The Heartbeat of our Community

Hi all you Eastsiders!

Christine Power and I want to thank you profusely for sponsoring our Grand Prize Subscriber award from 2014 which was a 5-day trip to Port Douglas.

Firstly, we were picked up at the airport by a very lively New Zealander named Coral who took us to Port Douglas, a 60 minute car ride from the Cairns airport. She was a very lively gal who talked about the area, the topography, history, etc., keeping us entertained the whole way. Then we were delighted to be staying at the Cayman Villas Resort as the 3 bedroom apartment was spacious and even had room for me to set up my computer and continue writing screenplays which is my hobby at the moment. I must make special mention of the heated outdoor pool. It was really beautiful with overflowing water running onto rocks to be recycled and was big enough to do laps in every day. Terrific.

After settling in, we experienced the local shops which were of a surprisingly high quality. Christine couldn’t resist buying a beautiful bathing suit the first day we were there. She also discovered a great local café named Betty’s Bohemian Café for coffee.

The next day I went down to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures and watched some harrowing moments in a show where the trainer put himself in harm’s way to demonstrate how a crocodile hunts. Christine was smart to stay behind. That night we had our free dinner at Salsa’s Bar and Grill. I ordered their 9-year old dish which was a seafood bouillabaisse which was chockablock with every shell fish imaginable. Delicious!

The next day was a trip to the Great Barrier Reef and that was unforgettable.

I went snorkelling within a 50 metre radius of the platform we docked at and there was enough to see that I didn’t need to go elsewhere. All the equipment was provided even a mask with prescription lenses. I’ve enclosed an unforgettable encounter with a giant Potato Cod fish photo. Meanwhile, Christine took the glass lined submarine trip and got to see giant turtles along with the coral and fish. The sponsored trip to Fitzroy Island was a treat, too. Christine lounged on the beach and read while I did more snorkelling. We both enjoyed the day.

The rest of the time we rented a car and took in Mossman George in the Daintree Forest, a local Port Douglas art exhibition and markets.

We also highly recommend the restaurant Sassi’s Italian Seafood Restaurant along with the somewhat pricey gourmet restaurant Harrison’s.

And, lastly, a hats off to Ann Catherine Jones at Jones & Turner who organized our free flights and to Eddie and Staff at The Boutique Collection in Port Douglas who oversaw our stay and smoothed out any problems that arose.

Thank you ever so much for organizing the Grand Prize! As winners we’re definitely grinners!

All the best,

Larry and Christine