Snorkelling in the crystal clear water of Tropical North Queensland.
Snorkelling in the crystal clear water of Tropical North Queensland.
The golden beaches and turquoise waters of Port Douglas are calling Cloe Willetts.
I've found out you can feel homesick for a place you've only just met.
I'm longing for a place. It feels like I'm being called to return, to pick up the pieces of myself I left behind with the footsteps I took.
It's been a few weeks since my trip to Port Douglas, Tropical North Queensland, where I explored the cosmopolitan town with its palm tree-rimmed beaches, lavish resorts and unscathed surrounding rainforest.
I sipped fruity cocktails in view of the Reef Marina, its turquoise water stretching below the silhouettes of palm leaves that formed the backdrop of the bustling Barbados Port Douglas, a sophisticated, boardwalk-rimmed bar that opened mid-last year.
I dined at the rainforest-inspired Watergate Port Douglas, a restaurant and bar with flame-lit paths and a menu crafted from locally sourced autumn produce.
Burying my feet in the sandy floor I ate fresh fish at The Beach Shack, a restaurant with a blend of colourful decor and laid-back Queensland style — and a cocktail haven.
I stayed in a bungalow deep in the rainforest at Thala Beach Resort, 10 minutes' drive south of Port Douglas and littered with tiny geckos and bright tree frogs waiting in groups on the cobblestone steps outside my porch.
There, I ate buffet breakfasts topped with tropical passionfruit at the resort's on-site Ospreys restaurant, before enjoying fine dining as the sun fell and the birds chirped beside the candlelight at my table.
Along with dozens of other tourists, I watched a striped possum gracing a branch outside the restaurant's open walls, which offered views of the sea and neighbouring hills.
In an elegant, open-spaced suite at the newly refurbished Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas, I started my morning in the 23C saltwater lagoon two steps from my door.
A courtesy coach transferred guests from the Sheraton to the Reef Marina, where a Quicksilver Cruises catamaran waited to take 150 of us on its Outer Reef Day Tour.
Cloe Willetts sipping a cocktail in Port Douglas.
Below the waters of Agincourt Reef in a semi-submersible reef viewer, I saw coral gardens and passing turtles. I snorkelled alongside fish half my size; their shiny skin almost brushed mine as they swam centimetres below me.
I shopped at boutique markets set up for the day, before tasting craft beer under an oversized sun umbrella at Hemingway's Brewery. Overlooking the marina, the recently launched microbrewery, bar and restaurant is the first of its kind in Far North Queensland, and offers a range of hand-crafted beers suited to the tropical climate.
I finished my trip by drinking Australian red wine to the sounds of live music at an old courtroom-turned-pub on Wharf St, Port Douglas' main stretch, before catching a $5 shuttle back to my resort.
I saw new things, had new experiences, made new friends and found a little more of myself while I walked barefoot across the golden beaches and thought about life; as you do when you travel solo.
I thought about how I nearly didn't make it on this Queensland trip because of Cyclone Debbie making her way past. And I appreciated even more the friendly faces of holidaymakers enjoying midday drinks at wooden picnic tables beside the beach.
Now, I'm feeling the tug to return to the tropics as New Zealand's winter weather leaves muddy marks on my sandals and my Queensland tan gradually fades.
I'm missing the place that I fell so comfortably into but I know it will pass.
I'm back into the routine of work life and wishing I was still waiting in airports and seeing faces I've never seen, and driving cars I've never driven to destinations I've never met.
I learned that the special places we visit and the new people we meet can sometimes only be short encounters, unexpected snippets of our time, before life continues to unravel in other directions.
But we're lucky to have them, even when they are just moments.
Until next time.
CHECKLIST
Getting there:Air New Zealand flies from Auckland to Cairns non-stop between March and October.
