PALM COVE
Palm Cove is a tiny enclave of luxury hotels
and fine-dining restaurants beside a beautiful palm-fringed beach. My favourite
ingredient is heart of palm from a coconut palm. Its exquisite flavour, sublime
texture and relative scarcity make it almost unbeatable. I believe it to be the
perfect distillation of the spirit of the tropics
(This was 10 years ago, some things may have changed)
Named for the beautiful palm lined beaches along
the city’s picturesque coast line, Palm Cove in Northern Queensland is one of
Australia’s most popular holiday resort areas. Just a short 15 minute drive
north of Cairns International Airport, this oasis on the Coral Sea boasts
beautiful hotels, scenic drives and a long list of area attractions. Palm Cove
has just about everything that a family or couple could want in a getaway haven
– warm, sunny weather, beautiful resorts and spas, lush tropical scenery and
ocean views that just won’t quit. For this reason it’s not surprising that this
quaint little beachside hamlet has become one of the most popular places in
Australia to get married. Palm Cove instantly turned on the charm with
everything you want in a beach town: quaint coffee shops and stores, a few good
pubs, great restaurants and a palm-tree lined beach. The enormous Paperbark
trees that line the main street and meld with shop fronts, give the strip a
unique character that also struck us. We stayed at Hotel
Grand Chancellor. Set in over 3 hectares of lush tropical gardens, Hotel Grand
Chancellor welcomes you to the tranquil seaside village of Palm Cove, gateway
to the Far North Queensland's top heritage attractions such as the Great
Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest.
The resort was a perfect spot for a relaxing holiday, featuring 2
swimming pools, restaurant, bar, alfresco dining, massage, beauty and hair
salon, games room and is within 5 minutes walk to the beach. The weather of course is nice and warm, the
pace much slower than in Brisbane, and you are definitely closer to nature than
on your average day.
We dropped our bags and with the sun warming up we retired to a
shady sun lounge beside the lagoon pool. Oozing beachside chic thanks to pastel
colours and lush tropical gardens, plantation shutters that screen wide open
terraces, ancient melaleuca trees that filter the tropical sun and an adults
only lagoon pool make Hotel Grand Chancellor a romantic hideaway made for
lovin. Chilling out poolside, it’s a bit early for a cocktail but persuaded by
a long tall mojito packed full of refreshing mint leaves – it’s 5 o’clock
somewhere.
We then took a Wander along the path that dips and dives around
the coconut palms it’s pretty obvious how this place got its name. Because
we’re still feeling a little giddy from the chocolate tart sugar rush we decide
to count the palm trees lining Palm Cove’s Esplanade. Easily distracted by
music and a sandwich board advertising Happy Hour cocktails, we give up at 37.
After a few drinks we headed to Nu Nu’s.
Nu Nu’s is the best restaurant in Palm Cove. It’s probably the best
restaurant in North Queensland. It’s definitely the only one that has absolute
beach frontage so we planned ahead and made reservation weeks before we
arrived. Nu Nu’s makes regular red
carpet appearances on ‘best of’ lists so we’ve come with high expectations. We
allow Chef Nick Holloway to unleash his creativity and surprise us with a 7
seven course tasting menu.
…………………………
The next day was market day. Once a month during the dry season
cars are banished and market stalls take over the beachfront. It’s absolutely
one of the best days to linger in Palm Cove. We spend hours poking through the
stalls picking up a trinket here, some handmade soap there. A freshly squeezed
mango and lime juice clears away the cobwebs from last night’s over-indulgence.
We wandered, we shopped, and we ate a little more. We chilled out on the grass
and people-watched. A swim in the ocean
followed by a walk along the beach was a soothing balm to shopping and eating.
Then another swim, walk, eat, and repeat. In the afternoon a massage was called
for. I left to play a round of golf,
while Kim enjoyed a 90 minute hot stone massage and some foot pampering. Its a
few hours since our last meal so it’s definitely time to indulge again. After
last night’s Nu Nu feast we took it easy with a casual BBQ on the
beachfront. Early night was in order.
…………………………
After a lie in and a late breakfast we were picked up from our
hotel at about 11.30 for our day trip to Kuranda. The trip was run by Glenn a very nice chap
and there were only 7 other guests, the coach journey took about 40mins along
the beautiful sea coastal road to the Skyrail Station just outside Cairns. The
Skyrail system was installed above the protected rainforest over a distance of
about 15km with the tallest tower being over 40m high. There were 2 stops
enroute to Kuranda Village, these being for rainforest board walks and a
waterfall lookout point. It was a strange feeling gliding over the tops of the
trees, but the views were sensational.
We arrived in Kuranda village which is located upon the Atherton
Tablemountains, this village was known as the hippy village, who were credited
with the successful fight to save what was left of the rainforest. Kuranda is a
lovely little village in the rainforest at the top of the mountain about 300
metres above sea level. The main street is only a few hundred metres comprising
of cafes, restaurants and shops hosting arts and crafts. The village has 3 lots
of markets, a Butterfly Sanctuary, Bird world, Koala Gardens, mini crystal
museum (with a full-scale dinosaur skeletal replica), mini put put golf and
much more.
We left Kuranda by the scenic train which took 1 hour and 45
minutes weaving through the mountain rainforest with a short stop at the Barron
Falls. We weren’t very impressed until we reached some local communities where
the properties looked very good.
The next day I thought what better way to experience the Aussie
bush, rainforest and spectacular views than on horseback with Blazing Saddles.
