10 Favourites From a Month of Visitors

My best friend from home and her two kids came to visit for a month during the UK’s summer holidays. That made it winter here, the best time for getting out and about in the tropical north of Queensland. Apart from a week in New South Wales to see Sydney and the Blue Mountains, the rest of our time was spent up in this beautiful part of the world.

Here’s a summary of our more adventurous bits:

1 Swimming in waterholes (QLD)

Crystal Creek, Paluma

Babinda Boulders

2 Hiking in the Blue Mountains (NSW)

The Three Sisters

Two reluctant hikers and their mum

3 Camping our way up through north Queensland

Cairns

Flying the Welsh Flag in Cape Tribulation

4 Finding wildlife on the beaches (QLD)

Peppermint Stick Insect, Cape Tribulation

Sea star, Kurrimine Beach

Pelican, Kurrimine Beach

5 Snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef (QLD)

6 Spotting humpback whales! (QLD)

7 Croc Spotting on the Daintree River (QLD)

8 Ziplining through the jungle (QLD)

9 A sunset kayaking tour (QLD)

10 Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUPing)  (QLD)

 

Horseshoe Bay, Magnetic Island

Some of My Favourite Active Experiences...

(So far, and in no particular order)

Skiing Austria's steepest pisted ski run, Harakiri

Riding a buskashi horse in Tajikistan

 

Trying out a porter's load while trekking on the Annapurna Circuit, Nepal

Wild Swimming in Iskander Kul, Tajikistan

Spending two weeks as trainee crew on a tall ship

Swimming under a waterfall in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Sky diving with a friend from the Silver Stars Parachute Display Team

Hovercrafting on my hen party weekend

Whizzing down the longest zipline in Peru - and possibly the World!