandoned sugar cane train wagons that were becoming overgrown with vines and vegetation. We also noticed that the tracks were overgrown and in poor condition. It turns out that  the sugar mill in Mossman has gone broke and is waiting for a buyer. Farmers now have to frieight their sugar cane all the way south to the North Thomson Mill for processing. It’s about 233 km away and is, no doubt, an expensive exercise. There are nearly 90 kilometres of narrow guage (2 feet) train tracks that used to service the mill but are no longer in use. These stretch from the mill almost as far south as Port Douglas and north to Rocky Point. That seems to me to be a lot of infrastructure just sitting idle.

Our main purpose in visting this ara was to visit Mossman Gorge. It is located 3.5 km south-west of Mossman with the Mossman Gorge Lookout, another 3 km on the Mossman Gorge Road. The Gorge is part of the Daintree River National Park and provides a number of interesting rainforest walks along with an opportunity to understand and experience the lifestyle of the Kuku Yalanji Aboriginal people who manage the local infrastructure. To reach the gorge, you take a shuttle bus from the visitor’s centre and then walk along a raised board walk until it reaches the river and a swing bridge.

One section of the gorge is a placid swimming hole (very welcome when the beaches are potentially infested with crocodiles). The steep sided gorge is where the Mossman River cascades through treacherous boulders.

Back in Mossman, we found the pictureque St David’s Anglican Church which was constructed between 1912 and 1952. It replaced a previous church which was destroyed by the 1911 cyclone.

The Church is set behind an avenue of substantial, fern-clad raintrees that form an archway along the part of the Captain Cook Highway that takes road travellers out of the centre of Mossman toward Daintree. These trees and the beautiful archway they make, form a beautiful aesthetic contribution to the town of Mossman.

On our way to Daintree, we stopped at Newell Beach which is a couple of kilometres off the highway. It has a long stretch of golden sand backed with palm trees and looks just lke the way the popular perception of how a tropical beach should look.

The little town of Daintree consists of nothing more than a few houses, a pub, some accommodation and a couple of tour offices. The view along the river from the boat launching ramp is quite lovely. It is around five or six kilometres from the river mouth and there on the opposite bank was a three metre long crocodile warming itself in the sun. It was a reminder that it’s not safe to go swimming in any of the coastal and estuarine waters in the tropics.

On the way back to Mossman, we did a short deviation to the location where a Japanese plane dropped a bomb in 1942. I have no idea what influenced them to bomb this remote area, but the bomb landed just by a house and and the shrapnel from the blast injured a young toddler. Today, there is a memorial on the side of a country road commemorating this action.

Driving back through Mossman, we came across the Exchange Hotel. It was once the most handsome and most upmarket hotel in the town’s heyday. It was built in 1896. It was reported to have verandahs with a width of 3.7 metres all around the entire building,  ladies’ and gentlemen’s bathrooms and showers on the rear verandah along with lavatories (toilets) connected to a septic system.

There were reportedly 31 bedrooms located on the first floor, which were roomy, well ventilated and lit, with a built-in corner wardrobe and corner wash basin, with running water ‘if necessary’. There was a different colour scheme in each bedroom, and a central upstairs lounge had built-in cupboards for linen. Each bedroom opened onto both a central corridor and a verandah. It was a definite part of hotel luxury in the 1930s.

The building retains its heritage-listed architecture, with classic Queenslander features and updated communal and private facilities. It now appears to offer affordable accommodation  for backpackers and budget travelers who are exploring the region, especially the nearby Daintree Rainforest.

Today was an easy day for us with our only planned activity to have lunch with our friends Rod and Kate who are spening the winter here in their caravan. We had a very pleasant long lunch at the Tin Shed by the harbour.

We spent a little time looking at some of the interesting places around the town after lunch:

Four Mile Beach with its hard white sands, has a reputation as one of the most attractive beaches in the area.

The view fom Flagstaff Hill Lookout which is reached by a narrow and steep road at the northern end of town.

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The church of St Mary’s by the Sea is located by the pier and was built in 1913 after the previous Roman Catholic church, dating from 1880, had been destroyed by the 1911 cyclone,. Although built in 1913 and consecrated in 1914, it is one of the oldest buildings in Port Douglas. It was relocated to its present site in 1988 and restored the following year.

Port Douglas Wharf and Storage Shed was constructed in 1904 and it was added to in the 1920s. It was an important part of the port and was used, mainly for shipping sugar, from 1904-1958. From 1979-1999 it was converted into a Shipwreck Museum.

Last night, we had dinner in a very nice seafood restaurant, just up the road from our motel. It gets dark quickly here and when we left, we were surpised to find the main street beautifully lit up with fairy lights all over the tree.

Tomorrow will be our last day here before we leave Port Douglas and we will spend some time tonight planning how we will maximise the time on our last day here.