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Australia e-journal |
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Port Douglas, AUS |
September
19, 2002 |
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Factoids: · Aboriginal religion: polydeity
passed on by storytelling · Aboriginals did not have a written
language until recently · Throwing a boomerang is
hand-dependent (left handed not the same as right handed) · Post Office – changes traveller’s
cheques at a great rate (no commission!) |
We started the day at 7:30AM. Got up, packed our things (we were on the move!), showered and went downstairs for another buffet breakfast. I am starting to hasten my breakfast by making a sandwich consisting of bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns stacked between fresh white bread. It’s always nice to finish with fresh fruits. Our first stop: Tjapukai, aboriginal centre. Learned a lot about aboriginal beliefs on Creation and then followed by history (elimination by white settlers) and dance / culture / medicines. Hands-on demonstrations included spear throwing (Dorothy is much better than myself) and boomerang throw. Things to note about aboriginal culture: · similar to Chinese yin / yang (dry / wet) – everything is a balance · thought Caucasians originally were reincarnation of their ancestors (pale skin = ghost!) · didn’t have written language until recently · the Earth / land is their Bible – environment says it all (very similar to North American aboriginals) After the Tjapukai Centre, we were off to Port Douglas. The drive was along the coast – very nice. There seemed to be a small forest fire along the land side of the coast – hope it was one of those controlled burns. There was one or two stop-offs – we went to a place called Palm Cove (outside Cairns). That is a brilliant resort place with really tall trees (paper bark trees). Those trees are at least a couple hundred years old – Captain Cooke documented them on his maiden voyage to Australia. We stopped at this place called Rex Lookout – took quite a few pictures (see orange shirt?) Perhaps I have a few new pics for my webpage… 
Arrived at Port Douglas @ 1:30pm. We had 90 minutes for lunch. D and I went to the Coles Supermarket for cheap eats (considering how much we spent at Red Ochre last night!) We had some cold cuts (turkey breast & salami) on a fresh baguette and potato salad. Washed it all down with a carbonated lemon drink called Lift – very tart. (I think the Country Tyme that I have at home is better!) The remainder of the time, we ventured through the quaint little town for a Post Office (mainly for currency exchange and postage). We were about to turn around but we found one at the end. D also found a waterproof box in a pharmacy – we talked to a pharmacist there about their OTC meds. We then went to the resort – Radisson Treetops resort. Very nice place. I took a monster dump in the 2 x twin bed room. D called the main desk for a room exchange. I feel so bad if they didn’t send housekeeping to double check that room! The new room didn’t have such a nice view (overlooking the parking lot) but oh well… we went swimming in the resort pool (salt water!) A wedding party walked through and took photos. A walk to the beach ensued (for us, at least). The water was significantly warmer than the resort pool. After the brief walk to the beach, D and I went back to the room for a quick nap. Dinner was to be served at 7pm. Dinner was at the Outback Restaurant, which was poolside. It was buffet-style, so quality was limited. First course – salad, tomato & mozzarella bread, fettuccini alfredo. Second course – rice, 3 large prawns, chicken thigh (nice), red snappy filet (dry!). Dessert was champagne and chocolate cake from a tour member, Andreas, who was having his birthday. (He thinks we are Japanese) We sat with the Irish couple, Frank & Margaret, and the Flemish couple, Arnould and Rebecca. Conversation was quite animated. Dorothy ordered a mixed drink that looked really nice (we saw it earlier by the pool) but it ended up being a dud. We were all invited to go see the night entertainment provided by the resort at the bar. Robyn (our tour guide) knows the guy but D and I got too tired and dozed off. I watched the tail end of an episode of 24 (Keifer Sutherland show). Interesting concept … and dozed off. Woke up at midnight to wash my Kenneth Cole shirt (it got prawn juice on it!) and brush my teeth. Throughout the night, I got up a couple of times – 4AM, I thought I heard rain; 6AM, guess that’s when I wake up now. Dorothy packed the rest of her stuff ‘cause we were on the move again! |