Well, we’re back in the country but I’m still slightly in holiday mode. So I thought I’d share some of the photos we took while visiting various places near Port Douglas (in northern Queensland) – I’ll write some ‘serious’ stuff about things we saw over the next few days.
Both of us enjoy a swim in the sea – but it wasn’t a good idea around Port Douglas. Not only were there ‘stinger’ warnings in force, & stinger nets on the beaches (which rather restricted the space available), but of course there are saltwater crocodiles in the area as well.
Fortunately our hotel had not one but four beautiful swimming pools – & hardly any other guests. We were spoilt for choice!
We took the opportunity to do ‘touristy’ things, including a wonderful scenic train ride (in restored carriages but alas! pulled by a diesel rather than a steam engine) up to Kuranda:
But we also did ‘science-y’ things, including an excellent guided trip through parts of the Daintree National Park. This included a river cruise during which we looked for crocodiles (successfully, but my photos aren’t up to much) & also spotted white-lipped tree frogs in the mangroves. The one in this photo was about 14cm long.
Our guide told us he saw cassowaries reasonably often; while only about 1500 of these lovely but dangerous birds survive in the wild, 150 or so live in the Daintree. But the warning signs (& fresh droppings on the road) were the closest we got that day 🙁
The local graffiti artist takes considerable liberties with the road signs. The upper one here was orignally for a speed bump…
And of course we still found time for those stunning sunrises on the beach.
