Hardwired

Great Barrier Reef

Australia 2014: Cairns 

Monday morning, we killed an hour poolside at the Peninsula Hotel, then packed our bags for the drive from Port Douglas to Cairns. As soon as we arrived at the Pullman Reef Hotel in Cairns, the woman behind the check-in desk greeted us with “The pool’s closed.” Her pensive expression told us she expected a negative reaction, but David smiled and replied, “That’s fine. There’s an entire ocean just across the street.” She beamed. “You’re the first guests not to complain.” And indeed there was an entire ocean, and more, across the street from our hotel.

Cairns Esplanade.

The Cairns Esplanade features an outdoor amphitheater, a large swimming lagoon, grassy picnic areas, walking tracks, public barbecues, shops, restaurants, children’s playgrounds, and the departure terminal for the Great Barrier Reef tours. A long promenade stretches the length of the waterfront, and as soon as we unpacked we made a beeline for the boardwalk, interested in finding an outdoor café for a bite to eat. We chose the Wharf One Cafe, mainly for the location, and ended up eating a very late breakfast rather than lunch. Both of us ordered the cane-cured salmon on toast with two poached eggs, a light meal that wouldn’t ruin our appetite for dinner. We walked off the meal and spent the afternoon touring the waterfront and the cruise terminal.

That night, we dined at Tamarind in our hotel—Thai cuisine. David ordered grilled snapper with turmeric and mint and a side of papaya salad. True to form, I ordered the Penang duck curry with caramelized pumpkin, roasted peanuts, chili, coriander, and served with scented rice. For dessert, a good port, and we called it a day.

Green Island day excursion

Dundee’s restaurant

The next morning, we headed to the Reef Fleet Terminal to board a double-decker boat for a half-day excursion to Green Island. We snorkeled, toured the island, and then queued up for a glass bottom boat cruise—arriving back in Cairns for a late lunch at Mondo On the Waterfront. After an active morning, I was ready to relax on their outdoor patio and people-watch as I enjoyed my squid salad.

For dinner, we ate at Dundee’s Restaurant, both of us ordering the fish special, trout with a dill and crème fraîche dressing.

Mondo On the Waterfront.

We woke early on our last day in Cairns, and rather than use the fitness center at our hotel we power walked the pier for exercise, the morning a pleasant sixty-eight degrees, cool by Texas standards.

That afternoon, we caught a flight from Cairns to Brisbane, where we would spend the night. The three-hour plane trip passed quickly, and soon we were checking into the Novotel at the Brisbane Airport.

We freshened up and took a cab to the Reserve Restaurant Milton for one of the best meals we had during our Aussie and Kiwi vacation. The restaurant is housed in “an old terrace building” very reminiscent of historic homes in the French Quarter in New Orleans—plenty of ornate ironwork, crystal chandeliers, and stunning river views.

We started the night with drinks in the upstairs parlor overlooking the Brisbane River before moving downstairs to the dining room. From the prix fixe menu, we chose the pheasant terrine. For mains, David had the lamb rump and I had roasted duck. For wine, we decided on a pinot from the Yarra Valley called Giant Steps, a vintage we fell in love with and had a difficult time finding back in Texas. Of course, it was the name of the wine that initially sold us. Dessert was a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate tart. I could have eaten two or three, but I had to save room for the cheese platter and port that followed dessert.

And I’m sorry to write, in 2015 the Reserve Restaurant Milton closed. According to the owner and chef, Kieran Reekie, there has been “a radical change in diner habits, including a shift towards cheaper meals and trendy chains, like the recent influx of burger joints,” which made his award-winning fine diner unsustainable. He went on to say, “The younger generation doesn’t want to sit down for dinner. They want to stand in a queue and have a drink and snack here, then go for a burger, and maybe dessert somewhere else.” That is indeed a shame. For us, the Reserve offered an indulgent dining experience—one of our most memorable in 2014.


