Friday 18th December

Happy 55th anniversary mum and dad – good on yer!

Today was to be a rest day; it was very hot so the leisurely start was welcomed. We took a walk down to the marina. Apparently this is now the rainy season in this part of Queensland and with the stingers in the sea it is not very popular with the locals, their busy time is from May onwards. The rains are late this year – fortunately for us. As a result the marina was full of boats but very little activity. Jeff headed off towards the shopping mall – I thought for the air con – but found him watching Father Christmas. Off round the bay and then back to Macrossan Street – the main shopping street – to continue mooching and my hunt for some swimmers – these are shorts made of a light material for swimming in but also are smart enough to wear away from the beach. Jeff has now been dragged into every beachwear and sportswear shop in Port Douglas.

We visited an Aboriginal art shop (Jeff has become quite a knowledge on the subject) and was admiring the work of Jean Currie Nilingu when the said artist called the shop to discuss a forthcoming exhibition; the gallery assistant promptly handed the phone to Jeff where he engaged Jean in conversation for several minutes; sadly he didn’t manage to get any discount on any of her works.

Later we walked along the beach and up the steps to a viewing platform looking back over 4 mile beach. In the distance over the hills a massive rainstorm was evident. After a swim and an hour on the beach we headed back.

The many restaurant menus read during the afternoon’s shopping expedition tempted us to eat out and we ate at 2 Fish and shared a massive fish platter which was loaded with oysters, tiger prawns, scallops, squid, cuttle fish, tempura fish, soft shelled crabs, and Moreton bay bugs – a delicious pile of seafood. A live band was playing along the road and somehow Jeff engaged the singer in conversation about Jeff’s shirt.