It is the Wet Season but there was barely any rain up until the middle of the month and the total for the whole month was just over 300 mm. But it was very hot with a couple of days nudging 40°C. Then it was time to put Dazzle in the car and go for an air conditioned drive. One day we went west to Whyanbeel/Miallo, through the cane fields towards the hills. Cane farmers have planted sunflowers in their fields and the wattle flowers were also putting on a show.
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| Sunflowers in the Canefields |
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| Glorious Golden Wattle |
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| Wattle and Canefields out Whyanbeel Way |
Daintree “Circle of Wisdom” Seniors’ fortnightly meetings resumed in February after the Christmas break. Both meeting were held at the Daintree Rainforest Retreat Motel. One meeting was gatecrashed by Simon, the young butcherbird. Simon was hand reared in Cape Tribulation. He was released back into the wild but still seeks out humans for extra food and company.
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| Seniors’ Meeting at Daintree Rainforest Retreat |
Mossman Nursery is open after the Christmas break so it was time to go and choose the ratepayers’ native plants. This time I got hibiscus, grevillea, ginger and gardenia.
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| Native plants from Mossman nursery |
In February, the beach hibiscus can be found blooming along the Daintree River and also fringing some of the beaches. The flowers only last one day so in the evening they float down the river or fall to the sand.
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| FLOWER OF THE MONTH - Beach Hibiscus |
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| Beautiful Beach Hibiscus along the River and the Beachfronts |
In February, the fan palms flower with small showy white flowers.
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| Fan Palm Forest |
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| Fan Palms Flowering all over the Rainforest |
As usual, there were a couple of trips across the river and then along the beautiful Great Barrier Reef Drive to Cairns. The first section between the Daintree River and Mossman is towards the hills through the canefields.
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| GBR Drive through Canefields between the Daintree River and Mossman |
Lunches in Port Douglas and Palm Cove. On a calm Green Season day, I had lunch at
Salsa 💃 in Port Douglas and then another lunch at
ChillCafe in Palm Cove on a wet, wet, wet day 💦💦💦.
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| Lunch at Glassed Out Port Douglas |
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| Wet and Green Palm Cove |
Between the Port Douglas turn-off and the Palm Cove turn-off, there are tantalising glimpses of the Coral Sea and beaches along the Great Barrier Reef Drive.
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| Rex Lookout on different days and Ellis Beach showing Double and Scout Hat Islands |
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| ThorntonPeak, Alexandra Range and Snapper Island from Rocky Point |
Some of the rainforest dwellers spotted during February include a big spider on my path, fungi along my creek, peppermint stick insects on a pandanus, a female shining flycatcher amongst the mangroves at Madja Boardwalk defending three hatchlings and an owlet moth at home.
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| Rainforest Dwellers |
Another rainforest dweller but not spotted is the giant white-tailed rat (or melomys or uromys) which chews holes in coconuts.
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| Holes chewed in Coconuts by Melomys |
February is also time for necklacepod (
Sophora tomentosa) to bloom along Daintree beaches. It is classed as endangered in some locations due to habitat loss and competition from invasive species. The noni tree was also flowering/fruiting.
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| Necklacepod and Noni Flowering |
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