Giant Steps Story

A month after I returned to the US, I finally tracked down a wine distributor for Giant Steps and drove into Dallas to buy the pinot. When I placed the order, the store owner informed me that I had to buy an entire case, as it was a special order. I asked if he could order two cases. I wanted to have extra bottles to give as gifts. He sounded exasperated when he replied, “O…kay.”

The website had the store opening at 9:00 a.m. I arrived at 8:45 a.m. At 9:20 a.m. a postal worker dropped off the mail and said, “They don’t open until ten. I know what the website says, but you won’t see the owner until ten.”

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, two men showed up. They worked for the store. I called the owner to ask if he was on his way. He was finishing breakfast and would be there by 10:30 a.m. I reminded him that his website said 9:00 a.m. Yeah, he knew—he had never gotten around to updating the store hours. Thank goodness this is far from the norm for Dallas establishments, and fortunately for me, I was successful in locating a more reliable liquor store for my Giant Steps purchases.

 

 

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Australia 2014: Port Douglas – Part 2

Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef.

With nothing adventurous on our agenda for day two, we slept in, took a long stroll on Four Mile Beach, and soaked up some sun until noon. Showered and changed, we made the two-minute walk into the heart of Port Douglas to eat and shop. After a leisurely lunch at the Lure Restaurant & Bar on the marina, we spent the afternoon touring the shops—starting at the marina and working our way back toward our hotel on Garrick Street.

The Peninsula Hotel has a beautiful wading pool with an inviting waterfall feature, and since jet lag was slowly setting in, we decided to relax poolside for the rest of the day. Early evening, we agreed to forgo our 8:00 p.m. reservations at the Nautilus Restaurant for a lighter meal and to retire early, as we had a busy day planned—snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef.

Included in our hotel reservation was a complimentary dinner. Our server seated us on the outdoor patio where we could hear the surf crash onto the shoreline. Sipping  wine, we enjoyed the balmy evening, waiting for our meals to arrive. All I’ll say about the food is that we would have been wiser to have kept our reservations at the Nautilus, even if we’d fallen asleep during our dinners. To the sound of ocean waves, we closed day two in Port Douglas. Photos: Pool at the Peninsula Hotel with waterfall feature.

Day three dawned sunny and warm. We could have taken a shuttle to the marina, but since we were up early we walked, stopping along the way at the Whileaway Bookshop & Café for coffee. At The Reef Marina we boarded our boat for the full-day cruise to the Great Barrier Reef. We opted to snorkel rather than dive. When the boat anchored, we joined a guided tour with a professional instructor who showed us the best areas along the reef to spot marine life. Zipping through the crystal clear turquoise water, we spotted stingrays, sea turtles, and a lone nurse shark among the schools of brightly colored tropical fish. And later in the day, when we anchored in three other locations along the reef, we saw eels as well as some of the most beautiful iridescent fish and fluorescent coral. Mesmerizing. Despite the water being a bit rough, and chilly, we had a great time viewing the stunning underwater scenery.

Late in the afternoon, we arrived back at the marina and hopped on the shuttle to our hotel, eager to shower and dress for dinner. While the buffet lunch on the boat was good, we had worked up a real appetite from all the snorkeling.

At our restaurant, Zinc, our server led us to a corner table, private and away from a larger group dining nearby. We shared an appetizer of rosemary-scented scallops with diablo sauce. For our mains, we ordered the specials of the day—a pan-seared barramundi fish with a lemongrass- and ginger-scented potato salad, Asian slaw with pineapple and chili, and a lime and coriander beurre blanc. The other special was a pork tenderloin topped with sage and onion with an apple-scented potato purée, spinach amandine, caramelized apple, and seeded mustard. For dessert, we shared a chocolate tart with banana salsa, chocolate gelato, and almond biscotti with a Black Forest crème anglaise. As we sipped a good port day three in Port Douglas slipped away.

 

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