Port Douglas and the Great Barrier Reef

For our ventures to visit the Great Barrier Reef, we flew into Cairns with a plan to visit two key attractions – snorkelling at the Agincourt Reefs and a visit to the Kuranda Rainforests.  We landed in heavy rain which was worrisome, and was very glad when we heard from the car rental company that we were given a free upgrade to an SUV when we arrived.  Little did we know, it was a very good thing that we got this upgrade. After a short night’s rest at a very forgettable Holiday Inn, we got up early to be on our way.  The distance between the two towns – according to the maps, was only an hour away, and we had a much nicer resort in Port Douglas waiting for us.   So we hopped onto the Honda CRV, and made our way north onto Captain Cook Highway.  The itinerary I had in mind was to spend a couple of hours visiting the Kuranda rain forest before our destination, but by the time we got to the Skyrail entrance, the rain shifted from the light drizzle in the morning to something much more substantial.  Anna started getting worried, and after making a quick enquiry to the front desk regarding the experience in rain, I made the executive decision to visit the rain forest on our way back instead.  It was a good decision, as the rain progressively got worse.  A lot worse. What should have been an easy, 45 minute drive became quite the challenging experience.  As we progressed north, Captain Cook Highway transitioned from a wide, open highway to a narrow, windy road that wrapped itself along the coastline.  Coming from a coastal region myself, I normally would have enjoyed the drive, as I love the feel of carving back and forth following the natural terrain.  And I suspected the drive by the coast would have provided some spectacular views in sunny weathers.  But that was not the case.  The rain started coming down hard, and as the highway became narrower, the every oncoming traffic meant towering splashes onto the windshield and losing sight for a couple of seconds.  Despite being mid-morning, the highway was dark and visibility was severely limited, and our 45 minute drive soon doubled.  By the time we got to Port Douglas, my wipers were on maximum and it could still barely see; the rains simply torrential by that time.

Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort

Eventually we did make it safely to our resort in Port Douglas, the Sheraton Grand Mirage.  An expansive, beautiful resort with its own golf course and connecting pools, we had planned this stay to be a bit of a break from our fast and furious itinerary – the adults soaking up some sun while the kids enjoyed the many pools at the resort.  We did not expect to arrive under a major storm.  We checked in anyways, and was ferried in a large golf court to our room.  It was a beautiful room with two large queen beds, a small dining area, with a view to one of the larger pools in the resort.   After settling in, I was at a bit of a loss.  It was early afternoon, we were in a beautiful resort, and it was pouring outside…. and that’s when Anna and the kids made a surprising decision.  They decided to play in the pool anyways.  It was warm, and playing in the pool meant they would be wet anyways. That led to an afternoon which was quite surreal… Anna and I settled underneath a couple of beach umbrellas on a man-made beach by one of the large pools in the resort, watching the kids play frisbee in the pool while the skies simply poured over our heads.   Amazingly, the kids did not seem to mind the rain, and continued their fun regardless of the storm over their heads.  Check out the short video below to see the kids playing in the pool under the storm: