Event Here This Year - the Port Douglas and Daintree Edition

Australians just love travelling, right? It’s part of our birthright. Travelling for work can have an especially sparkly shimmer about it, particularly in the business events and incentive program space. However, with Australia’s international border closed for the foreseeable future, travel is a tricky navigation in 2020. But it’s not all bad news! As the old saying goes, out of great adversity comes great opportunity, and the Port Douglas region is positively positioned to continue forging ahead when it comes to being a bucket-list spot for business travel leading into 2021. Why? Because almost anything you can do in the world, you can do here in the tropics…

Adventure Incentives in Queenstown VS Team Building Adventure amongst Reef and Rainforest

Sure, Queenstown like to tell themselves they’re the adventure capital of the world… but here in Port Douglas and the Daintree, we know the truth! Here on our doorstep, we not only have two World Heritage Listed areas side-by-side that are begging to be explored, but we have a number of unforgettable, adrenalin-spiking activities that’ll have you and your delegates talking about ‘that time in the north’ for years to come.

The Great Barrier Reef is an excellent place to start when moving beyond the boardroom. With more than 3000 individual reefs and coral cays, the world’s largest living organism offers an experience like no other. Snorkelling, diving, paddle boarding, helicopter tours or simply basking on the back of the boat taking in the great big blue are all wonderful ways to experience the reef and bond with team members.

For those preferring fresh water over salty, river drifting down the Mossman River with Backcountry Bliss Adventures is an extraordinary and unique eco-immersion experience. Starting on sturdy inflatable lilos (that are living their best life on the river rather than in a pool) and allowing the gentle flow of the river guide you underneath the rainforest canopy of tropical wilderness, guests can then have the option of dipping into the crystal waters, popping on a mask and spotting fish and the occasional turtle in the underwater river system.

For delegates that like to dial the adventure to eleven, mountain biking in ancient rainforest with adrenalin junkies Bike n Hike is one way to team bond! The Bump Track is legendary for many reasons. Its ease is not one of them. This historic gold rush trail linking Port Douglas to the goldfields of the Tablelands is popular for hair-raising hurtling on a mountain bike. Or you could take it down a notch with electric biking through the mystical Daintree Rainforest. Feel the BUUUURN!

Reforesting in Thailand VS Tree Planting at Rainforest Rescue

Did you know that the simple act of planting a tree literally makes us happier? All those lovely endorphins getting a big ol’ boost knowing we’re doing good for the world! With more and more destinations focussing their concentration on responsible tourism, it’s important to acknowledge the places that are doing it right. Why go to Thailand when you can do it in Douglas?

Rainforest Rescue has been protecting and restoring rainforests in the World Heritage Listed Daintree Rainforest, and internationally, since 1998 by providing opportunities for individuals and businesses to protect rainforests forever. They do this by purchasing and protecting the biodiversity of high conservation value rainforest by re-establishing rainforest through planting, maintenance and restoration. Rainforest Rescue is also closely associated with Nightwings Rainforest, a rehabilitation facility for rescued Flying Foxes and Microbats that are sick, injured or orphaned ensuring their safety and ability to continue playing their vital role in the Australian ecosystem.

Combining team building and volunteer work is surely the gold star of team-building travel, creating a meaningful working environment, along with knowing you and your team are doing greater good for the world. Invite delegates to experience true eco-tourism by engaging in tree planting and animal rescue, and introduce a little healthy competition into the day – which team can plant the most trees in an afternoon?

Experiential Fiji VS Cultural Immersion in the Daintree

The Port Douglas and Daintree region is home to the indigenous custodians of the Mossman Gorge and Daintree, the Kuku Yalanji people, as well as several other aboriginal communities and the Torres Strait Islander people. By visiting this region, people are able to learn about country and cultures that thrive in these remote and regional communities through immersive experiences that include art classes with Janbal Gallery and local Elder Brian ‘Binna’ Swindley, Dreamtime storytelling alongside enchanting rainforest dining at the awarded Flames of the Forest, hunting for and eating bush tucker from coast to rainforest with Adventure North Daintree Dreaming, and learning about traditional legends, rainforest locations and medicinal and nutritional plant use with guides on the Mossman Gorge Dreamtime Walk.

Cooking School in Bali VS Food Trails in the Tropics

Everyone loves food, right? And you know the old saying – the teams that cook together stay together! The Port Douglas and Daintree region is widely referred to as the ‘Food Bowl of the North’ – and for good reason! From rare tropical fruit gelato to microgreens, tropical fruit wines, seafood, coffee, single origin chocolate and smallgoods, the Daintree is home to an eclectic range of farms, orchards, fisheries, growers and micro-manufacturers, often hidden from view. Take a guided food trail journey with Daintree Food Trails through the region, tasting and learning your way through the gastronomy of the tropics, finishing off with an expertly cooked lunch overlooking the rainforest-flanked valley.

For those teams that prefer a more traditional cooking school experience, the wafting scents of Oaks Kitchen & Garden will have you sharpening those Masterchef skills in no time. Part farm, part residence, part innovative enterprise, Oaks Kitchen & Garden Cooking School is located smack bang in amongst a thriving tropical produce plantation bordered by an abundance of coconut palms. Melbourne escapees Ben Wallace (former chef of famed Longrain) and his partner Rachael Boon (from Easy Tiger) have set up a South East Asian cooking school, naturally supplied with home grown tropical fruit, vegetables and aromatic herbs and spices grown on their four-acre property. Cue your appetites.

Port Douglas and its surrounds is one of the most naturally beautiful places on the planet, a dreaming bucket-list spot for almost everyone. We invite you to bring your incentive travel and event participants to experience what our region has to offer, and event here this year.