A Little R&R

Today was a day of rest and relaxation.  We all slept in, which felt wonderful for a change of pace.  When we finally did get moving for the day, we decided to check out Four Mile Beach, which was conveniently only a block away from our hotel.  Unfortunately for us, it was about 31-degrees Celsius...which translates to about 88 degrees Fahrenheit with somewhere around 250% humidity.  We were sweating before we reached the end of the block.  Don't worry, we're not actually expecting you to feel sorry for us.

Four Mile Beach

The heat must have driven us a little mad.  Instead of taking the easy route, walking along the flat beach, we decided to take to the rocks.  The rocky area along the shore was crawling with crabs.  It seemed like every step we took sent at least a dozen crabs scurrying across the rocks, diving back into the water; almost as if the ground itself was moving!

You will see in the picture below a small white enclosure that is the only approved swimming area on Four Mile Beach. Unlike here in the US, you can't just jump into any open body of water during certain seasons.

Fun Fact: Most popular beaches in areas prone to marine stingers have stinger-resistant enclosures so beachgoers can enjoy swimming throughout the year. It is important to swim inside the enclosures as they are the only safe swimming zone on the beach.

The nets are constructed of a robust floating tube that defines the swimming area. Hanging from this floating tube is 25mm square mesh that descends to the ocean floor and is weighed down by chain. The stinger nets are designed to prevent large box jellyfish and large segments of box jellyfish tentacles from entering the enclosure.

In addition to the danger of death by box jellyfish, we also had to contend with the sun. The beach report for the day listed the UV rating as EXTREME....

...look what happened to poor Brad who thought spritz of spray-on sunscreen would protect him from the extreme UVs.

We thought we would cool off in the ocean enclosure, but by the time we got home and felt air conditioning we decided to relax in our own pool, without fear of death.

After relaxing in the pool we decided to take a few hours to walk the town and do some shopping. While we were out we decided to make use of the BBQ we have at the condo. We bought some angus beef and fired up the grill and had some hefty burgers and wine on the upstairs, outdoor pool deck. It was a lovely evening of eating, drinking and watching the bats circle our deck. Eric was our grill master for the evening despite never having grilled before. It was a 5-star dining experience.

Even though Port Douglas is known as a place to escape from the paparazzi, they managed to catch up with us. In the middle of the photo shoot for Oprah's newest favorite thing, Gentleman Jack, TMZ busted on the scene ruining the surprise....Nooooooo!

The paparazzi didn't leave and they were buzzing around for the rest of the day. Luckily Eric pulled out his signature "No Photos" move which kept them at bay.

Stay tuned as tomorrow we have a full day of diving at the Great Barrier Reef where we hope to find Nemo.