The  morning view over the Port Douglas Beach from Flagstaff Hill. Mossman Gorge is incredibly beautiful – it is also incredibly popular – a shuttle bus service run by the Kuku Yulanji people from the Visitor Centre takes visitors to the start of the walking track which begins with an elevated boardwalk. The track emerges … More FNQ 2016 Day 18 -Mossman Gorge & sweet things

Windscreen repair was first on the agenda and a drive out on the Endeavour Valley Road to the local windscreen man. After a quick fix, we visited the boat ramp (local croc hangout) – none there, well none that we could see. The James Cook Museum is a mix of 1770 history, local Indigenous culture and … More FNQ 2016 Day 17 – Cooktown

Laura and the rock art galleries in the Quinkan Country are today’s destinations. The road back to Lakeland passes through a mix of low ranges and tropical woodland of the large leaved Eucalyptus alba. There is a significant amount of agriculture around Lakeland and into the Laura River valley. This is a view east towards the coastal … More FNQ 2016 Day 16 – Quinkan Country

A  morning in the park adjacent to the Endeavour River – here is the James Cook statue in Cooktown. The Saturday morning markets are on and Cooktown comes alive  – arts and crafts, food and produce for sale with an Australian Army rock band providing great entertainment. Return stops to the beauties of Keatings Lagoon and … More FNQ 2016 Day 15 – Wujal Wujal

We have been crossing the Great Dividing Range east to west and west to east for the last four days. Today we would pass through country with rivers running to the Gulf of Carpentaria before travelling through impressive ranges to reach the Coral Sea at Cooktown. This range is the third longest land based range … More FNQ 2016 Day 14 – The Great Dividing Range

The drive from Mareeba west to Chillagoe looks like it is taking us into drier country and then the road descends into a valley of sugar cane with the Tablelands Mill actively processing sugar. This was built in 1997 and was the first mill to be built in Queensland in 75 years. The farming communities beyond … More FNQ 2016 Day 13 – Karst, cattle and cane

Halloran’s Hill in Atherton overlooks the tablelands with its small volcanic vents prominent across the landscape. Today’s main objective was to find a Lumholtz’s tree kangaroo in the wild – these elusive arboreal marsupials live in various national park and remnant forest reserves across the tableland. After a quick look at the Atherton Mountain Bike Park, we … More FNQ 2016 Day 12 -In search of Lumholtz

A beautiful winter’s morning on the Undara Volcanic Plain. The native kapok tree silhouetted – viewed from the granite slabs behind the resort. Kalkani Crater at dawn – a lava vent of the Undara Volcanics Squatter pigeons enjoying the morning sun. Out 8am tour started with  a 10 minute bus trip through the savannah to … More FNQ 2016 Day 11 – Lava Tubes and Craters

The day started with a visit to Hastie’s Swamp – a small national park wetland minutes from Atherton with thousands of birds and a two story bird hide. A local twitcher brandishing a new 100-400mm lens told me here were about 5000 magpie geese at the swamp. There were just as many whistling ducks. Mount … More FNQ 2016 Day 10 – Tablelands to Savannah

Rain and cooler temperatures made for a misty mountain hop across several sites in the ranges west of Innisfail and on the Atherton Tableland. This is the Nucifora Tea Plantation growing in one of the wettest parts of Australia. The tea bushes were flowering – tea is a type of camellia and the small flowers … More FNQ 2016 Day 9 – Misty Mountain Hop

The day started with a muted sunrise and a search for the local crocodile on the foreshore. A local heron was also on the lookout for Bismarck but to no avail. I was excited to find some green tree ants having made their acquaintance before – they defend their nest with vigor – even climbing … More FNQ 2016 Day 8 -The elusive chook

The day started in Townsville with a visit up Castle Hill. After our previous failed attempt due to the mass of exercise walkers. (Not content to walk up the constructed paths, Townsville people walk up and down on the road). A drive through coastal lowlands saw our arrival at Ingham and a visit to the Station … More FNQ 2016 Day 7 – Waterfalls and Butterflies