After a hectic but fun week working in Sydney and Brisbane for a new client (who has become a firm friend!) photographing industrial construction products, we headed up to Cairns and then onto Port Douglas for a few days relaxation in tropical Far North Queensland… I must warn that this is an image heavy post..!

I have visited the Daintree river and Mossman Gorge many years ago, and on this visit I again found myself wondering why I did not head up here more often… It is so beautiful, and a walk in the rainforest such a tonic for the soul. Following our guide through the rainforest we happened upon two beautiful lizards at entirely different locations; both clinging to the trees and virtually entirely motionless in a bid to avoid detection. Certainly they displayed superb camouflage, but still the most impressive display had to be the spider that we came across at Cape Tribulation; the only way we were able to spot this arachnid was because our eagle-eyed guide had seen it the day before. Apparently the white blob of nest sac in the front legs had given it away…

After our time in the rainforest we headed out to the Daintree river for  cruise… Alas, although this river is teeming with very large, and very dangerous crocodiles we saw not a single one, it being the wrong time of year. As our guide explained, the only certain way of spotting one would have been for me to go water skiing behind the boat, an offer I courageously declined… Then it was a short drive further up the coast to the beautiful beach at Cape Tribulation.

After a tough day at the beach, we decided to head out on a sunset sailing cruise out of Port Douglas; with the Champagne flowing, this was indeed tough to take (!), but was perfect preparation for the next day’s highly anticipated day on the GBR…

All images were taken with the Canon 5D Mk III and the 24-105 f4 and 70-200 f2.8 L IS USM… Although I took a flash with me (the 600EX), I did not use it once… By now however, I am more than used to carrying excess kit! We stayed at the Mantra Portsea throughout our time in Port Douglas, which considering how little we saw of our small room was absolutely fine, and very close to 4 Mile Beach. All the restaurants within the town were of a very high standard, which as our guide on the day trip explained was certainly out of necessity since the town really thrives on being a tourist destination.