06.16.10

Yesterday, we woke up and had planned on taking a bus into Port Douglas. Its about an hour North of Cairns, and is supposed to be another beautiful tourist spot known for its beaches and swimming (especially considering there is neither beach, or swimming in Cairns). If you take a tourist bus it will easily cost you 45 bucks a person. However, one of the hostels out there offered a free transfer to and from Cairns if you stayed with them for three nights. Well, John moves around like a slug....actually, a slug would probably kick his butt in a race. So, there is no surprise that we were too late, and missed the transfer bus into Port Douglas. We decided to set up our computer in the lounge area and try to find a cheaper alternative to getting up there. I started making soup when a worker from JJs came up to me and told me that there was a transfer bus from a different hostel that we could jump on right now if we wanted. Of course, we started to run around like mad bees so that we could catch it. I threw out my soup, John threw the computer in the bag and we hopped on.
The ride was gorgeous. It was along the oceanside, and the view was wonderful. We stopped at a little lookout half way through and then got back on the bus. On the way we passed acres and acres of sugar cane crops. One of the largest crops harvested in Queensland. It was almost immediate after leaving Cairns that you were in the country side. There were only a few houses here and there, either with sugar crane all around it, or with some other family-run business set up near the street for passer-bys.
When we got into PD, you knew right away because of all the resorts. Everything was hidden back into the bush, but the street entrance was grandiose and welcoming. Very exotic and luxurious to say the least. This is the place for all the fancy vacations!
It doesnt even look like Australia. We are surrounded by tall green mountains, and the foliage is nothing but exotic palms and fruit trees. Wildlife is everywhere, and its is much more simplified out here.
Where we are staying is called Dougies Backpackers Resort. Nothing like the resorts surrounding us, it is still very resort like, and much more nice then the hostel we were just in. They have hammocks and a pool in the front. The pathways are lined with exotic gardens that make you feel like your in the rainforest, there is a bar and lounge area, a nice large kitchen and dining area and upstairs, is a sitting lounge with computers. The bathrooms are kept clean and there are plenty of showers. There are a few dorm style rooms, but most of everyone staying here is in a tent. The back half of the resort is nothing but tents!
Last summer, John and I had gone camping with Rachel, Dave, Jessi and some other friends. A big group had come, and they had all set up 5 or 6 tents on one camp site. It looked ridiculous to say the least, but it we dubbed it, Tent City. Well, let me just say that the true tent city is at Dougies. There has got to be at least 50 tents on this small plot of land. Most of the people staying here are backpackers that have come to Port Douglas to work, so they are staying here long term. Some of the tents are so souped up, they even have refrigerators in them! The park itself has several tents they set up with beds and electricity running inside them. Like a mini hotel room, except its a tent. The rest are just tens of other backpackers. John and I have the tiniest tent of them all.
We were excited to hear that we could set up our tent and that it was fairly cheap. We got it up right away, and then walked into town.
The town is very small. Jus at few blocks. The shops are most sophisticated and the restaurants are much more expensive. Though there are a few places that offer reasonable prices, we were even more happy to have found the local grocery store, and instead bought some items to take back with us.
We did eat lunch at Rattle n Hum and got two chicken and avocado sandwiches for only 7 bucks each.
It didnt take long for us to hear about the hiring craze the city was in to prepare for the busy season, so we went back to our tent, and spent the rest of the night on the computer looking and applying for jobs.
This morning we woke up, and walked back into town. Still trying to get a good idea of our surroundings, we walked up and down the same few streets, and spent a little more time investigating all the little shops. We went back to Dougies quite early to get back on the internet to apply to more jobs. When John was on the computer, I laid in the hammock and read a book. When I spent time on the computer, John just sat next to me and pestered me like a little kid! Lol but we did get a lot done and we are crossing our fingers that something comes up soon.