Port Douglas Tourism News
Cairns Airport welcomes the return of Tiger Airways.
The airline announced today it will resume flights into Cairns with a daily Melbourne – Cairns return service, commencing 25 April 2012.
International Coaches & Tours can provide private transfers to your Cairns and Port Douglas Accommdation: http://www.internationalcoachesandtours.com.au/transfer.html
Cairns Airport Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Brown, said Tiger’s resumption of the busy Melbourne – Cairns route has been long awaited.
“That Tiger will again operate services into Cairns on what has been voted Australia’s fastest growing route just ahead of our peak season is very welcome news indeed.”
“Tiger commenced flights into Cairns in September 2010 and proved a popular airline even while operating on late night arrival and early morning departure times,” Mr Brown said.
“We also welcome the fact that Tiger is going to provide a daytime service, arriving into Cairns at 12:15pm and departing at 12:45pm, offering greater convenience for its passengers.”
“It is also excellent news for the regional economy with a daily domestic service calculated on average to provide an additional $75million per annum in gross regional product and generate 843 new jobs in the region.”
Today’s announcement comes after ongoing negotiations between Cairns Airport and Tiger Airways that commenced soon after services where withdrawn due to action by CASA in 2011.
“We have worked closely with Tiger Airways to find the right time to relaunch their Melbourne – Cairns service,” Mr Brown said. “With those flights set to recommence we will continue our negotiations and are confident we can work with Tiger to achieve further growth on Melbourne – Cairns as well as encourage them to introduce new routes.”
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On November 14, 2012 (Cairns time) a solar eclipse will be visible in Northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. Very few people have the opportunity to view a total solar eclipse as the shadow only covers a very small area of the Earth and you must be in a limited zone to see the moon cover the entire face of the sun.
Seeing a total eclipse is perhaps one of the most spectacular astronomical phenomenons that you will ever see. Being in the right spot is essential on November 14, 2012.
Port Douglas will be the best viewing for the 2012 Solar Eclipse.
Sun Palm Transport are taking all bookings for airport transfers, luxury sedans, stretch limousines and private transfers.
Make sure you make your booking soon to secure your transport.
Thanks to the generosity of our wonderful tourism industry, over $10,000 worth of food and gifts have been donated to The Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul, Uniting Care (formerly Lifeline) and the Douglas Shire community - all recipients of the Quicksilver Group’s 8th Annual Christmas Charity Appeal.
“The overwhelming support and generosity of the local tourism industry and friends of tourism continues to amaze and impress us,” said Michael Healy Quicksilver Group Director Sales and Marketing. “It has been a tough few years for all industry in our region and the charities are in need more than ever. We hope we all can make a difference and everything donated will certainly help make this Christmas much happier for a lot of families and people in need.”
Quicksilver decided to once again to use the money they would normally contribute to buying gifts for agents and suppliers by instead purchasing goods for the local charities.
We would like to thank all the accommodation houses, tour desks, hotels, local suppliers and members of the community who have contributed to this year’s Appeal.
December 2011 – Award winning, environmentally conscious Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort alongside Mark Myers – Director of W & M Enterprises, are extremely excited to announce the first Eco Cab to be introduced to the roads of Port Douglas.
The Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas having recently won the ‘Best Environmental Practice’ award at the Queensland Hotels Awards for Excellence, enthusiastically seized the opportunity when Mark Myers presented the idea for advertising sponsorship of his product to General Manager, Lachlan Walker.
The Eco Cabs have an ultra modern look and the bodies are made up of a mixture of fibre glass and recycled plastic bottles. They have a 200 watt rechargeable front-motor, are pedal assisted and cost less than 2 cents per kilometre to run with 0% emissions. Complete with hydraulic disc breaks, indicators and break lights, the Eco Cab is extremely safe and comfortable to ride. The Eco Cab has received enormous acclaim and is hugely popular all across Europe, including major cities such asLondon andAmsterdam.
