onie1

we will be spending 6 days in port douglas in the middle of feb. can anyone tell me what to expect for rain, heat ect. also what do you think about motoring up the coast to some of the small towns . thanks.

pat_woolford

Well, its wet season so expect some rain, even though there was barely any this past Feb. Often it falls in heavy bursts at night with brilliant sunshine between downpours, so do also expect humidity.

The rainforest is at its best in wet season, and excluding the slight chance of a cyclone, its good reef weather too.

By "motoring up the coast" - do you mean north of Port Douglas? The road is sealed between Port Douglas and Cape Tribulation (sometimes parts are closed in the wet) - north of Cape Tribulation, the coast road to Cooktown is 4WD only.

onie1

thanks for the info pat,will the jelly fishstill be a problem in feb, if so it looks like any swiming we do wil be in a pool. but we do want to travel by car around the area , primarly to get away from all the tourist sites and enjoy the real austrailia. I had 3 aussies from melborne stop in to visit my son a couple of years ago, and they had bought a car and were traveling around the US. for a month.they told my wife and I how enjoyable a trip it was, so we hope to do some of the same, but on a much more limited scale

Tassietwister

You can travel to the tableland, different world. And very Australian.

We did a drive from Port Douglas through the tableland to Mission Beach. Mission Beach is still Aussie in my book, unlike Port or Palm Cove where they fit better into international, rather than Aussie destinations.

Then we drove back up along the highway to Cairns. So we did a big circle.

You can not do this in a day but worth a thought.

6 days is a long time to stay in Port. Consider taking a few days touring.

Cooktown is a great trip. It is such an isolated town yet nowhere near as isolated as many places in Australia. One road, inland, is through outback and the other road, 4wd only is through dusty (albeit lush rainforest)terrain. Great experience if you like to get away from it all without actually tipping over the edge.

Depends how adventurous you are.

pat_woolford

Couldn't agree more with Tassietwister if you want a more Aussie experience, Mission Beach, about 2 hours south of Cairns is much more laid back than either Port Douglas or Palm Cove. Beautiful beaches with rainforest backdrop.

Yes, onie, jellyfish are a problem in northern tropical waters from November to about June. So no coastal swimming except in netted areas on lifesaver patrolled beaches. Its very rare for box jelly or irukandji to be found as far out to sea as reef, so be guided by crew as to necessity of wearing a stinger suit, a lightweight lycra zip up thing - available on reef boats. This also saves you the trouble of slathering yourself with sun protection cream every couple of hours or so in summer.

Tassietwister's suggestion of Atherton Tableland is very worthwhile; a nice break away from the heat and humidity of the coast. A very fertile farming area with waterfalls, lakes, tropical highland rainforest, and wildlife. Locally run rural retreats and B&B's are the places to stay, see www.bnbnq.com.au You may also see the Tableland referred to as Cairns Highlands, a marketing ploy with the locals hate to use.

For a glimpse of of Australian outback life, do visit the Royal Flying Doctors - there's a visitor's centre at Edge Hill, just north of Cairns.