Port Douglas ve Buyuk Set Resifi’ni kesif!/Explore: Port Douglas and Great Barrier Reef!
‘Dunyanin en pimpirikli insanina nasil bir “hediyeyle” iskence edilir ve o iskence nasil omur boyu unutulmayacak bir aniya donusur’un hikayesi Port Douglas benim icin. Bundan yaklasik bir bucuk yil once 30 yasina girerken sevgilimin bana surpriz yapip Cairns’e iki bilet almasiyla basladi her sey. Ekim sonlarina dogru bu sicak ve nemli bolgeye birkac gunlugune misafir olduk boylece.
Port Douglas, Queensland eyaletine bagli, Cairns sehrinin kuzeyinde muazzam bir kiyi. Kucuk oldugu icin icine sizi hemen alacak kadar misafirperver. Denizine doyamadim bunu altini cize cize not edeyim; sicacik ve tertemizdi bizim oldugumuz vakitler. ( deniz anasi zamanlari biraz sikintili geciyormus )
Gun dogumu ve batimlarinda iyice yikandim hem gunes hem o muhtesem okyanusun derin sulariyla.
How to torture a person who has anxiety with a “gift” and how that gift turnes into great memories that will not be forgotten! That is what Port Douglas means to me now! About a year ago while I was turning 30, my dear husband made a big surprise and got us two tickets to Cairns-Port Douglas. It was late October and the weather was hot and humid those days. This small, coastal district is located north of Cairns in Queensland. I have to tell this was the best water in Australia so far for me, with a warm and hosting ocean. And I had enough bath until I was back with sun and water for sure!
Tatilin ikinci gunu uyanip kahvaltimizi yaptiktan hemen sonra dunyanin en eski yagmur ormanlariyla randevumuz oldugunu ogrendim Murat’tan.
Ormanin girisine kadar bize eslik edecek bir otobusle yola koyulduk. Asiri tatli soforumuz bizi ormanin girisine biraktiginda keyfim epey yerindeydi ta ki giristeki -fotografta da goreceginiz- tabelayi gorunceye kadar! Cassowaryleri (dunyanin en tehlikeli kusu, kus dediysem oyle minik degil kocaman bir arkadas ) beslemeyin tabelasi mi? Murat’a beni sal ben gidip denizime gireyim dedimse de dinletemedim:)
Cok fazla olmadiklarini zaten insanlar icin yurume yollari oldugu icin karsimiza cikmayacaklarini, nesli tukenmek uzere olan bir canlinin benimle ne gibi bir isi olacagini anlattiysa da, butun gezide sevgili kocamin tisortune yapisarak dolastim!
Orman hakikaten inanilmaz etkileyiciydi, yurume yollari sizi istediginiz yerlere kolayca ulastiriyor. Bitkilerin devasaligi, milyon yillarin ( evet 180 milyon yillik, dunyanin en eskisi!) ihtisami inanilmazdi.
Ama ormanin icinde akip duran o yesil su... Buz gibi, ustten selale alti havuz, isterseniz bir kayadan atlayip yuzun, isterseniz oturup seyre dalin. En cok orada durdum, bol bol izledim o guzelligi, az biraz girdim de icine. Ve her seyin sonunda hic cassowary gormedik (sukurler olsun!) ama o mavi isiltili kelebeklerin hepsine tek tek vuruldum.
Next day after having breakfast I learned that we had an appointment” with the Daintree Rainforest according to Murat’s program. We drove North & stopped by Mossman Gorge where we had a really energetic and humoristic bus driver take us to the forest entry. It was so much fun until I saw the sign at the gates: “Never feed Cassowaries!” and I am like, “what?” are there cassowaries here? The deadliest bird ever Cassowaries?” Although I said “No I am not going in there, I will go back to Port Douglas and swim in peace.” Murat convinced me that they are not around during people’s visit and also they are facing extinction so I am not their only problem. I somehow dragged myself in there and followed Murat so closely like ducklings following their parents :)
The rainforest was an absolutely amazing place, completely mind blowing, the oldest rainforest in existence, (180 million years old and 40 million years older than the Amazon rainforest!) can you imagine that? I watched over that waterfall and the green waters flowing! I watch it for so long and put my feet in it to feel its magnificence. You can jump from a rock and swim there safely as well. I didn’t see any Cassowaries (thank god!) but those blue butterflies blew my mind instead!