The Sheraton Mirage Eco Cab will be available for hire as of today to give locals or tourists a lift from one end of town to the other. A fun and economical savior to Christmas shoppers whose arms may be tiring of carrying all their new found treasures, or for those decadent, lengthy lunches that may continue on at another venue across town.
Lachlan Walker was particularly excited, stating “Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas is exceptionally proud to be supporting W&M Enterprises in establishing the new Eco Cab on to the roads around the village of Port Douglas. This Eco Cab represents our continuous efforts towards caring for the environment here locally with our breathtaking Reef and beautiful Rainforest, as well as being a step ahead in the campaign to tackle global environmental issues. We look forward to having the public get involved in supporting this, ensuring the Eco Cabs success.”
Mark Myers states, “With the battery currently being rechargeable, we are looking at installing solar panels in the future, using our plentiful natural resource - the sun - that we here in the Tropical North are so lucky to have readily access to. This will in turn dramatically lower the need for the use of electricity to recharge the battery, which will save further on the use of natural resources.”
Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort: Featuring 294 luxury rooms and suites with 100 villas, Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas is the only five star beachfront resort in Port Douglas. The resort is set in 147 hectares of lush tropical gardens and features an 18 hole championship golf course, award-winning restaurants and bars and 2 hectares of sparkling swimmable lagoons. Perfectly poised on Four Mile Beach, the resort provides an idyllic base to explore the natural wonders of tropical North Queensland. Its location only matched by the standard of indulgence, opulence, service and style that Sheraton Mirage is renowned for. The resort was awarded Queensland Hotels Association Awards for Excellence ‘Best Environmental Practise 2011’ as well as ‘Best Function/Operations Facility’ in 2010, Travel & Leisure Magazine have awarded the resort in the ‘Top 5 Resorts 2011, World’s Best Service’ for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, along with, ‘Best Family Resort’ and Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas has been named in Luxury Travel Magazines “Gold List” every year since 2005.
See Santa at Port Village Shopping Centre
Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th December 2011 10am to 3pm
2 Shows Daily 11am & 2pm
Santa will be available for photos after each show
Face Painting and Balloon Making
Singing and Dancing
Giveaways
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef: Mother Nature was on cue for the Great Barrier Reef’s annual coral spawning with passengers aboard Silverswift’s Night Dives excursions being witness to this unique spectacle.
From Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform, groups of local and visiting divers and snorkellers were able to participate in guided tours for a once in a lifetime experience. Many excited passengers said seeing coral spawning was something to tick off their bucket list.
With the conditions just right, being about 4 to 6 nights after the full moon in November, with warm ocean waters and little tidal movement, Great Adventures General Manager Operations, Brian Cave, described the spectacle as an upside-down snowstorm as the corals release millions of eggs into the water.
While the most spawning was witnessed at the outer reefs on Thursday night (17 November), inner reef Green Island also experienced significant coral spawning the preceding night as many excited staff snorkelled and dived to experience the natural phenomenon.
Quicksilver marine biologist, Russell Hore, explains that while corals have two reproductive methods, asexual where the individual polyps split and divide to increase overall size of the colony, to maintain a consistently robust gene pool corals need to have a sexual phase to exchange genes. This process is known as coral spawning.
Cairns, Great Barrier Reef: Mother Nature was on cue for the Great Barrier Reef’s annual coral spawning with passengers aboard Silverswift’s Night Dives excursions being witness to this unique spectacle.
From Great Adventures’ Norman Reef platform, groups of local and visiting divers and snorkellers were able to participate in guided tours for a once in a lifetime experience. Many excited passengers said seeing coral spawning was something to tick off their bucket list.
With the conditions just right, being about 4 to 6 nights after the full moon in November, with warm ocean waters and little tidal movement, Great Adventures General Manager Operations, Brian Cave, described the spectacle as an upside-down snowstorm as the corals release millions of eggs into the water.
