My final couple of days in Port Douglas consisted of shopping, eating and a bit of crocodile spotting... that's right, I got to see a croc in the wild! We headed to a local hotspot for seeing them, a popular fishing spot in a creek where at least four crocodiles are known to live.
Our first trip was fruitless and we ended up going back into the town to do some shopping and grab some lunch, but a local fisherman told us to head back around 1pm because one occassionally appears around then. Once again, the first twenty minutes or so resulted in nothing but the odd movement of a fish below the bridge we were standing on. Just as we were thinking about leaving, however, our luck changed!
Never smile....
My friend Lynsey managed to get this photo of him as he lay across the surface of the water. Having seen crocodiles in both Taronga Zoo in Sydney and the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas, it wasn't the first one I'd seen since I arrived in Oz. The difference here was I was getting to see this deadly creature in it's natural habitat, and that was amazing. High up on the bridge we were at a completely safe distance, unlike some crazy people who apparently go right down to the edge of the water here, despite the warnings, but it was still a huge deal. Seeing one in the wild isn't something that happens every day, so that's a memory I'll definitely hold on to forever!
Wildlife aside, Port Douglas is such a lovely little town. I was there just before the busy diving season so the town was fairly quiet and we got to wander around the shops and browse at our leisure.
We then took a walk to the Marina where boats go out to the Great Barrier Reef, and it finally stopped raining at that point! It's a lovely spot, with cafes and bars looking out over the water. We went to a local bar and restaurant called On the Inlet, where every day at 4pm they throw scraps out to an enormous fish that lives in the area! It's a clever marketing ploy because the bar was absolutely packed at that time, with people all ready with their cameras trying to catch a glimpse of the famous fish. That day it decided not to jump right up out of the water, but we saw it swimming around under the surface and it was huge!
Catching a glimpse of the fish!
All in all I had a fantastic time in Port Douglas, it's such a lovely place. The best thing about it though was catching up with Lynsey - it had definitely been far too long!!
Hope you are all well, thanks for reading!! :)
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