i remember years ago when i went to port douglas i felt the most immense sense of relaxation -
not only because the air and waters were warm and limpid but because melbourne was over 6 hours of plane travel away with no possibility of getting anywhere in a hurry [this was pre-mobile phone frenzy, so perhaps it would be different now, but a metaphoric still a world away]
flying far north
port douglasimportant to stay within walking distance of macrossan st, and the port and restaurants and the supermarket (ie not in the resorts at the other end of 4 mile beach)
port douglas retreat, 31 mowbray st
tree view studio, 3 nights, $109 studio apartments, built on only two levels, the building blends in with the tropical gardens that attract many native birds.
palm villas, 40 warner st, port douglas
car hire from cairns - either north or south
compare prices at
vroomvroom(europcar seems the best deal, (15% off for bookings more than 2 days before the end of june;
see here for other specials)
a side trip to the
atherton tablelandsThe Atherton Tablelands is a beautiful sub tropical haven located between the Bellenden mountain range and the Great Dividing Range, just one hours drive (100km/62 miles) from Cairns.
The Tablelands is an area where monsoonal rains and evolution have combined to create a dense mosaic of unique plant and animal habitats, rainforests, national parks, mountains, rivers, lakes and beautiful waterfalls, combined with some of Australia's richest agricultural lands (the "food bowl" of the northern tropics) and charming small townships. some articles from the age/smh about some charming townships
The rural landscape of the Atherton Tablelands is green throughout most of the year, with a temperature, which rarely exceeds 30c. Situated on a plateau, which rises 600 metres to 1000 metres above sea level, it is a cool escape form the summer humidity of the coast.
The Tablelands picture postcard like towns and villages has an amazingly diverse range of residents who share their extensive arts, crafts, music and festivals gladly with visitors.
[pictured is the malanda pub, built in 1911 and apparently the largest timber structure in australia]
Also, the Tablelands is a haven for bush walking, rare bird watching and wildlife ...The Tablelands features Australia's widest waterfall, and many other picturesque waterfalls cascading over mossy rocks into cool clear rivers. Also to be seen on the Tablelands are the deep blue waters of extinct volcanic crater lakes and extensive National Parks. 
south from cairns
mission beachboth houses,minimum 5-night stay applies between 25 june and 17 july
one of 6 bungalows offering a carefree, relaxed atmosphere on a shoestring budget ($120 a night for 3 nights)
94 kennedy esplanade, south mission beach ($120 a night for 3 nights) absolute beach front holiday house
the
holiday accommodation site that lists this house has photos showing mission beach the morning after cyclone yasi, and several weeks later - showing the signs of recovery
the best way for them to recover is for tourists to return to town,
Recovering after Yasi but 'open for business'.
locals have launched something called the butterfly project to help attract tourists,
Mission Beach to spread its wings with joyMission Beach is a butterfly haven and the community have always talked about butterfly trails for visitors and things like that...The Butterfly Project will see hundreds of handcrafted butterflies hanging from trees, letterboxes, fences, anywhere visible from the road.it's a lovely idea
mission beach backs on to a national park and there are lots of
walking tracks in the area.the licuala state forest is home to the ulysses butterfly, which is an incredible iridescent blue
there's a
water taxi to dunk island but dunk island was badly hit by the cyclone and isn't in any shape to host day-trippers or resort guests.
although they are haunted by aboriginal legend
thursday 14 July (date confirmed!),
wedding photos outside the paperback for ole times sake
european/
the famous supper club window (what i've read described as the playschool window)
At first i thought an opera cake would be good.
a flourless chocolate cake with pear will be much better,
maybe embellished with cake pops for the kids
very fancy ones in london
or there's always diy diy
an alternative idea is those coloured macaroons on a bed of confetti so they look like 
big fat confetti
finally (maybe after a rest), dinner at the grace darling in the atrium
south from cairns mission beach
ka-koda 6, 6/44 koda st mission beach
one of 6 bungalows offering a carefree, relaxed atmosphere on a shoestring budget ($120 a night for 3 nights)
the holiday accommodation site that lists this house has photos showing mission beach the morning after cyclone yasi, and several weeks later - showing the signs of recovery
visit the babinda boulders 68 km south of cairns