While the most spawning was witnessed at the outer reefs on Thursday night (17 November), inner reef Green Island also experienced significant coral spawning the preceding night as many excited staff snorkelled and dived to experience the natural phenomenon.
Quicksilver marine biologist, Russell Hore, explains that while corals have two reproductive methods, asexual where the individual polyps split and divide to increase overall size of the colony, to maintain a consistently robust gene pool corals need to have a sexual phase to exchange genes. This process is known as coral spawning.
Port Village Shopping Centre MARKET DAY!
Saturday 26th November 2011 - 10am to 3pm
- 30% off Xmas Tress at Target Country
- Balloons for the Kids
- Face Painting
- 30% off at Jay Jays
- Special deals at Coles
- 25% off Clarins and REvlon at the Pharmacy
- $5 Swimwear Separates at Between the Flags
- Free Health Checks with Port Village Medical Centre
- FREE* Makeover at Salon Y
- Adults at Kids prices on Aristocat (60% off)
- 3 for 2 vitamins* at the Pharmacy
- 25% off* at Natural Clothing Store
- 10% - 25% off* at Newsagency
- Below Duty Free* prices on perfumes at the Pharmacy
- 20% off jewellery* at Floral Edge
- Cooking Demonstrations & Daintree Chocolate Tastings
- at Taste on Macrossan
- $8.90 coffee & cake all day at The Coffee Club
- and many more.....
This past week, has seen a lot of cassowaries around especially with new chicks. These cassowaries have been seen regularly. Also there are crocodiles been active on the river as it is coming into there breeding season.
Don't waste a day because of your flight times!
International Coaches can pick you up and drop you off at a time that suits you. We will also collect your luggage and store it while you are on tour, we will then drop you and your luggage to the Airport or Hotel after your day tour! Kuranda is a perfect option for your arrival or departure day!
Spring is a wonderful time to visit Cooktown and the Tropical North as there are birds galore with orchids and flowers blooming everywhere. And of course its great fishing!
Keen anglers are taking advantage of increased sunny days and lower wind conditions. You will see many locals and visitors alike at the Cooktown wharf.
Cook Shire is such a diverse and widespread landscape with natural beauty in abundance.
The legendary Crocodile Trophy MTB stage race commenced for the 17th time this year in Australia. After ten days racing, participants will finish their race for the first time on Grassy Hill in Cooktown, on the 27th October 2011
Experience 1 or 2 days tours to Cooktown with Adventure North from Cairns and Port Douglas via the 4wd only Bloomfield Track through the heart of the World Heritage Daintree National Park.REturn journey is via the Great Dividing range, Mulligan Highway which is the outback of Far North Queensland.
Sun Palm Transport welcomes a new addition to our luxury fleet. A 53 Seater Coach featuring the latest in safety, technology & engineering. Fully air conditioned, lush leather seats, seatbelts, DVD and CD player.
Arriving at the airport or your accommodation has never been as easy and reliable as it is with Sun Palm Transport, your corporate and conference bus charter experts. Sun Palm Transport will provide your group or organisation with a coach charter service that is professional, uniformed and qualified drivers.
At Sun Palm transport, we also believe that having someone there to meet you upon your arrival is equally important. Sun Palm Transport Group is the only licensed transport operator authorized at Cairns international and Domestic Airport. With a strong emphasis on customer service Sun Palm Transport Group provides 24 hour, 7 days a week, meet and greet service at Cairns Airport (including delayed flights).
So whether its a general airport transfer, stretch limousines, luxury sedan or a luxury coach transfer for your VIP Guests, Incentive Programs, Weddings, Tour Groups, Events - We'll take you there.
Event organisers Footprint Music Festivals (FMF) will bring Port Douglas' largest open air concert once again but as The Mini Roadshow at the Port Douglas Yacht Club. Tickets will be on sale at the Door; Kids under 12 enter FREE, Kids 13 to 17 $5, and Adults $10. All proceeds going to charity and Sunset in the Park Community Concerts Inc. Door opens at 2pm with and bands starting at 2:30pm.