The horse-riding trails meander through beautiful bushland and rainforest,
allowing you to get in amongst nature and experience it firsthand. Blazing
Saddles began operation in Jun 1992. Proprietor Peter Trout, a very experienced
horse handler, relocated his half-day horse riding adventures from Mungalli
Falls on the Atherton Tablelands, to Palm Cove which is an incredibly beautiful
and diverse place only 20 minutes north of Cairns. In December 2005, he moved
again to a bigger ranch just west of Kuranda west of Cairns and now since 2012,
they operate on a property at Yorkeys Knob only 10 minutes from the Cairns City
and Northern Beaches. It was the first time Kim rode a horse. She handled it
okay, but you could see the fear in her face the whole ride. She came good
towards the end and is looking forward for another go. Dropped back off at the
resort we chilled the afternoon away in the spa and pool with many of cold
ales.
The next day we headed into Cairns. We walked down to Cairns
Central first. Cairns Central is one of the biggest shopping centres in the far
North Queensland that offers an extensive variety of shops and services. We
found marvelous fashion and charming novelty items to special products and
services. We then headed to The Pier at the Marina. The Pier was home to a
number of excellent fashion and specialty shops where you can found special
gift items for families. Kim indulged in shopping for some stylish clothes and
accessories.
We decided to head to the Cairns Wildlife Dome, which is a
spectacular all-weather wildlife exhibit, encased by a 20-metre high glass dome
on the prominent rooftop of The Reef Hotel Casino, right in the heart of
Cairns. You can immersed yourself in a
rainforest environment whilst parrots, cockatoos, lorikeets, and other birds
native to the Wet Tropics region fly freely around, with the opportunity to
observe free-roaming rainforest wallabies and view bettongs, curlews,
frogmouths, kookaburras, frogs, turtles, pythons, crocodiles and lizards.
We took a free guided tour and animal presentations, providing an
interactive Getting on late in the afternoon we headed to Marina Point, next to
the new Cairns Yacht Club facilities. We earlier made a booking for dinner at
Salt House, which is a unique dining, bar and entertainment venue offering a
panorama of the ocean, marina and city on the waterfront in Cairns.
Salt House has been designed by renowned Sydney designer Michael
McCann of Dreamtime Australia Design and the fluid space allows uninterrupted
views of the changing colours of the ocean and mountains that encircle the
city.
After dinner we walked the main street in the opposite direction
of the boat habour. The restaurants are busy and everyone is sitting outside.
The weather here allows for outdoor dining all year round. Even in the wet
season, all the outdoor areas are covered so people can still sit outside and
watch the rain pour down. There is a really lively vibe in the air and we love
it. Everyone is friendly and looks like they are having a good time. As we
wander down the street we see the lights of the Esplanade. There are colored
lights everywhere.
They light the trees red, green, and blue. A simple thing
like this just makes the place so attractive.
Eventually we find the Cairns Night Market. This has a food court
with cheap meals and tons of little shops with very affordable prices. We
wander around the night market and even buy a few things. It’s just so damn
cheap! We headed back to the resort late.
The next day was a sleep in, and breakfast by the lagoon. We
pretty much chilled by the pool all day because being our last day we booked
into the Tjapukai experience for dinner.
The evening came and we went to a place called Tjapukai, an
"indigenous cultural experience". We were there for the Night Fire
event.
The evening started with champagne and canapés in the foyer. There
were slices of kangaroos on small pieces of toast topped with spicy beetroot
and then my favourite, little boats of sweet potato covered with slow cooked
emu.
The entertainment started with a welcoming ceremony where music
was provided by a didgeridoo player and someone using two boomerangs as a
percussion instrument. This was accompanied by authentic Aboriginal singing and
dancing.
Following the welcome we were taken to a large auditorium. Here
the lights were dimmed and the dancers performed traditional dances honouring
the cassowary (a large, almost extinct, flightless bird) and the kangaroo. They
also acted out the hunting of a kangaroo. Then it was time for the fire
lighting ceremony. For this the audiences were called on to participate. We
were split into two teams, each with a different part to sing and an
accompanying dance. I wish I could say that I remembered either the song words
or the dance. As we were singing and
dancing one of the Aboriginal hosts was using a notched fire stick to create a
fire in a pile of dry grass. The way he made fire was very similar to a
technique I learned in the scouts and was fascinating to watch.
Once the fire had been made, we were led out over a bridge where
torches were lit with the flame. Then it was the group's turn to make fire by
the lakeside in the cool evening air. We danced and sang again and a couple of
volunteers we called upon to light the fire.
Once the fire had been made we were taken to the restaurant for a
world buffet meal. The food was very nice but we were quite disappointed for
three reasons. Firstly the advert had said that the food would be prepared in
an underground oven and taken out in front of us. This was an experience we
were really looking forward to. Secondly, aside from roasted kangaroo there was
very little authentically aboriginal food. We enjoyed eating Asian salads and
European desserts but we were hoping for something more typical of the culture
we were trying to explore. Finally, the group was small and we had all been
singing and dancing together so it would have been great to have eaten together
and to have shared our meal with the indigenous singers and dancers, however we
were seated at intimate tables as couples. We felt the evening was somewhat let
down by a lack of thought about the centre-piece meal.
After we had eaten there was a short closing ceremony of singing
and dancing from our Aboriginal hosts and then we posed for photos with them.
The Night Fire celebration was over and we were led out though the gift
shop. Back to the resort and get ready
to leave for Brisbane. Holiday over back to work.
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