Buyuk Set Resifi!! Kendimi buraya gidebildigim icin dahasi zor da olsa o koca okyanusun icine girip gorebildigim icin o kadar sansli hissediyorum ki! Bireysel olarak dalamadim ama kucuk yari-denizaltlariyla kisa bir tur yaptik, daha sonra resifin icinde biraz yuzdum. Ama cok korktugumu itiraf edeyim, suyun derinligini kafam almadi, icim tir tir titredi ve cok zordu kendimi ikna etmem yuzmek icin.
Murat daha ilerideki resiflere de yuzdu ben onu yapamadim ama kendimi epey asarak guzel seyler gordum. Bir daha gidersem daha cesur olacagimi dusunuyorum cunku en son can yelegimi de cikarip suya daldim!
Resifi ziyaret ayni zamanda beni epey uzdu agarmis mercan kayaliklariyla, degisen sicakliklardan etkilenen mercanlarin o hepimizin hayalindekii rengarenk halinden eser yoktu bizim oldugumuz yerde. (2030’a kadar dunyadaki resiflerin hepsi maalesef geri donusumu olmaksizin bu hale gelecek kuresel isinmanin etkisiyle.)
Anemonlara yaklasmamamiz soylendi ve kopekbaliklarinin (zararsiz cinslerden) nadir gorulebilecegini ve gorursek cok sansli oldugumuz da!
Ve herkesin kafasinda beliren o klasik soruyu buradan cevaplayayim: Nemo’yu veya Dorry’i evlerinde goremedim ama deniz kaplumbagasini koydugum fotograflarin sonunda derinlerde yalniz yuzerken gorebilirsiniz. ( fotolara tik tik!)
The Great Barrier Reef! I feel extremely lucky to be there! How deep, how fascinating I cannot explain in one go. Murat had organised for a boat trip to a pontoon located at the Great Barrier Reef. After we got there, we decided to go on a tour around corals in a small tour semi submersible submarine, with large glass windows so you are able to see everything. I got soo excited and scared at the same time. (The water is around 35 meters deep) I couldn't swim even with a life jacket and everything, not because I am a bad swimmer, (I have been swimming since the age of 6) but the depth made me really dizzy.
Murat went out further than from the pontoon to see other corals, he even swam so close to a sea turtle! Well I couldn’t get out to do it until the last half an hour then I took off my jacket and dove (of course not too deep:). The feeling was amazing, I’m guessing the second time I go there I will be much better.
The sad part was, the coral had bleach dramatically. You won't see that colorful image in your mind because of global warming. And let me answer the question in your mind too: Have I seen Nemo or Dory? Well, no! But I saw the Aussie sea turtle instead, check it out at the end of the photo,s a lonely one in the deep blue!!
Eveet geldik gezinin son ayagina: Cape Tribulation Beach! Murat bana burayi bir ovuyor, bir ovuyor. Beni bir dunya hazinesine getirdigi icin cok gururlu, ben de bikinilerimi giymisim, hazir ve nazirim sularina dalmaya. Ogreniyoruz ki o benim dalmaya hazir oldugum sularda dunyanin en tehlikeli timsahlarindan, tuzlu su timsahi yasiyor!!! Ben bunun ilk saka oldugunu dusunmustum, herhalde hediye olarak timsahlara canli canli yem olmayacaktim! Ama oyleymis!!!
Hala inanamiyorum bana sorsaniz: ne denizde timsah mi, yok caniim olsa olsa baliktir o:) Bir de deniz kiyisina Cassowary’nin gelebilecegini ogrendim, ustune usluk sokan deniz analari falan, Murat’a surda iki fotografimi cek de bu hediyeyi hic unutmayayim diyip kosar adim arabaya bindim. Tovbeler olsun, guzelligi orda kalsin daha da gelmem. Hem her guzel yere insanin girmesi de gerekmez, dunyanin bazi guzelliklerini tadini cikarmanin oralarin asil sahipleri tarafindan yapilsin diye diye Port Douglas’in yolunu tuttuk. Yol ustunde de bu taslari gorup arastirinca aileyi temsil ettigini ogrendik, aile uyemiz kadar- ya da olmasini istedigimiz kadar- tas koyup oradan ayrildik. Kac tane mi? Asla soylemem!