Established in 2007, Port Douglas' official Beer Festival will be on in October. With German Beer and Dancing Girls at the ready, come join in the slap happy festivities from 12noon. Court House Hotel Port Douglas.
SYDNEY TRAVELLING FILM FESTIVAL COMES TO TOWN 11-13 NOVEMBER 2011
WITH SPECIAL GUESTS MARGARET POMERANZ & DAVID STRATTON FROM AT THE MOVIES AND AUSTRALIAN MUSIC ICON CHAD MORGAN
The Sydney Travelling Film Festival lifts the curtain on its annual event in Cairns, bringing a weekend of world cinema and three very special guests to Cairns City Cinema, 11-13 November.
The festival will offer audiences tales from France, Israel, Norway, UK, Italy, Japan, USA, Argentina and Australia. The program caters to all tastes, from life in a monastery to classic Australian comedy, road trips and French animation.
Special guests this year include At The Movies film critics, David Stratton (founder of the Travelling Film Festival in 1974 and Sydney Film Festival Director 1966-83) and Margaret Pomeranz who will introduce the Cairns festival’s Opening Night Australian feature, The Hunter - a gripping physiological drama based on the novel by Julia Leigh and directed by Daniel Nettheim, starring Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill.
To celebrate their 25 years together on Australian television, Margaret and David will also present at Cairns a special screening of P. J. Hogan’s classic 1994 Queensland comedy, Muriel’s Wedding.
Another special guest at Cairns is iconic country music singer, Chad Morgan, who is hosting a Q&A after the screening of the Australian documentary I’m Not Dead Yet – the story of Chad’s legendry life of almost 60 years on the road, narrated by Australian rocker Tex Perkins.
Alongside these Australian features is the winner of four Israeli Academy Awards - The Human Resources Manager and Academy Award® nominated animation by Sylvian Chomet (Triplets of Belleville) The Illusionist. The festival line up also includes Official Selections from the Sydney Film Festival; the winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, Happy Happy; romantic comedy Medianeras, the internationally acclaimed Le Quattro Volte and new documentary from Errol Morris, Tabloid. The closing night film is the visually ravishing adaptation of Haruki Murakami's best-selling novel, Norwegian Wood, with an evocative score from Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead.
The Cairns Sydney Travelling Film Festival also showcases three acclaimed Australian short films including Nullarbor, winner of the 2011 Yoram Gross Animation Award at Sydney Film (screens with The Illusionist) and finalists in the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films – Cropped, in an outback home a family makes a mysterious discovery (screen with The Human Resources Manager) and Owen Trevor’s Two Laps, a tale of a two men and their annual race (screens with Happy, Happy). Alongside these Australian short films is short film from Singapore, Tiong Bahru, Official Selection at Sydney Film Festival.
Tickets on sale now at the cinema box office (07 4031 1077) and online at eventcinemas.com.au
Opening Night and guest sessions selling fast!
For full program details visit sff.org.au – Travelling Film Festival – Cairns
Even though Cairns and surrounding areas have received some heavy rain, it is nothing out of the ordinary for this time of year which is coming up to the start of the wet season. Yesterday on our Daintree Cape Tribulation tour we had a few showers then it cleared as we got up into the Cape Tribulation area, despite being the wettest place in Australia with an average rainfall of 5 - 6 meters. On the river cruise we saw 4 crocodiles out and about foraging for their breakfast, a few green tree snakes and a Great Billed Heron which is a usually very shy rare bird to see on the river, alot of the trees are in fruit, so this is providing ample food for the many different species of birds and wildlife.
On our board walk at Jindalba we saw a female cassowary and also spotted the Buff Breasted Paradise Kingfisher which is a rare migratory bird from Papua New Guinea. These amazing birds wait for the start of the wet to then start their migration to this area to nest and rare their young before heading back to New Guinea on their epic journey. So don't let a little bit of rain bother you come and see the amazing wildlife and all the waterfalls that are running. Billy Tea Safaris also have high clearance 4WD vehicles to allow us to get to these areas despite the weather. The forecast is the weather is clearing by Friday.
