Travelling with gear, travelling to Qld in general

There (is / are) a number of schools in Yorkies. I think they teach in the same spot (give them a call and find out where so you can plan close by). Find out where it is and airbnb a room.

As memory serves, follow their instruction as there are areas they don't go from concerns about crocs.


If you're really pushed for space/luggage, take some tent poles and use your kite as the canvas. Boom. Just invented a niche product.

Plenty of places near PD to kite. Wind is great.

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kts said..
Hi all

I'm planning a 10 day break with sights set on Port Douglas. I'm thinking of flying (Sydney to Cairns) then bussing to PD, taking my tent (budget is ltd!) and also my kite and board. Any pointers on:

beginner kiting in PD
recommended instructors
cheap accommodation near kiting spots (don't intend to hire a car if I can help it)
getting from Cairns to PD

and finally, any thoughts on whether I should (a) leave kite gear and rely on using a school's gear for the duration or (b) leave tent and rely on finding cheap accommodation? P.S. I'm too old to enjoy a bunk-share!

thanks for any input

There is only 1 kite spot in PD and it's at the southern end of 4 Mile beach. There is a school center there that can provide you with some gear and lessons. It's not cheap however you'd easily spend in excess of $1000 for a package of 6 hours of lessons + kite rental every day.

You'll get far better quality instruction with the guys at Kiteboarding Cairns (Luke or Andy) for cheaper, so no need to get to PD for lessons. However, once your lessons are over it's a nice place to kite.

Trade winds can be unreliable close to the coast and winds can be TOO light sometimes so don't expect to be able to kite and have lessons every day...I've seen many unhappy customers paying large sums of money and being promised to kite every day when in fact the reality can be quite different. Sometimes it's best to go 1 day at the time and only book and pay when you're 100% sure the conditions will be good, otherwise you may be loosing time and money.

The wind forecast up there can be misleading, just take today as an example (not a good day for kiting or lessons)





The cheapest accommodation in PD is at Dougies, about $10 per night for a tent side, but can be SUPER busy and loud (lots of backpackers partying). They also have large tents already setup you can rent and private rooms. Other campsites in PD are 3 to 4 times the price of Dougies...

You can get around PD with a bicycle, which you can rent near the campsites, ideal if you don't have to carry kite gear. Dougies to 4-mile kite beach is about 10-15 min bicycle ride.

Sun Palm operate shuttles every day between Cairns and PD.

Have fun :)

Christian

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kts said..
Thanks Salty, ColoColo and Cbulota - great tips all round. Not sure about the kite-as-tent idea as kite lacks zip feature to keep out crawlies, but will be sure to acknowledge you in the credits Salty if I take that one up.
cheers guys
K

I expect 10%...

Good luck.

Nothing of value to add but just had to chuckle. Your wind graph annotations are like some sort of stock trading technical analysis study! Not sure which one is more voodoo