This is a very short blog to document our 10 day getaway to FNQ - Far North Queensland. Itinerary as follows:-
- Aug 8 - fly to Cairns / drive to Port Douglas
- Aug 8-12 - Pullman Sea Temple Resort Port Douglas
- Aug 12-13 - Daintree - Silky Oaks
- Aug 13-16 - Palm Cove - Pullman Sea Temple Resort
- Aug 16 - fly home to Sydney
Monday Aug 8
An easy start to our trip - 10:30 flight to Cairns on QF economy class - totally full flight but 2 isle seats made it bearable. We arrived on time around 1:40pm and collected our hire car, a compact SUV.
We arrived at the Pullman about an hour later, checked-in, unpacked etc. We were somewhat unimpressed by the outlook from our 1-bedroom penthouse apartment - views of trees and road with golf course on the other side. We mistakenly thought we would have sea views - not great for $420 pn.
We drove to the village - about 10 minutes away to check out the shopping and have a welcoming drink at the pub. We decided to just buy some water and adult beverages and leave the groceries for the following day. The bottle shop in the shopping center is certainly no “Dan Murphy's” - prices up to double Sydney discounts.
We had dinner at the resort - we get all food half-price with our Accor Advantage card. Food and service was pretty good.
Tuesday Aug 9
It was an overcast and breezy day - a little cool in the morning and even though it reached 24C it never felt that warm. After brekkie (which was included in our room rate) we did a beach walk - Dieter turned around after 30 minutes but I pressed on for a 10K walk. Back at the resort we watched some of the Olympics before going out for lunch - Hemmingways brew Pub at the PD Marina - shared a pizza.
After a lazy afternoon - we stayed home for dinner - BBQed steak, mushrooms, green beans, and roast potatoes.
Wednesday Aug 10
It was a better day weather-wise - the morning was a repeat of the previous day. We had lunch at the marina again - a trendy new place called Barbados - good food but slow service.
We went to the owner’s cocktail party at 5pm where we met several couples who were guest/owners. Then it was off to dinner again at the resort - good food. Fish and French Champagne.
Thursday Aug 11
Great day - nice and sunny - another 10K walk for me - unfortunately I seemed to be developing some serious blisters on my feet (from walking in cabos then bare feet on the sand). We had lunch in town - el Cibo - a favourite of ours. In the afternoon we drove to Mossman Gorge but did not swim as the water looked too cold.
We stopped at the PD Yacht Club for fives’es - a real local hangout. We had dinner at home - lamb cutlets etc.
Friday Aug 12
After our morning walk and a bit of Olympic viewing we drove to Silky Oaks in the Daintree for a one-night stay. We’ve had lunch here many times and always thought it would be nice to stay overnight. We arrived in time for lunch then checking into our room (deluxe treehouse) and spent the afternoon exploring the resort and doing a bit of canoeing on the Mossman River. We had an excellent dinner at the resort - and went to bed early.
Saturday Aug 13
After breakfast (only about a 7 out of 10 - surprising for such a high-end resort) we took a a bush walk. We checked out at 11AM but hung around in the lounge watching the Olympics for an hour. We then set off for the 1 hour drive to Palm Cove, our next stop. When we were only about 15 minutes away from Palm Cove I realised we did not have the backpack with us - alas Dieter (not that I’m naming any names here) had left it in the lounge at Silky Oaks. We made a U-turn and drove back to collect it - I called them and they found it - fortunately just where he left it. As a result we only arrived at the Pullman Palm Cove at 2:30pm - our room was not ready so we headed for the pool bar for a late lunch.
Due to our later than planned arrival we did not do much in the afternoon other than unpacking and a walk around the village.
We had dinner at the resort - Ok but not fantastic - but what can you say when the food is half price.
Sunday Aug 14
Another perfect day - we had breakfast then watched the Olympics for a bit before our usual morning walk. We had a very nice lunch at The Reef House (an M-gallery Accor hotel so the food was half-price). We had a lazy afternoon spending some time listening to live music by the pool. We returned to the Reef House for dinner which was OK but not fantastic.
Monday Aug 15
Last day in FNQ - started out a bit rainy - we had thought about a half-day trip to Fitzroy Island but had already changed our mind due to very high winds during the day.
We drove into Cairns for a bit of a look around and shopping. While walking along the boardwalk it started raining much harder so we opted for an early lunch. After a bit of shopping we headed home - to relax and walk the Olympics etc.
We stayed in the apartment for dinner - rack of lamb and lots of veggies.
Tuesday Aug 16
Off home today - 1:05pm to Sydney. Another packed flight in economy class - window and middle seats. They served lunch but it was not at all hot - left most of it. We were back home by 5pm. It was then off to Ventuno’s for dinner.