When Bevlea and I boarded the plane and headed north to Queensland, we both had jackets on as it was a bit chilly in Melbourne. When we stepped out of the airport in Cairns, we were hit with super high humidity and about 90 degrees- and it was only about 9:30 in the morning!
Mossman Gorge -a section of Daintree National Park
We picked up our adorable lime green rental car and headed north, filled with excitement and anticipation. I was so looking forward to seeing and photographing the bird life,
Pied Heron
and the gorgeous, tropical scenery, 
Josephine Falls
as well as just being there and soaking it all in.
Bevlea on Thala Beach
The plan was to drive north on Captain Cook Highway to Port Douglas for the night, 
then Breakfast with the Birds the following morning, and continue up to the Daintree River area.
Cattle Egret
We would spend the night there, go on a guided 6:30 AM cruise the next morning in hopes of seeing some crocs, and then continue exploring the area for another day (unfortunately, we didn't see any crocs on the cruise, but I was able to shoot one at the Wildlife Habitat in Port Douglas a couple days later).
We would then spend the remainder of our holiday driving back down to Cairns, stopping at a few planned locations, as well as wherever our artistic mood took us, and then fly back to Melbourne at the end of 6 days.
the route we traveled
The trip far exceeded anything I had hoped for. Every inch of Queensland is relaxing, tranquil, out-of-this-world gorgeous, and filled with energetic fun and adventure all at the same time. The excitement of photo ops at every turn, 
the fun of traveling with a girlfriend who loved the birds and hearing the shutter click as much as I did,
The great zipper pull heist- and yes, he ripped it completely off of Bevlea's backpack!
and the beauty- there are just no words to describe the hypnotic non-stop beauty. It was almost overwhelming with its enchanting dazzle and spellbinding loveliness. There was so much to see and all of it a potential photo op, but how can you stop at every beautiful scene when it's ALL so beautiful? Well, you can't, but we did make a valiant effort, and managed to cover over 550 miles in our 6 days! 
We spent the first night at Thala Beach Resort in Port Douglas. 
What a fabulous way to begin our holiday! The resort is situated on a private beach, with immaculate bungalows amidst lush, tropical landscape,
and a delicious restaurant perched above the treetops overlooking the Coral Sea. We were greeted with a yummy fruit drink to enjoy while our bags were delivered to the bungalow.
It was all so dreamy...and such a magically wonderful time! The following morning we were up at dawn to greet the sunrise down on the beach,
then off to have Breakfast With The Birds, and continue our trip north to the Daintree River. 
Bush Stone Curlew
Tawny Frogmouth -aren't these just the coolest birds ever?
Rainbow Lorikeet
Blue and Yellow Macaw
Yellow Indian Ringneck Parakeet
Peaceful Dove
Mandarin Duck
White Faced Egret
Green Parrot
Pacific Heron
Noisy Miner Bird
Lesser Sooty Owl with lunch
Cassowary
Cattle Egret
I still have another installment or two to share, so stay tuned!
