Penelope P in Port: Lovely weekend with Justine..

What a lovely refreshing change.

In a small place like Port Douglas every weekend tends to be a bit like Groundhog day. So it was as refreshing as a face spritzer spurting through a fire hose that I had an invite from a new friend that I have made recently (she was the assistant on my film shoots for House Hunters) to join her at her rainforest hideaway.

So that was how you found me yesterday aternoon wheeling a wheelbarrow with our overnight gear along an overgrown path with Justine in front wielding a machete as we made our way up to the 'house'.

The entrance to Justine's jungle des res..

Justine owns half of the mountain and has erected her Robinson Crusoesque abode on side.

It is certainly not a house for the squeamish. as indoors meets outdoors, not only in ambiance but in wildlife.

Large Huntsman spiders, various colonies of ants, a nest of baby spiders. When we were sorting out the bedding area (camp beds covered with an all sealing mosquito net) a 'rat' run out with her two young in tow, which on later inspection was only a little mouse.

A scream when Justine when to bed to the shout of 'snake!' had me diving in to her tent to find that the 'snake' was just the hose from the air pump .. phew!

I thought it was initially just going to be Justine and me, but her two sons and their Father rocked up so that made 5 of us.

I didn't really mind - I suppose the more the merrier - but it meant that there was a lot of family communication which made me feel rather peripheral to proceedings.

The bedroom where we put our bedding on the campbeds, was surrounded by glass doors with the jungle right against them. Two mosquito net tents with camp beds was ideal and comfortable. Then her son erected a hammock right next to my tent, so I ended up having the noise of an 11 year old recovering from a cold coughing all night and the sound of computer games as he played on his console, which I could have done without. Considering there were another two tents in another room and the Father and the other son were in the main living area I didn't quite get the logistics of that one.

But in the morning, after a fitful sleep due to coughing fits of Justine's son (sorry, I know I should be more sympathetic but I am just recounting) I was awoken by wonderful jungle noises of dawn chorus of birds.

It was lovely to have spent time with Justine and I feel I have a met a similar kindred spirit. Though must say that she is a little eccentric so does tend to bring out the more wilder (in every sense of the word!) side of me.

The outlook from our bedrrom.. the jungle almost literally knocking on the doors

She calls it her tree house. When I first arrived I was a bit taken aback on how basic it really is. Very basic living. Electricity run by generator, water from the creek via pipes and a flushing toilet (not sure where it flushes to) and two gas cylinder burners (one for heating water and the other one ring stove for cooking.

The world's most scenic toilet.. with a view across the rainforest

The next afternoon on Sunday I went beachcombing for driftwood.. for another project I am working on... so hopefully will be covered in a later blog.

The creek.. piped further up to the house. But running dry as another house further down is draining the water for hydro power supply for all their A/C units!