"JAMES MANN & THAT CAIRNS BAND" on at the "Tin "Shed, Port Douglas
Sunday 29th January and Sunday 26th Febuary 2012
Also..........Every Sunday afternoon waterside Jazz 3.00 Pm - 6.00 Pm see the "JAMES MANN & THAT CAIRNS BAND" at Cairns only absolute live Jazz music water frontage venue overlooking the Coral Sea just meters from the waters edge on Holloways Beach at the in vogue "Strait on the Beach Cafe" Popular with locals, interstate and overseas visitors love the place, your well liked host Ronnie will be on deck to welcome you.
The trio cover ever popular music genres:- Swing Jazz - Swing Blues - Rock - Latin - Be Bop - Funk.....
James Mann...............Bandleader / Vocals / Guitar
Lochie Gaylard..................................Electric Bass
Maxwell Stokes..................................Drummer
Some testimonials from the venue Sunday 25th Sept.....
- I have been to this spot many times, and each visit brings me joy. The band is great, and the classic tunes you play bring back stories my grandmother told me back in the good old days thank you for playing this beautiful music....Billy Ross.
- Love your music, I'll be here every Sunday...xxxooo....Therese.
Wyndham Vacation Resorts and Wyndham Hotel Group announced on the 24th August the addition of the Mercure Port Douglas Treetops Resort to the company’s portfolio of properties in the South Pacific region.
Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific is Australia’s largest vacation ownership company, while Wyndham Hotel Group is the world’s largest hotel company with approximately 7,210 hotels.
It has been confirmed that Treetops will be renamed Ramada Resort Port Douglas making it the first Ramada resort to open in the region.
The purchase of the property by Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific includes the acquisition of 194 hotel rooms as well as management rights for the property.
The hotel rooms will be reconfigured over the next 12 months resulting in the transfer of 86 apartments and hotel rooms in to the WorldMark South Pacific Club by Wyndham for use by its 44,000 vacation owners.
“We are delighted to establish our presence in this area under the strength and reputation of the international Ramada brand,” said Barry Robinson, CEO and managing director of Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific and also managing director for Wyndham Hotel Group in the South Pacific.
“We are committed to the expansion of our portfolio in leading tourism destinations such as Port Douglas.
“Ramada Resort Port Douglas is a stunning property which will not only delight visitors to the region but will appeal to our WorldMark South Pacific Club owners. Port Douglas is a desirable destination to visit as indicated by our owners; therefore we anticipate a valuable contribution to the local tourism industry through our acquisition of this property.”
This male cassowary was out and about foraging for food, and we were lucky enough to see it yesterday. There have been several sighting in the past few weeks.
The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius Casuarius) is the largest flightless bird in Australia and is on the endangered list, as numbers have depleted dramatically in the past 10 years through Natural Diasters and Ferral animals. The male also takes on the role of raising the chicks, once the female has laid the clutch of eggs, the female leaves and has nothing todo with the eggs or chicks once they are hatch. The male will sit on the eggs for a period of 47 - 54 days before they hatch, he will then care for the chicks until they are about 2 years of age before leaving them to fend for themselves.
This past week as the temperature warms up the Crocodiles on the Daintree River are becoming more active in searching for a mate as it is coming up to their breeding season, and regular sightings of many crocodiles both large and small have been seen.
Our passengers have been treated to a regular sighting of a large male cassowary with two chicks, this is a spectacular sight.
Where the outback meets the sea, Karumba will be the centre stage of the inaugural Barra, Beef and Bulldust Expo held 4 - 6 November 2011. Tours and attractions will also be promoted along the Savannah Way and Overlanders Way on-route to Karumba.
The free regional Expo at Karumba will showcase projects, organisations, goods and services ranging from corporate and local businesses, to community organisations and health services, to agriculture, art and education. There will be entertainment for all ages during the Expo.
