The Honeymoon
We spent the second half of October on honeymoon in Far North Queensland (or FNQ as the cognoscenti say). As you might expect, we had a fantastic time, so we thought we'd note down some of the highlights for reference in case you would like to plan an FNQ adventure of your own.
There is a selection of photographs from the honeymoon too, which you can match up to the commentary below.
Atherton Tablelands
We spent three nights in this area. Our accommodation at Mount Quincan Crater Retreat was magnificent. A secluded bungalow on stilts, with a spa bath, balcony, full kitchen, unique rotating log fire(!) and all the mod cons. Initially we stayed in a bungalow on the side of the mountain, overlooking the local countryside. Then we upgraded to the other side, overlooking the crater. Best of all, the new cottage had an outdoor shower!
All the little bungalows came with a host of local fauna: tree kangaroos, bush turkeys, and one even had a pet possum called Parmesan.
On our first morning we went on a hot-air balloon ride. Fantastic, and highly recommended (apart from having to get up at 4am).
Port Douglas
A nice seaside resort town. We spent most of our time just relaxing, eating in the many nice cafes, and swimming in the outstandingly warm sea. The Nautilus restaurant was particularly good (thanks to Cathy and Andrew for treating us to dinner).
We also went out snorkelling the reef on a Calypso boat. This was pretty good, and not too crowded with about 40 people on the boat. (Some boats take you out to a floating platform with hundreds of people on them!) During the trip we saw lots of sea life, including dolphins, a loggerhead turtle and 2 million fish.
Daintree Rainforest
Access to the northern part of the Daintree rainforest is via a little car ferry. This has helped to keep the area from becoming too crowded. We spent a lot of time walking around rainforests, looking at plants and animals. There are also beautiful beaches nearby, and also a fantastic tropical fruit ice cream maker.
We stayed at the Daintree Wilderness Lodge, with a little cabin in the rainforest, accessed by a raised wooden walkway. The Lodge has a restaurant serving excellent food (we had dinner there twice) and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
We also recommend Dragonfly Gallery Cafe any time of day for eating or just hanging around; and Jungle Surfing if you feel like whizzing through the treetops on a flying fox!
Cairns
We didn't spend much time in Cairns - we were only there to wait for our train. The drive down the coast to get to Cairns was very picturesque indeed - when we arrived there were the expected restaurants and bars to idle in, and the unusual and impressive giant public outdoor swimming pool in lieu of the beach.
The Sunlander
The Sunlander train goes between Cairns and Brisbane. We only went as far as Glandstone, which was still a 24-hour trip. For our honeymoon, we decided that first class wasn't luxurious enough, so we went on Queenslander class. We had a private bar, restaurant, entertainer, tour guide etc. for us and the other five Queenslander class passengers. The service and food were very good and the whole experience was so relaxing. Trains are great.
Heron Island
A stay on Heron Island is included when you stay on Wilson Island, so we were here for about three nights. It's a nice resort island, with about 100 guests and a range of activities from nature walks to scubadiving.
We seemed to be there during some sort of stingray conference: when we snorkeled out from the beach we saw hundreds of rays and quite a few sharks. We were also warned about cone shells and stonefish, harmless-looking little fishies that contain extremely powerful poison (and they don't hesitate to use it). Fortunately, we didn't see any of these deadly critters.
Wilson Island
Wilson Island normally takes up to 12 guests, but we were lucky - we were the only people. So we had a whole tropical island to ourselves. Just us, along with our hosts Rebecca and Ben, dozens of giant green turtles and thousands of native birds. There's no electricity on the island (apart from a bit of solar power for radio transmissions, etc.) so it's a great place to leave the world behind.
This was our favourite part of the honeymoon. Our hosts' entire job for three days was to keep us entertained, fed and happy. Ben was an absolute wizard in the Long House kitchen, preparing sumptuous and varied meals in a place where everything is gas-powered (including the fridge). It was fun hanging around the open kitchen with a glass of wine while he explained the techniques of an expert chef.
We spent a lot of time just looking around the island, both on foot, as Rebecca pointed out interesting features of the island, and in the water. Every day we snorkeled out from the beach in front of our tent to see shoals of fish, brightly coloured corals, and the occasional shark or turtle.
Ah yes, the turtles. It was breeding season for the giant green turtles, so both here and on Heron Island we saw a lot of these shy creatures up close. A couple of times we watched them slowly crawl up the beach, dig a hole in the sand, lay their eggs and return to the sea - a process that takes over three hours.
After our time on Wilson, we stayed another night on Heron before taking the helicopter back to the mainland (another highlight). It was a great holiday for both of us - and thanks to Joanne for organising most of it!