12th - 13th May. Two good days

Friday 13th May Jack and Norma drove me about an hour north to Port Douglas. The coast road was stunning with rainforest meeting the sea at beautiful beaches and headlands

We stopped at various bays along the way, and a particular favourite was Oaks Bay, so deserted and unspoiled


On arrival at Port Douglas we went to the Yacht Club for lunch but were disappointed to discover they now only open at lunchtime over weekends. So, at my suggestion as I wanted to buy Jack and Norma a nice meal to thank them for their kindness, we went to the upmarket Sheraton Mirage.


Wow! What a lovely hotel, more a resort really. 5 acres of lagoon swimming pools with other amazing facilities. http://www.sheratonmirage.com.au/mirage_port_douglas.html


And the hotel resort is alongside the beautiful 'Four Mile Beach'


After a long and leisurely lunch we had a stroll around the hotel grounds and along the beach, then made our way into the pretty town. There is a beautiful old church there, now multi-demoninational and is used for weddings. What a lovely place to get married


On the way home we stopped for a drink at Yorkeys Knob Boating Club, allegedly the best Marina in the southern hemisphere. http://www.ykbc.com.au/
We were there at sunset which was lovely.



Thursday 12th May was another 'wow' day. I spent the day on the Great Barrier Reef. What an amazing experience. I, and around 100 others, boarded the Ocean Spirit, a huge twin hulled sailing ship for the Michaelmas Cay Cruise.


Michaelmas Cay is a small reef sand island which hosts thousands of seabirds and is surrounded by the amazing coral reef. http://www.oceanspirit.com.au/Dive_Snorkel_Australia_Michaelmas.htm


The birds on the island at this time were mainly Black Noddies and Sooty Terns with their chicks.


I snorkelled for probably over an hour and loved it. I joined the 'snorkelling tour' which allowed newbies like myself to snorkel with a marine naturalist who pointed out the many different sorts of coral and colourful tropical fish. We were transported from the Ocean Spirit to the beach by the 'beach buggy'


and it ran a 15 minute service throughout the day to and from the beach. I returned to the cruiser for their amazing all-inclusive buffet lunch then in the afternoon took a ride in the 'semi-submersible' - a vessel where passengers are seated underwater to view the coral and fish.


Very good but I did find it a bit claustrophobic



It was quite windy all day, especially the return voyage when it was difficult to walk around the ship.
All in all a fabulous day and something else to cross off my 'bucket list'. I was exhausted at the end of the day and fell into bed at 8.30pm!

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