You know you’re coming down with something when you get on an aircraft in one place, your head lolls back onto the headrest, and you wake with a start when you land at your destination hours later. It’s happened to all of us and that’s pretty much what happened to me on my journey from Sydney to stunning Cairns where a full three day itinerary was waiting for me and a dozen other famil participants. The hard work of the Cairns and Region Convention Bureau and Qantas Group Travel wasn’t going to be wasted on one sick puppy, so as we all do, I soldiered on with flu tablets in one hand and a glass of champagne in the other.
This was, after all, no ordinary famil. It was Cairns, Port Douglas and Palm Cove, three of Australia’s greatest destinations for meetings and incentive travel rewards. And, while I’ve been to these destinations plenty of times in the past few years, it never ceases to amaze me how this region keeps progressing in terms of facilities and new product. Not to mention the gastronomic delights that always get my heart racing.
Our merry band weren’t to be disappointed over the length of the program, tasting, smelling and snorkelling our way through some of the best offerings found anywhere in the world.
Silky Oaks Lodge nestled on the edge of the Mossman Gorge in the world heritage Daintree rainforest, was to be our first port of call. We were whisked to this stunning property straight from the airport in luxury coaches, kindly supplied by Down Under Tours who has a fleet of these stylish transporters ready and waiting for world-weary meeting and incentive delegates.
The trip to Silky Oaks is around half an hour from the airport on the way to Port Douglas, and offers most first-time visitors to the region their first glimpse of the beautiful crystal clear ocean. Afternoon tea overlooking the Mossman River at Silky Oaks was just the ticket for our weary travellers. The property is also now home to the Healing Waters Spa where you can immerse yourself in head to toe treatments that are all guaranteed to make you thinner and knock 25 years off your age. Okay, well maybe that’s not true, but I’ve been told on good authority that you certainly feel a whole lot better when you come out than when you go in.
With barely time to down our double decaf lattes our merry band were then transported to Port Douglas’ latest to-die-for resort, the Sea Temple Port Douglas. If you’re a regular mice.net reader you may remember an image of a woman standing beside a massive free-form pool. That’s the Sea Temple. The water snakes its way around the resort and the accommodation, so much so that the majority of rooms allow you to swim right off your balcony for a cooling dip.
A freshen up and it was off to the nearby Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas for a site inspection and dinner in the Il Pescatore restaurant. If the chef doesn’t own one of those Michelin hats they all seem to want so badly then he certainly should have one.
Day two and with enough flu tablets in me to give Elvis a run for his money, our group set out aboard a Quicksilver vessel for a day of fun on the reef. Those with more courage than I tried their hand at diving while others snorkelled, sunbaked (with the 30+ liberally applied), ate, or in my case, dozed. Other options included a scenic helicopter ride and an underwater walk. Here’s a tip: if you’re pitching for a big piece of business from an international client who’s never been to the reef before, bring them out for a day. You’ll have them eating out of your hands!
We liked our Sea Temple Port Douglas experience so much we all thought we’d try its sister property in Palm Cove that evening; I have to say that you’d be hard-pressed to find better.
The Sea Temple Resort & Spa – and Palm Cove – is the kind of place that if you were going to die – from a flu virus, for example – you’d be happy to do it there. Amenable staff, the gentle sound of waves, swaying palm trees. Is this heaven or am I hallucinating? Maybe a bit of both.
Dinner that evening was at the Sebel Reef House Restaurant, a stone’s throw from our accommodation. This has to be one of the prettiest spots in the world.
Day three, and we spent the morning at leisure, soaking up the Palm Cove vibe and being pampered at E Spa at the Sebel Reef House. After an hour at the hands of one of E Spa’s highly experienced pleasure-givers, I walked out of there on a cloud.
Another sumptuous meal coupled with head and shoulder massage overlooking the beach at the Far Horizons Restaurant at Angsana Resort, we headed off to the sleepy village of Kuranda in the hills high above Cairns. Here we boarded the world famous Kuranda Scenic Railway and its brand-new Gold Class carriage for the journey through the rainforest back to town.
The Gold Class experience takes you back to the grand-old days of train travel (well before my time of course). We sipped sparkling wine, nibbled on finely crafted finger foods, and enjoyed the scenery of this stunning region, all in five-star comfort. If train travel was like this all the time I’d definitely be leaving the car at home.
Our final dinner of the famil was a dine-around with main course served at the Shangri-La, at its Tides Restaurant. The Shangri-La most definitely lays claim to having the best position in Cairns and it’s not hard to see why. Preceding dinner we enjoyed cocktails and canapés at the Cairns International Hotel, one of the older properties in Cairns but still certainly one of its finest. A dessert buffet befitting royalty was served at the Hilton in the lounge area of the funky new bar ‘6 degrees’. Hilton has almost finished a complete refurbishment, the lobby area being the latest. Meeting rooms are next!
A final site inspection the following day of the Cairns Convention Centre only cemented in my mind the reason why this destination continues to go from strength to strength in the world of business events. The Convention Centre was recently host to Amway Korea with 2500 delegates (five waves over 20 days with 500 delegates each).
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