I heart Port Douglas

I’ve been here in Port Douglas for a little over 3 weeks now and I apologize for not updating my blog more frequently, but truth be told, I haven’t had that many crazy adventures as of late (unless you include being pushed down the street in a shopping cart by 3 drunk Americans). It’s been slow at work as we are just coming into busy season now, so I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time sitting on the beach, hanging out at the pool, and playing (losing) chess. I’ve also been working on a photographic project that I’m hoping to have exhibited in one of the main shops in town, and my hostel owner discovered that I’m an artist so he put me to work drawing on large chalkboards for the lobby. I got a few nights of free accommodation for these little beauties:


Now chalk art may not be my calling, but I’m pretty excited to say that I will soon be putting my atrophying paining skills to good use. The hostel is undergoing major renovations and I guess I got here at the right time because they have asked me to paint some huge murals on the walls. I’m really excited about the project because it’s a hell of a lot cooler than cleaning the toilets to score free accommodation, and the walls will equate to some of the largest canvases I’ve ever painted on. I’m doing the sketches now and I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Yikes! But I can’t tell you how happy I am to get the chance to do something creative at last. I’ve been feeling rather like a piece of dust in the breeze, questioning everything, and it just feels so good to have some creative energy running through my blood again.

In other fun news, I went out to the bar I work at for karaoke night a few nights ago and sang a few songs. I had met these really cool guys from Sydney who were here in Port Douglas for the weekend and was so busy chatting to them that I failed to realize that I was a finalist in the karaoke competition (I hadn’t even been aware that there was a competition on in the first place). The winner would score a trip to the reef and I ended up coming in 2nd place to a guy who was singing Madonna (he was actually really good). I did, however, manage to land myself a free day trip to Mossman Gorge and Cape Tribulation (2 beautiful rainforest areas about an hour north of here). Turned out the guys I was talking to were headed up there the next day and they invited me to come along with them in their car. At least I didn’t come away from karaoke night totally empty-handed!

They picked me up the next morning and we went for an aboriginal tour through native forest. It was a really cool walk (even through the guide seemed to be using the group atmosphere as a forum to vent about her divorce/life woes). She showed us how her ancestors survived in the rainforest and walked us through several survival skills ranging from making paint from the ochre in the river to washing our hands with soap leaves (when you rub these leaves in your hands, they actually lather up and clean as well as a bar of soap). I have no idea how people figure that stuff out; their breadth of knowledge about medicinal properties of plants was astounding. After the tour, the three of us ventured up to Mossman Gorge where we went swimming, and following that, we drove up to the Cape to check out the views. It was a cloudy and chilly day, so I didn’t bother taking any pictures, but try to imagine a beach. That's what it looked like. Oh well, had the weather been better it would have been much more impressive, but that's ok, it was a great day anyway. We got back into town at around 6 and I was so exhausted that I was in bed by 8. Now all I have to do is win that reef trip and my title as queen of the freebie will be sealed!