The Wet Season

z TRAVSTAR NEWS - Port Douglas News Feed

The wet season is roughly between December and April each year. The majority of North Queensland residents welcome this time of year. The rivers, creeks and waterfalls are in their prime and the rainforest comes alive. When the first heavy rain hits Cairns City you can see the steam rise from the concrete and bitumen roads as it cools and cleans the streets.

Just because it's raining in or around Cairns doesn't mean the sun won't be shining at the Great Barrier Reef. You may find the sun is shining brightly and the wind is so low that you have chosen the perfect day for snorkeling and diving on the Barrier Reef.

If you happen to visit Cairns while a low is crossing the coast though, you will see the rain come down in all its glory, the sun will disappear for a few days and you may have to reschedule your Reef trip until it passes.

Traditionally the wet season means low visitor numbers to our region. North Queensland has a lot to offer this time of year. Below I have listed 5 reasons to visit during the wet season!:

Low Season Pricing:
Because of the low visitor numbers accommodation pricing drops and there are are always huge savings to be made.
 
No Crowds:
In the peak of July and August, as well as paying full price for everything you may find it difficult to find the ideal accommodation or day trips for your dates even if you do book in advance. Because everything fills up so quickly (sometimes popular properties will fill up months in advance) people often end up compromising and won't end up with their ideal package. Although we still recommend you book at least 3 weeks in advance the Low Season will give you many more options and flexibility to re-arrange your itinerary.

The Rainforest:
This is the ideal time to see the Rainforest come alive either on a Self drive expedition or one of the fantastic Rainforest Day Trips on offer to the daintree or Southern tablelands.

Low Wind and Water Clarity:
With the low winds comes water clarity on the Barrier Reef. If you have been to the reef on a day trip where the water is like glass you will know what a difference it makes. Some of the most perfect days on the reef are during the wet season.

Waterfalls & Fresh Water Swimming:
For me this is one of the most over looked activities available in North Queensland. Spending a hot day at one of our wonderful swimming holes is an activity not to be missed. There are many to choose from and Day Trips such as Uncle Brian’s - Fun Falls & Forest generate some of the very best feedback we hear.

Activities for Rainy Days:-

If it's raining outside your Cairns accommodation it doesn't mean you have to stay put and wait for the sun to come out. There are quite a few activities which are actually enhanced by the wet season. Below I have listed a few ideas:

• Visit Kuranda Markets by Skyrail & Train
• White Water Rafting on the Tully River
• Visit the Great Barrier Reef ( you're going to get wet anyway! )
• Visit the rainforest
• Visit our beautiful waterfalls
• Swim at Crystal Cascades
• Go White water rafting
• Go ATV riding
• Browse boutiques
• Meet the locals at the brewery
• Take a cooking class
• Do some Yoga
• Go Salsa dancing at Casa de Meze
• Blissful spa treatments
• Cable Ski Park
• Go Bungy Jumping
• Take a Food Trail tour
• Have a cocktail on the verandah
• Stay in bed for the day
• Go Jungle surfing
• Take a drive through stunning moutain scenery
• Visit the Rainforest Dome
  

Reef Brief

z TRAVSTAR NEWS - Port Douglas News Feed

WED 11th FEBRUARY
WINDS:N/NW 10-15 knots
TIDE:High 3.10m @ 10.15am Low 0.78m @ 4.27pm

THU 12th FEBRUARY
WINDS: NE/NW 5-10 knots
TIDE: High 2.82m @ 10.49am  Low 0.90m @ 5.04pm

FRI 13th FEBRUARY 
WINDS: NE/NW 10-15 knots  
TIDE: High 2.49m @ 11.21am  Low 1.05m @ 5.44pm

WATER TEMP:  28.5C - 83F
 
VISIBILITY:  AT AGINCOURT  8-10m  8-10m  8-10m  AT NORMAN  3m  3m  3m 
 
FISH FACTS:  Few people would think about kissing a fish, despite the fact that most brands of lipstick contain fish scales! 
  
BIO BITS: 
Fish feeding at the reef is conducted by our crew twice each day. It is restricted to 1kg of fresh fish or approved pellets (to ensure that we do not affect their normal eating behaviour), and is only conducted by our trained snorkelling safety supervisors. Please refrain from feeding the fish your food scraps, as this could upset their diets.

We receive an updated weather report directly from Quicksilver crew living at Agincourt Reef at 7.30am each morning.  
 
See the reef from a different perspective
A 10 minute scenic flight will show you the opal blue reefs from a new perspective. 

Port Douglas Open For Business!

z TRAVSTAR NEWS - Port Douglas News Feed

There is no flooding in Port Douglas, the flooding is 4 hours drive south of Port Douglas.

Currently the weather is overcast with some showers which is nothing unusual for this time of year.

Please visit our Live Webcam! to take a look at todays weather.

Here’s the latest information on weather conditions and tourism operations in Cairns brought to you by Tourism Tropical North Queensland:-

• Cairns is open for business. More than 650 day tours operated today showing visitors the Tropical North Queensland rainforest, hinterland and reef.
  
• It’s business as usual for Cairns - the reef boats are operating along with Skyrail and the Kuranda Scenic Rail. Day trippers are enjoying the spectacular waterfalls, lush rainforests and exciting white water rapids Tropical North Queensland’s green season is famous for.
  
• While floods and a heat wave savage other parts of the country, Cairns is the cool place to be at the moment with average daily temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius about 10 degrees cooler than those being experienced in southern states.
  
• The Bureau of Meteorology reports the tropical low pressure system in the Coral Sea is not influencing Queensland's weather. It predicts there may be some heavy rainfall along the coast between Townsville and Mackay over the weekend as the low drifts back towards the coast.
  
• According to road reports, on the morning of Friday February 6 the Bruce Highway was closed about 200km south of Cairns, but the rest of the highway was open to Cairns as was the Captain Cook Highway to the north of Cairns.
  
• The major touring routes of the Tropical Highlands are flood-free, vehicles can access Cooktown via the inland road, Port Douglas is unaffected by the weather and Mission Beach had only minimal damage to vegetation from Cyclone Charlotte which dumped the heavy rains further south this week.
  
• Cairns Airport is fully operational with 34,171 seats per week into the city on domestic routes. The airlines are offering some fantastic specials at the moment.
  
• TTNQ is not the only organisation with confidence in the region. Capacity into the city increased by 1062 seats only this week with the addition of Jetstar’s new services from both Perth and the Gold Coast three times a week.
  
  - Rob Giason, Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO

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