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Far North Queensland: What do I think about when I think of Far North Queensland (FNQ), well I Think of holidays I've had there, the Reef, the birds, Butterflies, Bats and Other things, the rainforest, and those Strangler Figs all of these seem so much better than home. I have collected some of my photo's and I hope they convey the magic of FNQ to you, take a good look around. |
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| The Reef I've never really liked the sea, always cold,, big waves to crash over you, rips to drag you out to sea so the sharks can eat you. Ah but that's Victoria. FNQ, near Port Douglas, the waters HOT, 27-30 oC so in I went, after a mega rub down with sunscreen lotion, including the bald spot! I didn't sink to the bottom, it was easy to float and take an very eventful trip around the Coral. As this shot shows you can take a small dive down for that special shot, and survive the depths! |
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This Clam did not look like a man eater, or even a wife eater, so I
snapped another photo and went looking for more. The best days are Sunny with no breeze to ripple the water, so choose wisely. Little boats seem best for the tours, but don't let them leave you behind, sharks hunt at night. |
| The reef full of all sorts of Coral, in all sorts of colours with all sorts of fish in even more astonding colours. In 2 trips up we've been for 5 tours, don't miss out and a great experience. |  |
| Birds, Bats, Butterflies & Things | |
| Butterflies are extra bright up here in FNQ, across is the Ulysses, below
is the Birdwing, its called this as it has a bird like flight rather than the normal
butterfly flutter. The Atlas Moth is HUGE, some 22 cm across the wings, we were on our way to a night walk when it flew into our light beams so we stopped and found it. It moved on soon after, unfortunately they don't live very long. |
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As you turn off the highway to get to Port Douglas there is a lovely Wildlife Sanctuary, with very large walk thru' enclosures for birds which mimic the native bush. Large areas are set aside for the Croc's and separately for the kangerroos. A must DO. This is a Black Cockatoo directly left. The photo of the Fruit bat is left/down, they are friendly, one flew over to me and attached itself so as I might feed it. Mischa had to extract it off, so no shot. Below is a Eclectus Parrot. |
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| This is a large Golden Orb Weaver Spider, why! because they weave
"Golden" webs. Here the spider is cleaning his web as some leaves have just
fallen into it. As usual the males are little tikes and get eaten after her
pleasure. Look around your lodge you'll find them soon enough. This one is around 80 mm across. |
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On a night walk I caught this Boyds Dragon, they hide behind tree trunks so you need to be on the viewing side or you miss them. |
| FNQ, the home of the rainforest! Most of it privately owned and no walking
trails to use. The next best thing is the escorted tour, this shot was taken on one of
those, lovely forest all the same. On the so called wilderness track the "Bloomfield" track, the road-side trees are covered in road dirt from all the greenies doing the 4WD thing. So sad. |
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This seemed a lovely spot to swim, just a short way ahead the famous Bloomfield falls. In FNQ there are 2 things to remember, Jellyfish sting badly, so you cannot swim on the beaches for the summer till May. It OK out on the reef though. And 2 there's always a croc. watching, one moved off when the boat approached. |
| Take a river cruise, especially along the Daintree river, lots of birds to see and a few Crocodiles as well. |
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| The Strangler Figs | |
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| Strangler Figs are common in tropical forests, first saw them near Sydney, the seed is eaten by a bird and deposited in a tree branch high in the forest canopy. From there it slowly sends down roots to cover the host, then over time sends down water seeking roots to get water. It does not take food from the host tree. | |
