A Crocodile Encounter at Choo Choos Cafe

Alright, it’s not a big crocodile (maybe a wallet size, not handbag) but where there’s a junior, mum is usually not too far away.

It’s Jaime’s choice for activity for the day and she chooses bike riding. We have two retro bikes up here and also our mountain bikes from our trip. The girls go retro. We follow Davidson Street, the Main Street into town and ride along a scenic bike path, past the old cemetery, following the sugar cane railway track.

The railway starts at the Marina at a cafe/restaurant named Choo Choos and ends at Choo Choos, St Crispins Station about 4km away. Originally, the narrow gauge track hauled sugar cane to Mossman. The track still exist and remains linked to the many sugar cane tracks which are still in use along the Captain Cook Hwy.

St Crispins is very picturesque, surrounded by a billabong on one side overlooking The Mirage golf course and the railway platform on the other with an old turn table at the end of the line.

The train and railway journey is called Bally Hooley and popular during the peak seasons. We have ridden the train a number of times on the Bally Hooley steam locomotive.

We sit in the cafe with iced coffee and chocolate and I notice the crocodile below in the billabong. It sits still on top of the water with an ever so slight movement of its tail, then after a while, disappears without a ripple.

We return on a bike path which follows dense mangroves, past Port Douglas Yacht Club and ending up at the Marina.

Later in the day, myself and Jaime walk 4 mile beach and follow the pathway from the beach leading to The Sheraton Mirage. Built by Christopher Skase in the 80s, this hotel/resort put Port Douglas on the map and was a favourite place for American Presidents and celebrities to stay at. The property was neglected a bit in the early 2000s as the tourism industry went flat. However, it’s great to see that investment has gone in and the resort is back to its former glory. The lagoon pools are stunning.Read more