Aaand we come to the last part of the trip: Cape Tribulation. A few days before we got there, Murat was so confident I would love it there, he kept saying beautiful things about it for days. And I thought “Hah finally less stressed, full of swimming day ahead of me”, by the way, I am not searching or looking at anything online because it is a part of the surprise right? I mean I trust my husband!! As soon as we got there I took off my shirt and ready to enjoy, Murat said: “You know you cannot swim in here?” “What do you mean it is a beautiful beach, surrounded by lush green rainforest and the gorgeous ocean?” There are crocodiles in the water and they are the deadliest!” “Excuse me?”
So the story was true, in addition to that there are Cassowaries in the forest too! I said “please take my picture here, I never want to forget this place.” So we did and I rushed to the car. I haven’t heard anything like this before, I mean there should be fish, whales, jellyfish (and they were too and harmful ones!) but crocodiles? I thought maybe not all the beauties in the world are not for “humans” right? The crocodiles can have Cape Tribulation, that's OK:)
On our way back to Port Douglas we saw these rocks and learnt that each of them symbolise a member of your family. I made one for us too. But I’ll never tell you how many I put there!
Gel gelelim kuru fasulyenin faydalarina: ne yedik ne ictik peki oralarda? Hepsi Port Douglas icinde bu yerler gayet guzeldi. Icinde timsah etli menulu dogum gunu yemegime kadar her seyi denemeye calistik. (Iyi ki yapmisim bkz. Korona vayris!)
Kahvalti icin Grant Street Kitchen’dan kruvasan bacon& egg roll ve kahve almistik ilk gun gayet guzeldi (ilk foto).
Bir baska yer Choo Choos, muthis tatli manzarali hem demir yolu hem deniz kenari bir kafeydi, kahvaltisi da gayet guzeldi kesinlikle burayi da tavsiye ederim gideceklere.
Oradan ayrildigimiz gun de kapisinin onundeki bu koca yapraklariyla beni buyulemis bir baska kafe The Little Larder. Bol secenekli bir kahvalti menusu var, kahveler iyi, servis de oyle.
Yerel dondurmacisi Cappannina’nin ozel sutuyle yapilmis Italyan dondurmasi, Port Douglas’i kesfederken elinizde ve karninizda bulunduracaginiz en guzel seylerden.
Aksam yemegi icin N17 hamburger’e o koca koca burgerleri, Sea Bean’e tapaslari ve paellasi; fine dining deneyimi, timsah karaage, yerel baliklari farkli yorumlamalariyla ve meshur tropikal bahcesinde hos bir aksam icin Nautillius’a gittik. Saniyorum yine olsa yine yapariz.
If we had enough with the trip, let's talk about the food!!! We had all our meals in Port Douglas, so it is going to be a guide for Port Douglas mainly.
So for breakfast I found three nice places to start the day. The first one is Grant Street Kitchen. It is little bakery & cafe and they serve good coffee with baking goods. We had a bacon & egg croissant, and trust me, it can cover lunch too!
The second place was Choo Choos at the marina. You get to have a nice view between the old railways and the sea. Their coffees are good too! We ordered delicious benedict and scrambled eggs.
The third breakfast we had was our last morning in there at “The Little Larder”, there was a queue even before Covid so you might need to wait a bit. Their menu was a range of various breakfast options and tasty! I was in love the huge leaves (don’t know the plant’s name:) in front of the cafe.
Having an ice cream from a local shop Cappannina is the best thing while discovering the area. The milk in the ice cream is a special one!
How about dinner!? We loved the huge and various burgers (that you don’t even know how to bite into:) from N17 Burgers. It was yummmmm!!!
Given Port Douglas is a coastal town, we also wanted to have some seafood, so we went to ‘Sea Bean’ Spanish restaurant and I had my first “paella” tasting there.
Date night for my birthday was in Nautilus which has a great tropical garden, seafood and local dishes like crocodile karaage! I absolutely loved it. Nice cocktails, good ambiance, cool food. Very well chosen restaurant for a happy birthday:)
Ozetle: Korkutmasina, urkutmesine ve saclarimi elektriklendirip kabartmasina ragmen ben Cairns ve Port Douglas’i cok sevdim:) Hayatimin en guzel hediyesi icin once Murat’a, sonra da beni taa buralara kadar getiren hayata kocaman bir tesekkuru borc bilirim:)
Summary: Although I got scared, got the shivers for different reasons and I got frizzy hair, this was the best gift ever for me to overcome my fears (fingers crossed)! So I think I need to thank hubby for this amazing, dangerous and fun gift. Thanks for holding my hands always and thanks for protecting me from being eaten by crocodiles, even at the last minute!:)
