by Sarah Moore - Port Douglas visitor

Regardless of the location shopping while on holiday is a must, especially when you’re surrounded by a bunch of your best friends. So it was when I visited Port Douglas in September.

With the looming dates of two weddings coming up, the race was on to find a stunning dress to wear.

After numerous failures and one or two disasters, I stumbled into a lovely boutique (Barbarella and Swan) after seeing a gorgeous little mustard and blue number. When I tried it on I was delighted and thought that it was ‘in the bag’, that I had found the perfect dress.

However, out of the corner of my eye, a unique little green and black 50's style dress jumped out at me. I had to try it on! So I did. I loved it, I had to have it, and it blew that mustard dress out of the water!

But when I looked at the price tag an overwhelming sinking feeling followed quickly after. $700! After picking my jaw up off the floor, I turned to my friend said the words every woman dreads when shopping, "I can’t afford it."

Another customer in the shop saw me in the dress and said it was stunning, that I had to have it! I agreed, but admitted that I just didn't have the money.

The customer was insistent. "You have to have it. You have to have that dress". And so, back and forth this conversation went "You have to have it," "I can’t afford it" etc, until the women said "That’s it, I’ll buy it for you."

This lovely stranger in the shop just offered to buy me a very expensive dress, having no knowledge of me, no idea who I was, where I was from, not even my name.

"You can just pay me back whenever you have the money. It’s no problems. You have to have this dress," she told me. Needless to say after I came back down to earth I politely declined this extremely generous offer.

But she wouldn't take no for an answer and after about 20 minutes my inner shopper gave in and I gratefully accepted. With that she handed me her business card, we exchanged first names, and I shouted her and her friend a mineral water at the pub.

It's good to know there are still some very generous and kind hearted people out there, and when you come across them, it amazes you.