Palm Cove
Let's holiday in north Queensland
Having a few days break, originally booked this short break at the height of a cold wet week! That was 2 months ago, it warmed up, but I still was looking forward to revisiting north Queensland. It's been a few years since I was last up here. I flew into Cairns and organised to stay in Port Douglas, some prior knowledge came into play here. Cairns is the major regional centre but it doesn't have beaches! They're north of the city and the towns up the coast are the destinations for a beach holiday. I had been to Port Douglas before and liked it and decided that was going to be my destination. That meant a drive up the coast. On recommendation from a work colleague I stopped off at Palm Cove, which was a new place for me.
Palm Cove was only about 20 minutes from Cairns airport, it's small and totally set up for holiday makers, apparently it's the spa capital of north Queensland! Don't know if that was true but it looked as though a lot of the resorts had spas in them!
Palm Cove, as seen from the jetty. Really impressed how well the town blends into the environment, nothing juts out from the trees, despite the fact that the road that runs along the coast is full of resorts.
Looking south. The water is flat even though this is the east coast of Australia, which is known for its surf beaches. The Great Barrier Reef acts like a breakwater to the beaches on the land side of the reef.
Looking north, with the 'flags'. First lesson of beach safety any Australian child learns is 'swim between the flags'. This is the area patrolled by the Surf Lifesavers.
Path along beach.
Palm Cove is very small these brightly coloured buildings are the shopping area, complete with post office to the side. Rather sweet I thought and very much saying 'holiday village'.
Just near the jetty was the camping and caravan park, to me nothing says Australian summer holiday more than a caravan park. It's the quintessential Australian holiday experience. I have fond memories of these holidays from my early teens, I loved them, years later my mother admitted she hated the whole camping holiday thing!
Fishing on the jetty looking back to the rainforest.
More fishing, other end of the jetty.
During the wet season (October through to April) the water warms up and jellyfish appear. The locals know to stay out of the water, tourist however still swim and can be stung by jellyfish, basic first aid is to pour vinegar over the stings. These little posts are spaced out along the beach.
This sign was just near the jetty, naturally interested in anything remotely historical, so interesting to see that the area I was wandering around had been a training ground during World War II.
Let's holiday in north Queensland
Having a few days break, originally booked this short break at the height of a cold wet week! That was 2 months ago, it warmed up, but I still was looking forward to revisiting north Queensland. It's been a few years since I was last up here. I flew into Cairns and organised to stay in Port Douglas, some prior knowledge came into play here. Cairns is the major regional centre but it doesn't have beaches! They're north of the city and the towns up the coast are the destinations for a beach holiday. I had been to Port Douglas before and liked it and decided that was going to be my destination. That meant a drive up the coast. On recommendation from a work colleague I stopped off at Palm Cove, which was a new place for me.
Palm Cove was only about 20 minutes from Cairns airport, it's small and totally set up for holiday makers, apparently it's the spa capital of north Queensland! Don't know if that was true but it looked as though a lot of the resorts had spas in them!
Palm Cove is very small these brightly coloured buildings are the shopping area, complete with post office to the side. Rather sweet I thought and very much saying 'holiday village'.
More fishing, other end of the jetty.
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