The cane fields around Cairns are everywhere, up to maybe 3m high with those fluffy bits in bloom on some crops. We heard that the cane railways are in use and to watch out for them at road crossings. Cane trains are to Cairns what the iron ore trains are to the Pilbara. Sort of. I was hoping to see one chugging along laden with freshly harvested sugar cane, but we didn’t. Maybe on our way back down south.

No fluffy tops on this crop.

Heading out of Cairns, through all the new subdivisions, the built up areas finally start to disappear. Heading off the highway to the coast, we stopped in at Palm Cove. I guess it was probably once a normal sort of residential beach side town, just out of the Big Smoke. But now it is cheek to jowl resorts all along the beach front, plus the second row too. But the nice thing was that it has a lovely relaxed feel about it and none of the glitz of similar Queensland beaches. There is also a distinct lack of parking for cars with trailers (us), so we moved on to Port Douglas. I’m sure this is a spectacular drive along the coast, with the towering rainforest mountain sides sliding down to the water in good weather. But we just got drizzle and mist (mizzle) and no sunshine.

The sun came out in Port Douglas! Yay!

Famous Four Mile Beach at Port Douglas

I’ve decided I should take a holiday up here with some friends and play golf (after I have learnt how) on the spectacular course here, eat out every night at swish restaurants and lie by the pool the rest of the time. For a month.

But for now, Port Douglas isn’t really our kind of camping town.