Travel: Barrier Reef, Australia

WHEN Bill and Hillary Clinton decided they needed to get away from it all and rekindle the spark in their marriage post-Lewinsky, they decamped – along with a couple of hundred Secret Service members – to a sleepy tourist town on the east coast of Australia.

Reminders of their visit can still be seen around Port Douglas. Some restaurants proudly display faded photographs of America's first couple tucking into the famed local seafood. And they're not the only famous faces to have dropped by this well-heeled town.

Steven Spielberg, Elle Macpherson and Tom Hanks, among others, have holidayed here, and actor Matthew McConaughey spent a stint in Port Douglas while filming 2008's Fool's Gold, leaving behind a trail of broken hearts according to one local.

It's easy to see the appeal. One of the most common myths about Australia is that the sun shines for 12 months of the year. Not true for the whole country – the south enjoys a ski season in the winter, but the further north you travel, the closer you get to year-round sunshine.

On a clear, sunny day (of which there are many) Four Mile Beach – a striking strip of white sand that hugs the town and stretches for, um, four miles – will leave you breathless. Locals are typically friendly and the seafood is perfect – try Salsa for high-end or the permanently packed Combined Services Club for cheap hearty grub.

Port Douglas is about an hour north of Cairns, and the best time to visit is during the dry season (May to October) when daytime temperatures are mild and evenings are pleasantly balmy. Unlike its bigger, brasher neighbour to the south, the chic Port Douglas has a quiet that attracts the country's more refined city dwellers.

And, much like Cairns, it makes for an excellent base from which to explore the delights of north-east Australia, from the Daintree rainforest to the Great Barrier Reef.

Opting to stay just outside town, we check into the hideaway Thala Beach Lodge, a group of secluded 'bungalows' on stilts, perched amid the canopy of surrounding rainforest. This proves a welcome alternative to the more ubiquitous beachy paradise. Sure, there's a beach and, yes, it's about as close to paradise as you'll get, but the white sand is by no means the main attraction.

These eco lodges are earthy and soothing. Forget waiters on every corner and overly-manicured lawns; the appeal here is unwinding amid nature. And that means being woken by the sound of rainbow lorikeets on your balcony in the morning, discovering all sorts of fascinating flora and fauna, watching tiny lizards scuttle up the walls of your lodge and being left to do it all in seclusion if you so wish.

Tempted as we are to spend our entire trip watching the sun set over the rainforest canopy and following the various trails through the bush, there's just too much good stuff in this corner of the world to sit around doing nothing. And our first stop has to be the Great Barrier Reef, with tours departing from Port Douglas every day.

The reef is composed of nearly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands. It stretches for 1,600 miles and is the world's largest structure built by living organisms. Getting there takes around an hour, and we happen to go on what must be the wettest, windiest day of the year, but despite that, it's well worth it.

Tourists vomit into paper bags all around us as our boat navigates the choppy water. Staff mop their brows with cool towels, but it offers little relief. Still, it's all forgotten when we dock at the large platform in the middle of the sea, hovering over one of the most spectacular natural wonders of the world. Floating face-down in the water, snorkels bobbing violently and wearing special suits to keep the jellyfish and the sun's rays at bay, we can still feel the heavy rain pounding on our backs. The waves heave us in one direction then another, but below the surface, it's calm, almost still.

Even experienced divers are awed by the rainbow-coloured coral and the density of numbers of its incredible residents, from giant clams and reef sharks to turtles, clown fish, parrot fish and more. Needless to say, we find it thrilling, and are more than happy to go in for more after tucking into a buffet lunch.

Scuba diving is available for those who wants to go a little deeper, and for anyone who doesn't want to get their feet wet, there are tours in glass-bottom boats. It feels a little bit like tourist soup, but no more so than any of the world's most spectacular attractions, from Machu Pichu to Australia's own Uluru. No matter that one member of staff cheerfully nicknames our boat the "vomit comet" – this has been one of the most awe-inspiring experiences of my life.

Indeed, fans of day-tripping are spoilt for choice in this area, with outings aplenty from crocodile-spotting boats to guided tours by Aboriginal families. We spend a day doing the latter, hunting big crabs with spears on Cooya Beach under the tuition of the Kubirri Warra brothers, and searching for mussels with our bare toes in the muddy mangroves. Then it's back to the brothers' family home to cook our spoils.

It's easy to do beaches, dining, shopping and drinking in Port Douglas. There are plenty of excellent examples of each, and lots of the tourists who flock to this little town find that the picture-perfect paradise offers more than enough. However, for those who find paradise just a little repetitive, there's also so much more.

Rooms at Thala Beach Lodge start from around 115 per night (www.thalabeach.com.au).

Qantas flies from Glasgow to Cairns via London and Singapore. Prices start from 927pp (www.qantas.com.au).

For further information on Australia and to plan your holiday, visit www.australia.com.

This article was first published in Scotland On Sunday on Sunday, 5 September, 2010