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Reprinted From: Sunday Mail (circulation 592,440) on 18 May 2008. Download Original File
WHEN Christopher Skase built the Mirage at Port Douglas in the 1980s, locals worried the town had been ruined for everyone but the rich.
But the poor and not-so-rich, like
the common cold and the obscenely
rich, are always with us, and travellers
can still go a long way on a small
budget in Port Douglas if they know
where to look.
While a lot of the marketing for the
iconic tropical north Queensland town
focuses on five-star resorts with day
spas, there are also affordable places to
stay and eat and even some free things
to enjoy.
For instance, you can go sailing free
of charge every Wednesday afternoon
from Port Douglas Yacht Club. Afterwards
you can eat at the club, one of
the best cheap meats in town.
You can go to local shops or the
Sunday markets to buy fresh fruit and
vegetables to take home to cook in
your apartment or communal kitchen
at a backpacker lodge.
At the markets, you get to meet
some of the locals from the days when
Port Douglas was a hippie town.
They're older and greyer, the men are
skinnier and the women are fatter, but
they're still turning out crafty stuff by
the stall-load and recycling clothes.
There's also well-made jewellery and
art, and it doesn't cost to look.
The Funky Cow in Davidson St has
an outdoor cinema in return for a goldcoin
donation, drinks are at pub prices, there's a pool and food is affordable.
The Combined Club has affordable
meals and I found the Star of Siam
good value for Thai food.
While adjoining cafes were busy
with people tucking into bacon and
eggs and the full brekky, I loved my
good coffee and a big, buttery fresh
croissant served by friendly people at a
little bakery in Owen St. It's popular
with locals, who sit at tables on the
footpath or at a long coffee bar
overlooking the street.
My favourite affordable restaurant
was at my accommodation at Port 0'
Call Lodge, 10 minutes' walk from the
heart of town and five minutes to the
famous Four Mile Beach. There were
meals under $20 for a main course and
a seafood plate for 25 was great value
fresh, well-prepared and delicious.
Port 0' Call generates all its hot
water needs from the sun, uses wind
energy from on-site turbines for all
lighting and has water and waste
minimisation programs.
Prices start at $119 for a deluxe motel
room for two and $17 for each
additional person up to four; $99 for
budget double rooms; and $31.50 a
night per person for a four-bed dormitory
with ensuite bathroom, bar fridge
and airconditioning.
The Lodge is registered with YHA
and offers discounts for members.
Bunk rooms cost $26.50 a night per
person for non-members. There's a big
communal kitchen, wi-fi and Internet connections. Transfers from Cairns or
the airport are free if you stay at least
two nights, a good saving with airport
shuttles costing around $32 per adult.
Latitude 16 has 10 properties in Port
Douglas with one, two and threebedroom
units. One-bedroom apartments
start at $130 in the low season,
increasing to $150 for one or two
people. Seven-night deals start at $92 a
night at Latitude 16's Garrick House.
The Wet is regarded as tow season
but is actually a great time to visit if
you're interested in rainforests and
roaring waterfalls and streams. In the
Wet this year the Best Western Lazy
Lizard Motor Inn was offering three
nights for $100 a night for one or two
people mid-week.
One of the best things about Port
Douglas for budgeters is that you really
don't need a car. The focal bus service
runs on a continuous 15-minute loop
from 7am to midnight along the main
road into town from the highway and
costs $3 each way.
Tour operators pick up from accommodation
centres and you really only
need a car if you want to spend time on
your own around the Cairns highlands
sampling the cafes there.
Visit the Marina View in the Marina
Mirage for a breakfast or Lunch for
under $15.
By building the first major five-star
luxury development here, Skase
alerted a lot of people to the town's natural charms and its surrounding
rainforests and reefs. He also alerted
concerned locals to the threat posed by
uncontrolled development, and the
Douglas Shire was the first local
authority in Australia to impose a
population cap.
So far the friendly small town feeling
remains strong and locals are happy to
share the best of their Wet Tropics
wonderlands with visitors.
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