Port Douglas. Queensland's upmarket paradise resort

Helllooo

Currently sat in Parrot fish backpackers.... in my room, with a bottom bunk and free wifi which is a state of luxury when you are in a backpackers!!! and there is free breakfast tomorrow....!!

http://www.parrotfishlodge.com/

we moved into global backpackers last night but they are booked out for a few nights so we had to move out over the weekend. but are going back to global backpackers port douglas tomorrow hopefully because it is cheaper.... and it is a really nice hostel, no wifi unfortunately which is the only hiccup but its a great location near to work, the beach, and the esplanade as well as all of the bars and restaurants and coles! (supermarket)

http://www.globalbackpackerscairns.com.au/port-douglas

port douglas is beautiful, really upmarket, for those who are are coming on holiday to shop, eat, eat more and drink fine wine. there are two 'clubs' open until 2/3 which is good enough for us! not so many young people as in manly by any means, but there are a few backpackers and the place is lovely. today mel and i saw two weddings on the esplanade; it is an absolutely fantastic location for weddings, it is paradise. but my heart is of course always going to be in manly :)

http://www.adventures.com.au/themes/advco/photos/places/portdouglas/port-douglas.jpg

PD is much nicer than cairns central (an hour south of PD where we stayed when we first arrived into queensland) which is like a seedy holiday resort full of travel agents backpackers cafes and internet shops. they try to make it nice with palm trees but its still rough and there are aborigines everywhere who bring the place down a lot. they just hang around the streets, unemployed and are drunk all of the time too. but we are out of cairns now and in port douglas which should work out for us hopefully.

i have a job at find (arrived yesterday and had a trial within two hours which was very much appreciated... but i was severely hungover from our last night out in cairns, i nearly chundered on the bus but i ate an orange and that made me feel better....) i had two interview set up for the minute we arrived. but got the finz one which is better hours and close to everything!!! it is a seafood restaurant, very upmarket, with daily specials you have to learn and know everything about everything. a lot to learn but hopefully i will pick it up. a lot more full on compared to the very laid back moo, which i miss, but its more hours, 6 nights a week, with the potential to earn more too. currently on about $20/hour so with 5 hours a night i should be fulling in about $600 a week and apparently the tips can get up to $250 a week. EACH. and they are cool with me doing the farm in the day as long as I'm not too tired. i have a job guaranteed until i leave end of november :) mel has a trial tonight at a mexican doing dish washing with the view to her moving out onto the floor !!! :) and there is another cafe which asked her to come in for a trial too which looks super cool :)

http://www.finzportdouglas.com/

farm work wise, there is pretty much no work anywhere farm wise, we called up every farm and working backpacker and friend and everywhere had a long waiting list. which is why we are considering woofing which is volunteering but it means we won't be made to work every hour under the sun etc. but that won't come into play until the bloke is back up in port douglas in two weeks. he advised us to get a job to earn some cash, then when he is back we can move onto the farm if we like, to get free accommodation, do the work, then go to work at our restaurants in the evening!

hope you are all well, always appreciate an email or comment so i know you are all reading!!! :)

mel and i are have been chatting and we are thinking about doing asia (thailand, indonesia, cambodia, Lao, vietnam) over christmas and new year (3 months) then doing new zealand for a year and working there! then coming back to manly in 2014 to use our second year (the one we are doing the farm work for)... to try and get sponsorship! weeeee. :D mel and i are getting on really well, a few bits of bickering here and there when we are both stressed or tired but nothing major at all. so all good there. we are both on a health kick now and have found a great deal in coles for a salad box (mix of greek salad, meditteranean pasta and chorizo bean mix) for only $6 so thats a really nice quick evening meal that we can grab before work of a day and then get into the habit of eating fruit and cereal for breakfast. there is a gym here too but that is $100 a month. so are gonna see what happens with farming and jobs etc before we make any rash decisions... haha. there is also a 4 mile long beach here so we can go for a nice walk or run for free !!!

our friend tyler, from the US, is coming up to port douglas on tuesday we think, we may get a flat together depending on price but the hostel looks good for now. people at the hostel aren't exactly party animals it seems, but, i suppose thats good for our health kick haha but they are really friendly and we will meet people out and about and at work I'm sure.

this evening i went down to the esplanade and saw the sun set over the mountains.... absolutely gorgeous.....

http://www.cairns.com.au/images/uploadedfiles/editorial/pictures/2008/11/18/main.gif

we are planning on going out tonight for a few beverages to take advantage of my night off, and hopefully mel will finish early because its a trial! then we are looking into doing a $50 for 1.5 hour boat cruise around the bay at some point too. and a trip to cape tribulation which is apparently a great place for backpackers! daintree is also world renown for crocodiles and outback adventures!!! but obviously the main focus is our farm work!! so we are hot on the search.... :)

http://www.insight-tnq.com.au/userfiles/images/daintree_cape_tribulation_2.jpg

thats about it for now! hope you enjoy the update, love you all loads! and will keep you updated!

xxxxxxx