North Queensland 2024 - Cairns and Surroundings

On the occasion of Hanna's birthday in July we choose again to traveling North Queensland hoping to escape Sydney's cold winter weather.

After weighing our options we decided starting around Cairns where we not only met some friends - nice to see you for a coffee Jon and Scott, and even being there for less than a day we saw some great birds too.

After the day in Cairns we relocated to the Atherton Tablelands, visiting some some nice and well-known places before seeing our old friends Alan and Maria, thank you for the nice lunch and the interesting conversations you two!

We had a great time there while staying at the Crater Lakes Rainforest Cottages, where we saw Victoria's Riflebirds close up and displaying.

From there we slowly moved to Julatten, where we took residence at the Feathers 'n' Friends cottage having a very relaxing few days. We have used the opportunity of being there to see Carol Iles from Kingfisher Park and Grant Husband. Both have helped me a lot when I was last up there and broke my left wrist last year. Thank you again!

We have also caught up with our old friends Murray and Clare and their two lovely kids for dinner at the Julatten Hotel. This was an opportunity to talk about our recent adventures but also recalling some great memories from the past. Their support was also invaluable when I broke my wrist last year, thanks to the whole family!

Together with Grant we visited Mt Lewis Road, which has suffered from the last cyclone/Rain event very badly. We hope the bridge will be replaced soon allowing the residents to return to a more normal life and opening up the Road to the Clearing for the birdwatchers. Grant, looking forward to go up together next time :-).

We finished the trip with a stay at the spectacular Mossman Gorge Bed and Breakfast. The view from their deck is breathtaking, the rooms are superb and the breakfast was fantastic! Mandy, we'll be back!

From our B&B we have visited and enjoyed the Daintree river on the boat of the Daintree Boatman. Murray is always going the extra mile to show his clients the birds or wildlife they are after - and if things are possible by any means, Murray will make it happen! A trip on his boat is highly recommended, have a look at the photos taken while out on the river, they speak for themselves. This time I have used a crocodile photo as the lead image for the album because this is an incredible and impressive creature!

Enjoy the photos and if you like, feel free to provide comments via the Contact page!

PS1: No broken wrist this time, Hanna was successful in keeping me away from slippery slopes ...

PS2: The "Lewin's Honeyeater" group of photos needs some more work to make sure they actually are really all showing this species ...