Thursday was a beach day at last. Sunny, but still very windy. I went for a run and then sat and watched the waves and read a book and had a late afternoon massage. Tough day. Nothing beyond a few beach pics to share so you’ll find some of the awesome birds from the Kuranda bird sanctuary below instead! And in case I didn’t mention it, I had one bird land on my backpack and take some nibbles out of my water bottle — literally tore up the rubber nipple before I could get him off!
Today it was off to Port Douglas, a slightly bigger but no less charming town about 30 miles north. My accommodation here is right on 4-mile beach but due to high winds they’ve had to remove the stinger and croc nets so there was no swimming permitted. It’s a long wide flat beach and will be great for a run in the morning. I did enjoy watching a solitary small grey heron try to find some food.
Port Douglas was established in 1877 after the discovery of gold at Hodgkinson River. It grew quickly, and at its peak Port Douglas had a population of 12,000 and 27 hotels. When the Kuranda Railway from Cairns to Kuranda was completed in 1891, the importance of Port Douglas dwindled along with its population. A cyclone in 1911, which dumped 16 inches of rain in 24 hours demolished all but two buildings in the town also had a significant impact. At its nadir in 1960 the town, by then little more than a fishing village, had a population of 100. In the late 1980’s Sheraton built a resort here and tourism became a steady source of visitors and revenue. It is also a base for visits to both the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system, and Daintree National Park, home to biodiverse rainforest. The primary agricultural product in the region is sugar cane, but it is not longer exported from the town wharf, as it’s more efficient to do so inland. Apparently Bill Clinton was dining at Salsa’s (where I plan on eating tonight) when he got word about the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. He flew back to the U.S. the next day.
The wind has limited my reef exploration. I have a tour planned for Sunday which will take me out to the Agincourt Reef closer to the continental shelf in the Coral Sea; the hope is that the wind and churn won’t be as rough there, and the bleaching event is less that far north. Fingers crossed.
Nanday Conure — S. America
Major Mitchell Cockatoo
Nicobar Pigeon – SE Asia
Black Swan and Glossy Ibis
Green-cheeked Conure – S. America
Torres Strait Pigeon and Eclectus Parrot
Cordon bleu finch, from S. Africa and another finch
A beautiful finch
Another beautiful finch
Red-winged parrot going after my water bottle
