Meet ya in Port Douglass!

Cairns, David, Port Douglass and friends from the Windy City. February 22-27, 2018


The largest living thing in the world resides on the coast of Australia. Specifically, the North East Coast of Australia. “The Reef”..... the Great Barrier Reef. Feared by sailors and revered by divers, snorkelers and home to over 1600 species of aquatic critters. We are headed to the diving Mecca, but first we need to pick up David in Cairns, so team Kopf is back together.


8 hours of driving north on the coastline we get to Cairns, pick up David and find he has already scouted for dinning opportunities. It’s kind of his thing. He likes to eat well and is always up for new food prepared in interesting ways. We are in Australia so why wouldn’t we try Kangaroo, Gator/Croc and other local meats. Quoting David... Roo, is good, but not as good as beef. Gator tacos... “very good.” If you like good food, David makes an exceptional travel partner. No one is faster on the Google search, checking reviews and making reservations. Of course Lauri, Brett and Cortney are no slouches, but David exudes passion. Wake up in the morning and its a good bet the best coffee shop has been scouted, taste tested and a review is ready. Noosa’s local beach front cafe had the second best croissants David has ever had. I wanted one after hearing about it and I don’t even like croissants. Every meal not only is rated, but also put in historical and geographic context relative to other meals in other countries.


About an hour and a half out of Cairns is Port Douglass. A bit smaller town that appears to make it’s living off of diving, snorkeling, tours and rain forest excursions. AirBnB has provided us an incredible villa, with a wading pool, a couple of master bedrooms, outdoor showers and space for us to lounge around, cook a few meals and generally relax. Oh yea, there is a 4 mile sand beach 20 yards from the entrance.


By amazing luck, friends from Chicago were in town and we all gathered around the ample, outdoor, dining table and enjoyed an evening of laughter, stories, good wine and decent food. Gary and Nancy were treated as family as my shy and reserved daughter told disgusting sailboat bathroom stories. Cortney also got Gary to share his haunted house stories that were made even more creepy with Port Douglasses huge bats zooming around as darkness fell. Maybe huge doesn’t do a bat with a 2.5’ wing span justice. Let’s make that hundreds of bats. Definitely a good setting for a ghost story or two.


It’s funny, when we are playing in the surf, crashing into each other on boogie boards and even teasing each other on the sailboat... Cortney frequently is my little girl, but at dinner my fearless daughter morphs into a charming partner to a wonderful son in law. Smart, warm, engaging... go ahead pick an adjective to describe these newly weds. They are wonderful together and Lauri and I feel very lucky to see how happy Brett and Cort are. Just watching them adds a fun element to the trip.


The Great Barrier Reef... Let’s go diving! The Reef is about an hour ride north of the harbor on a very fast, insanely powered catamaran. It’s been a few years since Lauri and I have frolicked under the sea... well ok, about 14 years. Yikes. We’ve watched a few YouTube videos to refresh our memories of the finer points of breathing underwater. We show our credentials and fill out all the health forms. Emma, our dive master, returns a short time later after collecting our forms and asks if I have a note from my doctor to dive... what? “No, but my mom wrote me one” was the response rolling inside my head. “You need proof of medical clearance to dive”... I have deep, sinking, emotional response... “I checked with the Diver Alert Network and had all my heart valves checked for bubble transfer during a stress test. I’m good to go!” Emma relayed that they needed a signed doctors note. I was incredulous... Port Douglass has had five Crocodile attacks this year, three have been fatal. People regularly get transported from the beach to the hospital for Stinger wounds that are life threatening. Australia has “many” critters that can and will kill you... no permission slip needed. I’m intending to dive slightly deeper than the deep end of an Olympic diving pool and you are demanding a note from my doctor? Arghhhh!


Yeah, I blew it. Soon Emma is witnessing Lauri, Cort and my eyes leaking. The Mecca of diving will have to wait... at least for me. I soon shifted gears and focus on what I get to do and not what I didn’t get to do. “I get to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef!” It was amazing. I stayed on the surface like a voyeur and watched my wife and daughter effortlessly explore the “Finding Nemo and Little Mermaid” scene below. It really was fantastic. Lauri begged off on diving in the afternoon and shared the surface swimming with me. Ask Lauri about holding hands while snorkeling... Memorable. It was a nice afternoon.


On the ride back to harbor, Emma and I struck up a conversation and it turns out her boyfriend Camron, another dive master, and her are traveling the world and have some experiences in many of the countries that Cort and Brett are traveling to after Australia. With Lauri’s encouragement we invited Emma and Camron to dinner to swap travel stories. What a wonderful evening! Just watching, Brett, Cort and David share time with Emma and Camron was worth the price of admission.


After our experience in Alaska, Lauri and I will never miss an opportunity to share a meal with interesting people.


Port Douglass rapped up with a visit to the Daintree Rain Forest and a stop to check out Roos, Crocs, Koalas and many interesting birds at a nature center. Lauri wanted to bring a few of the critters home. There is something magical about a baby roo snuggling into their mothers pouch.


Feb. 27, we begrudgingly go our separate ways. Brett and Cort to Hong Kong, David to Port Lincoln, Australia and Lauri and I head to Christ Church, New Zealand. It was wonderful to spend the time with the kids, but New Zealand would ease us down with all kinds of new adventure.