Palm Cove

August 31st 2022

Fourteen days have passed since our arrival in Palm Cove, we are half way through our stay here. Amanda and I discovered Palm Cove in 1993 when her parents, Jim and Shirley travelled to Australia in the late winter of that year. We had searched through the travel pages of the local weekend paper for a getaway that offered a uniquely different Australian experience, (thats the way we researched our holidays in 1993). It is easy for us southerners to forget how big Queensland is and how tropical the far north is. With just two seasons, wet and dry the temperature stays a fairly consistent 24-32c but the humidity increases significantly in the wet, fortunately for us the dry period coincides with the southern winter. Making the dry a perfect time for us to make a winter escape. In those days colourful pictures of tropical Cairns adorned the Advertisers travel pages, then a growing township boasting an International airport. Further north a string of beach settlements bordering the Great Barrier reef are dotted along the coast like pearls washed upon the shore, the advertisements for these tropical destinations drew us in to investigate. We chose Palm Cove for its reputation as a relaxed destination and an esplanade that contained a number of restaurants all within walking distance to accommodation. Having booked ahead Jim and Shirley flew into Cairns from Portland, Oregon, USA, with us arriving the day before to make ready for their arrival. We immediately fell in love with the place, the beautiful sandy beach situated in a secluded cove just 30 minutes north of Cairns lined with palm trees on the beach side and stately 500 year old melaleuca trees on the town side represented an idyllic holiday location for us now kid free adults. In those days the town side consisted mainly of old beach shacks, well weathered by the salty sea air and the rainy seasons humidity to a colourful distressed state. Investors had begun moving in on the sleepy mainly residential town, times where a changing. The village centre located on the esplanade, consisted of a group of colourful timber clad buildings that surrounded an elevated plaza accessed by stairs, all very Caribbean in character. Today the village still exists in much the same format that Jim and Shirley would have no trouble in recognising. Now though gone are the beach front shacks, one by one they gave into the pressure of big money and the inability to meet the ever increasing property taxes, just a few hold outs now remain, replaced by sophisticated holiday apartments, with a slightly Moroccan Mediterranean feel. The big corporate hotels are absent here, but a few smaller chains exist. The local authorities have restricted new buildings to just four levels preventing a Gold Coast like expansion and helping to retain the towns charm. Rain-forested hills form a backdrop to the west of the town, a feature of the Cairns and Northern beaches landscape they descend down to the sea in numerous locations around Cairns. As well as stretching north along the coast, growing ever thicker as you travel up the Captain Cook Highway to Cooktown and the tip of Cape York. Today many more restaurants line the beach front esplanade of Palm Cove, it is good to see them thriving again after the last few torrid years, but no pubs, not that there isn’t at least one tucked a away in a corner of the town, after all what would an Aussie town be without its local pub.The local surf club though does score a beachside location, an institution in any Australian coastal town, this one operates its own bar and grill, catering for a range of tourists from young marrieds to seniors like us, profits going to maintain local surf life saving in the township. The overall feeling is one of a relaxed holiday atmosphere, where one can feel the soft warm air on your skin, take in the ocean breezes and enjoy the blue ocean and the golden sands. All the elements that come together to spell HOLIDAY in big capital letters. Take a walk down the esplanade, the holiday mood is all pervasive, a good meal, coffee or ice-cream can be had anytime of the day and at night raucous teenagers are absent and the little ones safely tucked up in bed. Perfect for us grumpy old men and women. All that being said the village is full of life with the constant turnover of local tourists, (overseas ones are yet to return), the extensive caravan park is constantly full replenished with a steady flow of grey nomads weary from their wanderings seeking a few days and nights of rest and recuperation.

In the spirit of the town our days have mostly consisted of reading and relaxing by the pool during the day and trying out new restaurants by night. Feel like people watching, then take a stroll down the esplanade to soak up the atmosphere.

Helen and Howard had arrived not long after us and settled into the caravan park. From then on we shared many an enjoyable evening meal exploring new or old restaurants or home BBQ’s even a memorable lunch after visiting Port Douglas, in the tree tops at the Thala resorts Osprey restaurant over looking Pebbly Beach and the Coral Sea. Helen and Howard have now left their space in the Caravan park that quickly filled, they tried desperately to stay on for a few more days, but no travellers had a mind to give up their precious spot. They planned to travel further into the Australian Outback, exploring the isolated towns between the Coral Sea Coast and Alice Springs along their way. Eventually they will turn south again to return home.

A local resident gave us a tip about the Cairns Dam, when built the result created a man made lake, now known as Lake Morris reservoir. The reservoir services Cairns and surrounding districts sitting in the mountains to the west of Cairns. Now, I use the term mountains reservedly as Australia’s mountains are more akin to tall hills than mountains found in the the rest of the world. At 403 metres or 1322 feet it is a 15 Kilometre narrow windy drive through lush tropical rainforest to the reservoir and dam known locally as as Copperlode Dam. The site for the reservoir although discovered by Frank Morris who surveyed the area on foot in 1935 wasn’t built until 1976. The original site contained a large waterfall known locally as Copperlode Falls, hence the name of the dam and resulting Lake. The views from the summit are breathtaking as they look west to Cairns city taking in a panorama of rain-forested mountains and as far as Green Island in the Coral Sea. We sat and ate our picnic lunch in the picnic grounds overlooking Lake Morris, no road or construction noise reached us here from the city, the only sounds the occasional bird call on the whispering breeze disturbed the absolute silence and peacefulness of the site.

Kylie, our grandchildren Krystal and Tyson with partners Ken and Bronni arrived today. Great Grandchild Lincoln experiences his first plane ride at 10 months old how life has changed. We picked them up from the Cairns airport and have them settled into their hotel at the southern end of the esplanade an easy 15 minute walk from our rented house on the northern end of town. We will gather here tonight for a BBQ before meeting up again tomorrow to travel 26 kilometres by slow train to the rainforest town of Kuranda, every 50 metres we will travel the elevation rises one metre. Kuranda is an arty little rain forest tourist town up on the Atherton tablelands. Mostly a market town with locally made hand crafted products and indigenous artwork, with the occasional cafe and novelty shop thrown in. The train ride will be a trip down memory lane for Krystal and Tyson having experienced the trip in 2005. The return trip by cable car, quicker but much more exhilarating will also awake memories of the past I’m sure. They all have seperate and joint adventures planned for the days ahead, we look forward to catching up with them at various times to hear about their adventures. For us we have plans to visit the Cairns Botanical gardens, a tropical paradise for plant lovers like us, who can only dream about a tropical garden and the colourful exotic species that abound here. The Aquarium also in Cairns is on our list, as the attraction has had a major upgrade and move of location, no longer the funky little country tourist spot it used to be. With the many international visitors over past years competition and Cairns unique spot on the Great Barrier Reef has mean’t aiming for an elevated level of sophistication. Now the Aquarium is home to more than 16,000 Aquatic Animals, in 9 Key Ecosystems, across 11 Zones.

In fourteen days we will be back on the road again exploring more of the Capricornia coast line before once again heading into the Outback for our trip home. Stay tuned we will be back.