A major evening event (ticketed) is planned to follow the Expo with a feast of local barramundi, beef and prawns and drawcard entertainers: Troy Cassar-Daley, Mary G, David Hudson and Shane Howard.
The expo will provide an opportunity for people across the Gulf region to showcase the community, natural resources, culture and economic prospects to the wider Gulf regional community, business leaders, politicians and other government decision makers, primary producers, industry, tourists and natural resource management practitioners.
The event is envisaged to be a catalyst for building partnerships and networks, extend the business and tourist season in the region, raise the profile of all sponsors, stallholders and activity hosts, generate opportunities for increased investment and business collaboration and increase the sustainability of land management practices across the region.
Visit their website for the Event Programme and Ticket information http://www.barrabeefandbulldust.com.au
Award winning local winery Shannonvale Tropical Fruit Winery has won the “ Most Successful Exhibiter “ in its section at the Perth Wine Show held 3 weeks ago.
Tony and Trudie Woodall have maintained the high standards they set for themselves since scooping the Australian Fruit Wine Awards in Cairns in 2006.
Their Wine Consultant - Brian Wilson - who is also an occasional Grape Wine Judge states “The Shannonvale Winery have to uphold my own standards in wine making and winemaker Trudie Woodall is very good at making this happen. I am amazed at how Trudie has risen to the challenge. Her wines are truly impressive.“
“ Brian keeps me on my toes by insisting that second best is not good enough “ says Trudie ” and the challenge to be even better is always there. “
Proud husband and partner Tony takes great pleasure in selling their award winning wines at the Shannonvale Cellar Door and through their extensive Mail Order sales. As he keeps repeating “ My cup runneth over ”
Results of the 2011 Perth Royal Wine Show.
11 of the 14 wines were entered by the Shannonvale Winery were awarded medals including:
Dry wines - Gold - Mango wine
Silver - Passionfruit wine
Silver - Pineapple wine
Bronze - Jaboticaba wine
Sweet wines - Bronze - Mango wine
Dry Spice wines - Bronze - Ginger wine
Fortified wines - Gold - Purple Mangosteen
Silver - Black Sapote
Silver - K Lime Cello
Silver - Orange
Bronze - Jaboticaba
Most Successful Exhibiter - Shannonvale Tropical Fruit Winery
Tony and Trudie Woodall have been making commercial standard wine since 2000 and follow the principle that each wine will taste of the fruit it is made from and they will be single-fruit wines, not blends.
Contact Shannonvale Tropical Fruit Winery for more information
The "JAMES MANN & THAT CAIRNS BAND"
Live Seaside Jazz Every Sunday 3 PM - 6 PM.
At the popular "Strait on the beach Cafe" on Holloways Beach, Ideal for locals interstate and overseas visitors, your popular host Ronnie on deck to welcome you, the trio covers ever popular music genres: Swing Jazz - Swing Blues - Rock - Latin - Be Bop - Funk.....
James Mann...............Bandleader / Vocals / Guitar
Lochie Gaylard..................................Electric Bass
Maxwell Stokes..................................Drummer
Thursday 29 September – The Help (M)
Friday 30 September – The Change Up (MA15+)
Saturday 1 October – Zookeeper (PG)
Sunday 2 October – Red Dog (PG)
Season finishes on the 2 October, don't miss your chance to attend Moonlight Cinema on these final four screenings!
For more information visit www.moonlight.com.au
Thursday 22 September – Horrible Bosses (MA15+)
Friday 23 September – One Day (M)
Saturday 24 September – The Lion King in 3D (G)
Sunday 25 September – Final Destination 5 (MA15+)
Thursday 29 September – The Help (M)
Friday 30 September – The Change Up (MA15+)
Saturday 1 October – Zookeeper (PG)
Sunday 2 October – Red Dog (PG)
Season finishes on the 2 October, only two weekends to go!
For more information visit www.moonlight.com.au
