On the coast 80 km North of Cairns. One of the oldest ports on the coast, which never really made it and lapsed into obscurity for a century or so. Then in the 1980s it suffered from large-scale luxury development. Now it’s an odd mix of its old somnolent self (complete with Shipwreck Museum) and a haven for the super-rich (boutiques, expensive resorts and helipad). Curiously, this fragile mix still seems to work and the place is delightful. If you find yourself stuck in Cairns for a while you might get fed up without being able to go to the beach. Port Douglass is the closest beach that is ‘croc-free’ (no guarantee), and the drive from one to the other through the winding rainforest roads make a pleasant day trip.

Twice a year Port Douglass becomes the place to be: at the end of May there is the Port Douglass Carnival, which runs over a period of 10 days over two weeks, it begins with a bang and the Macrossan Street Parade which has been known to attract over 10,000 people.

The second period is throughout October with the Sunset in the Park Music Festival and Porttoberfest, North Queensland’s very special type of beer festival (not that Austrians need an excuse to drink beer). They’re held in the middle and the last weeks of October.