My contract at Mossman (Douglas Shire) was for six months and was over the winter. It was such an amazing time to be in Far North Queensland. Every day averaged 24-28 degrees Celsius, with the evenings and nights cooling nicely to sleep comfortably.

The Forever Reef Project. It’s a groundbreaking initiative to collect living specimens of the world’s coral species and preserve them in a living ‘coral ark ’. “We can protect coral biodiversity forever”. It was an interesting hour learning about what the team is doing, and seeing it firsthand was great; it made it easier to understand their mission. Go to https://www.foreverreef.org/ for more information. 

We have done cruises in the past to see whales, snorkel on the reef, and do scuba (a cross between scuba and snorkelling). If you haven’t, there are plenty of opportunities and several companies to choose from to explore what you want to do. We decided to partake in a Daintree River Crocodile Cruise. The company we chose to travel with offered two cruises. One departed from Daintree Village, and the second departed near the Daintree Ferry. Unfortunately, the second cruise was coming into low tide, so there was a section of the river we could not explore as the tide was too low. Be sure to ask about the best times regarding tides when you book. 

Cape Tribulation – We took our camper trailer up for the weekend. We stayed at Cape Trib Camping. The facilities are new, and they were clean and tidy. We explored the beach, river systems (Emmagen Creek) and local businesses. Make sure you go to Daintree Ice Cream and get a signature cup. I am lactose intolerant, so I got the gelato. It was so good. My favourite flavours were soursop and araza boi (yes, I went there more than once over the six months). While we were there, we also went for a walk through the Daintree Discovery Centre. It’s worth a look if you have the time; allow at least a few hours, take water and try not to go on a really hot day. 

It is an easy drive up the range to Mareeba and the Atherton Tablelands, or down to Cairns for day trips. If you drive up to the tablelands, be sure to get some coins for the fruit and vegetables at the roadside stalls; there are always lots to visit. 

The Beaches are beautiful and great to walk along, but stay five metres away from the water’s edge and be croc-safe.

Go floating down the Mossman River. You can take a guided tour if you wish, but living across the road from the river, we ended up buying tubes and going to the river a few times. We even bought a rope and tied ourselves to a tree for a while, although it wasn’t as nice as floating down and passing the beautiful trees along the riverbank, it still served a purpose. 

Visit the Mossman Gorge. We packed a picnic lunch, wore the hiking shoes and took along a pool noodle. You cannot drive to the top; there is a shuttle bus that takes you up and back. There is also nowhere to leave your belongings at the top unless someone stays behind, so anything you take, you will need to carry. The hike is a 2.4km circuit, but if you don’t feel like walking that far, or the weather is not pleasing, it is only a 10-minute walk up to the Rex Creek Bridge. Be careful swimming if there has been heavy rainfall in the area, as the current does get quite strong and several people have died here.