Port Douglas

Aug 15th:  Sunday - funny how being on vacation makes you lose all sense of days of the week.  I like it!

On our way to Port Douglas, we stopped in Palm Cove to enjoy an artist's fair and take in the breath-taking view from the cove.

In Port Douglas, we did a walk-about amongst mural art and lush vegetation.

The main event today was to ride the Skyrail and Port Douglas is where we embarked.  We would ride gondolas along a cableway over the Barron Gorge Nartional Park, over a World Heritage listed rainforest. There was the option of riding the train instead, but we agreed we'd see more from above.

The rail would make 2 stops along the way to explore a small part of the forest from platforms and walkways.

Sharie, clenching a little, as she anticipates the scary heights.

Sitting opposite Sharie, the boys watch her squirm.

Sharie ignoring Gymmy's enthusiastic seat hopping.

The train is running in the back to the left.

A view from one of the platform stops.

 Near the end of the ride, we saw a man made lake with water ski jumps.  The skiers hold onto handles running on cables around the lake.

APT planned an exciting evening of traditional aboriginal story telling and dance, with actual natives, to be followed with a banquet dinner ending our tour.

We started the evening in a theatre, receiving a rather halting and slightly uncomfortable speech by a local aborigianl man about the 'ways' of the native peoples.  He spoke in a non-sequential, unrehearsed manner about the death of his grandmother that week, the severity of going against tribal laws (to include, in gruesome details, how a wayward member of the clan can be speared through the thigh) and making a dig against non-aboriginals, whose children drank and did drugs, hanging out on street corners.

From there, we moved into a large room, where a creation story was enacted to loud beats and a kind of stomp danicing.  We were lured outside, corraled into a large circle around a sandy pit, where we were handed clacking sticks to keep a rhythm and chant while a fire was conjured.  I kept thinking these people must think we're fools, playing along with something that was probably some ritual to raise and unleash a demon on the evil, ignorant white Europeans.

We finished the evening with dinner and drinks, wishing our tour travel mates well on their continued adventures.