PORT DOUGLAS – THE AUSTRALIAN TRAVELLER GUIDE

A side of ocean or mountain views? Osprey’s Restaurant, Port Douglas, Qld It’s all about local food and views at Osprey’s Restaurant at Thala Beach Lodge, just south of Port Douglas. The modern-Australian menu uses ingredients grown onsite, while the views go beyond the private beach to the ocean and nearby mountains. Prev<<<< Kyneton, Vic  Next >>>> Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival, Qld   Osprey's Restaraunt...

A popular getaway destination for Australians to wait out winter, Port Douglas offers palm trees and sarongs, as well as sun-drenched streets with flashy eateries and trendy boutiques. Although it can explode to double its size during high season, Port Douglas still manages to retain the charm of a sleepy fishing village. Normally home to just 3000 locals, this picturesque town is less than 70 kilometres north of Cairns, and is a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree rainforest. WHERE TO STAY Port Douglas suits any kind of traveller, with a wide variety of options. For solo travellers,...

Where is it? In the southern section of the World Heritage-Listed Daintree National Park, about 20km west  of Port Douglas in tropical north Queensland How to see it for yourself? This image was taken from the base of steps down to the waterhole at Mossman Gorge. The the best way to see this view first-hand is on fivefoot. Guided walks are available, which encompass other sites that are culturally significant to the local Kuku Yalanji people. The vivid green of the water pictured tends to happen after extended periods without rain. According to the photographer, for ultimate serenity, the best time to visit is early in the morning before the crowds set in. Why...

Port Douglas is a Tropical North Queensland town well-loved for its proximity to the reef and rainforest. It’s known as a retreat for celebrities and wealthy retirees, but Elisabeth Knowles wonders what it’s like for the rest of us. From the lookout on Flagstaff Hill, Port Douglas presents itself as the perfect tropical beach town, unspoilt by overdevelopment – and, it must be said, unravaged by Cyclone Yasi, which whipped through north Queensland two weeks before I arrived. To the south, Four Mile Beach stretches out in a blond arc. It’s seductively spooned between a disc of bright blue Coral Sea...

AT's guide to the best cheap accommodation for summer and Christmas holidays Port Douglas Why do we rate it? This once-sleepy fishing village deserves its status as one of Australia’s best destinations. Everyone from lazy couples to hyperactive teens will be happy here. Where is it? In the northern part of Tropical North Queenlsland, 70km from Cairns, a 1hr drive along one of the most beautiful roads in Australia, the Captain Cook Hwy. Where to stay This is a town with as many options as the Gold Coast, without a tower in sight – the local council will not approve a development higher...

Since writing about Flames of the Forest two years ago for our 100 Great Things To Do In Australia You’ve Never Heard Of, this sublime dining experience has undergone some changes. With the sounds of the forest and nearby mountain creek providing accompaniment, the entire experience is food for your soul. For starters, having picked up the marquee and moved two minutes along the bush path to a new site, the restaurant can now cater for up to 900 people. Luckily the concept hasn’t changed – guests dine under a protective covering beneath the canopy of a Port Douglas rainforest....

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes If you’re after a traditional holiday experience, you’ve come to the [w]rong place. But if you’re looking for something contemporary, complex, fascinating and absorbing, this is definitely the [W]right House for you. Experts in environmentally sustainable design, Charles Wright Architects constructed this four-bedroom masterpiece in 2007 as a mathematical tribute to the pioneering aerial success of the Wright Brothers – which meant a lot of intense fiddling around with Fibonacci spirals, the Golden Ratio and fractal generation. The result is a vast, single-level, open-plan home with vaulted ceilings and sweeping beam-work that...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes This whopper of a holiday home above Port Douglas has seven bedrooms and sleeps up to 18 guests – so, provided you have enough mates to feasibly cover the $1600 per night price tag, why not throw a party? Villa Empat Puluh Dua is, in a word, sublime. Its seriously secluded location set high on thickly forested Flagstaff Hill means you could walk around naked to your heart’s content without anyone but the daily housekeeper seeing, and bedrooms open out on to balconies which overlook canopies and the sapphire sea. The house...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes With a name that aptly translates as “Yes, Why Not?” you’ll be hard pressed to find fault with this well-groomed number on Queensland’s Oak Beach. Another hit from the award-winning Chris Vandyke, who specialises in open-plan buildings that are drawn from tropical and Asian influences, Si Como No is born of a cool architectural savoir-faire, and is distinguishable from the neighbours for its structural elegance and zigzagging roof edge. Both interior and exterior are characterised by soft stone colours, dark polished wood, white linens, deep green foliage, palm leaves and the occasional...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes Tibetan for mythical kingdom, where heaven meets earth, this multi-award winning house set on six acres in the Daintree rainforest is in fact arguably closer to heaven than the name lets on. Another of Chris Vandyke’s architectural masterpieces, it’s made up of three separate pavilions, one housing the master suite and spa, one the kitchen, living area, media room and library, and one a further two bedrooms. Built in Asian style and designed to echo the surrounding environment, Shambhala has lofty ceilings and is swathed in natural light. One of Shambhala’s bathrooms...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes If you’re looking for a holiday home closer to the ocean than Oak Beach Villa, prepare to book yourself a boat. It’s set on absolute beachfront just five minutes south of Port Douglas, and this Balinese-inspired residence is far more laidback than some of the super-duper luxury options in the region. It was also the retreat of choice for Rove when he was a-wooing Tasma Walton (now McManus) back in August 2008. Big functions and parties aren’t permitted at Oak Beach Villa – life is encouraged to be a little more lowkey,...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes Could this absurdly luxurious holiday home possibly be weighed down by more awards and accolades? Set on 40 acres atop Mt Somerset just north of Mossman, its soaring, open-plan design is by Chris Vandyke, who’s taken home six national and 15 state design awards in his 25-year career (Chris also designed Shambhala, Bali Hai and Si Como No, which also appear on this list). It was built by multiple award-winning Keith Tesch, and took out both Qld’s Best House and Australian House of the Year awards in 2008. Boasting 360-degree views of...

Australian Traveller Magazine’s 100 Great Australian Holiday Homes When you roll into Port Douglas for your next tropical holiday, be sure to look up – waaaaay up. Touted as the highest house in the region, Horizon Vista (on Ocean View Rd, no less) could not be more appropriately named. There it sits in all its rainforest-shrouded splendour, bristling with balconies, just begging you to explore its three vast bedrooms, ensuites, kitchen, spa bath and walk-in robes, before diving full-length into its sparkling saltwater swimming pool. And don’t worry if you forget your bathers or swimsuit; only the lowest of low-flying...