Goughs on the Go: Port Douglas

The temperature was heating up, the humidity was skyrocketing, and we were not too keen to freecamp without air conditioning. So we made our way to a CP just out of Port Douglas where Bertha would fit. We were in the ‘overflow’ area, which meant we were all by ourselves in a lower section of the park, but we were only staying a couple of nights. There was a pool with a water slide and a jumping pillow, and an almost-complete water park which the kids couldn’t use yet – damn!

Somehow our “one or two nights” turned into a full week! We had so much to do, starting with some shopping for work clothes for me. We’ve booked a spot in Melbourne for our return and we won’t have our stuff out of storage for a bit. That means I will be a little short of work clothes – somehow I don’t think my shorts, t—shirts and thongs count as “professional dress”! There were some great shops in town and I now have about 10 days of new clothes, which should be more than enough to get me through. Then we had some unexpected news about friends and colleagues who were headed to Port Douglas. One of the teachers at my work was getting married up here, and my dear friends Ann C and Janet C from work were heading up too! So we hung around another day to catch up and have dinner with them.

Then we discovered that the Big 4 we were at was having a big Halloween night on the Friday. There was a BYO everything BBQ with games, dress ups and lollies for the kids, followed by a free pancake breakfast the next morning, all for $20 for the night’s accommodation – wooo hoooo!

After the dinner on Thursday, Janet invited us to the wedding ceremony (which, as a Baptist Minister, she was conducting) at the church. The wedding was on Saturday, after the big breakfast at the Big 4... So you can see how easily our time stretched out. Anna, the bride, was just stunning and the venue was simply beautiful. It was the first wedding Lexie had been to since my friend Priya got married, and she was only 4 or 5 then! We snuck into the back row and the church, and she LOVED seeing the ceremony.