The Canberra Girl’s Guide to Port Douglas
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With the Queensland border opening to full vaccinated travellers from Monday 13 December, it’s time to explore what the state has to offer. And it’s hard to go past Port Douglas for delicious weather, food and experiences.
If you’ve been a little underwhelmed by Canberra’s attempt at “summer” then it’s time to book a flight. Port Douglas has enough blues skies and sparkling sunbeams for all of us. It also seems to emit a tropical breeze that feels vaguely overseasy—without having to leave the country.
There’s no language barrier, plenty to see and do, and a food scene worthy of any major Australian or even European city. So we say embrace holidaying in Australia.
Here is a handy guide on where to stay, play and eat from two members of the HerCanberra team who found themselves in Far North Queensland in the July school holidays, sunning together on a day bed over a chilled bottle of chardonnay and pledging to share all they gleaned with the readers back home. #takeusback.
Stay
Port Douglas offers almost every permutation of family hotel, backpackers and luxury resort. The Freestyle Resort offers affordable apartments which are shrouded in tropical gardens and have access to a large pool. Located off Four Mile Beach, you can walk pretty much everywhere and self-cater if you are bringing kids. There’s a supermarket just up the road, and weekend markets to source fresh fruit and vegetables and if you are lucky, you can time your visit with the local seafood trawler which pulls into the dock once a month full of fresh seafood.
Niramaya is like a Balinese village, providing luxury villas to holidaymakers. You get a whole house, including your own pool, outdoor kitchen and shower, day bed, and can access the enormous hotel pool, restaurant and day spa. In other words, the best of both worlds.
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The Oakes Port Douglas Resort is a mid-range spot and if you rate a hotel by its pool then this one comes in highly. There is also the Oak and Vine restaurant and a day spa for those who want to stay in one spot.
The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort allows you to wake up in the morning, roll out of bed, roll out of your bedroom and straight into the pool. Actually. This opulent place has everything you need to make you feel like you hit the tropical island jackpot and, like all the main hotels, is located on Four Mile Beach.
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Eat
You will not go hungry. In fact, Port Douglas is as much about its restaurant scene and access to seafood and tropical fruits and vegetables as its beach frontage and palms. But given Port Douglas is literally teeming with tourists we can only advise that you book everything in advance if you are planning to make a break for it.
Be aware that staffing at many venues is overstretched and patience may be required even for a coffee if the queue is long (who cares really, when you are probably standing under a swaying palm tree while you wait, right?).
Nautilus is a local institution with a proud 65-year history. Set outdoors on large decks amid the rainforest on a hillside and serving up fine-dining degustations, it has a focus, naturally, on seafood. If you can get a booking (like Mick Jagger, Bill Clinton and David Bowie could) then try the Moreton Bay Bug with Santiego prawns, young coconut and green papaya.
Salsa Bar and Grill is also worth planning a visit to. Set on the waterfront, it is always packed and the linguini pepperincino with tableland red claw, garlic, chilli, shaved parmesan is a good reason why.
Maman is an outdoor café that looks French but tastes Middle Eastern. Try their king prawn Fattoush for a Port Douglas take on the classic Lebanese salad.
Sassi La Cucina and Bar is also an idyllic spot for a long lunch, across from the ocean and with plenty of outdoor seating to maximise vitamin D intake. You must eat the oysters and drink the champagne for full effect.
Sassi La Cucina and Bar, the perfect spot for beachside dining.
The Little Larder does a bustling trade in Toby’s Estate coffee and provides delicious café brunches and lunches when perhaps you want something unfussy after a big night out.
Similarly, Toast Sandwich Bar is perfect for those times you just want a fresh sandwich or wrap, filled with good combinations (the smashed avo has Persian feta, chilli, cherry tomatoes, pepitas and balsamic glaze) and washed down with an iced coffee.
Mocka’s Pies and Bakehouse is also a must-visit for simply outstanding baked goods and a huge array of pie flavours including the Rueben, kangaroo and seafood mournay.
Play
If, on the slim chance that eating, drinking and lazing on a pristine beach are not enough to keep you occupied, Port Douglas has day adventures to suit everyone.
HerCanberra’s Emma and Amanda do the hard research on Port Douglas. Self-portrait with chardonnay.
Mossman Gorge is a poster-child for ecotourism done well, celebrating Indigenous culture and pristine fresh waters set amongst the lushest rainforest. About 20 minutes by car from Port Douglas, access to the gorge is via bus shuttles and you can choose any number of walking trails to suit fitness levels. Pack a picnic and find a spot of sand and shade by the gorge swimming spot. Stay still long enough for the wish to swim up close, or scale a boulder and take a nap. It is nature at its best.
Mossman Gorge is worth a day of exploring, swimming and picnicking on the rocks.
Oakes Kitchen and Garden is the home of chef Ben Wallace and his partner, avid gardener, Rachael Boon, set among four hectares of lush greenery about 15 minutes south of Port Douglas. They just won Best Destination Dining at the Gourmet Traveller awards so you are going to need to book well in advance.
Tour their impressive and completely organic garden before taking up a chopping board in their open-air, pavilion-style kitchen. Ben is an expert in Southeast Asian cooking and will take you through everything from crab betel leaves to Shan tofu and jungle curry. The ingredients are diverse and picked fresh each day. This is the ultimate experience for foodies and Ben is patient and knowledgeable. Also, you are unlikely to have ever come across some of these herbs and vegetables, much less chop and cook them with your own hands.
Crab betel leaves I cooked (and promptly devoured) after a cooking class at Oakes Kitchen and Garden.
Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours are a must-do, especially for families. The Daintree’s traditional owners are the Eastern Kuku Yalanji people and if you want to tap into 50,000 years of connection and custodianship of this extraordinary slice of Australia, book in for a tour with brothers Linc and Brandon Walker.
Hunting mud crabs on Cooya Beach
They know every centimetre of their country at Cooya Beach and slowly amble through the mangroves and shallows to point out bush medicine, wildlife and all variety of sustenance. We spent hours scouring the sandbanks for mud crabs which our children happily speared (a lesson in the food chain right there) before taking our haul back to camp. In a jiffy, Linc had cooked up our haul of crab with butter, garlic and chilli while answering a million questions about the local crocodile population. It was, truly, an unforgettable experience.
Half an hour after catching them we are eating them.
