One of the best things about doing video production and content creation in Tropical North Queensland is the eyegasmic colours. I grew up here scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, chasing waterfalls in the tropical rain forest and camping and exploring the outback. Now that I get to promote the region through videography and photography it allows me to showcase the colours I have always loved so much. The basic edit above is to get a feel for the colours and see some of the stunning places we visit to capture footage. Below are some of the places in this video and why we love them. All worth a visit!
Cairns Esplanade
The iconic fish at the Cairns Lagoon are beautiful to capture, especially at sunrise and sunset. It can get busy during the day so early mornings are a great time to catch it and you can see some amazing reds and purples if you’re lucky.
Milla Milla Falls
This is one of the most pristine and ‘waterfally’ looking waterfalls I have ever seen. On the Atherton Tablelands, it is part of a big waterfall circuit and you can see quite a few waterfalls in a day by car or on one of the tours. I’ve abseiled off the top of the falls and scuba dived under them so have seen it from a lot of angles!
Blue anemone and clown fish at Normanby Island
One of my favorite islands to visit just south of Cairns is Normanby Island in the Frankland Island group. We go over the with Frankland Island Cruises but have also been over in our own boat. On every trip we have seen at least one turtle and they even had Migaloo the white whale pay a visit last year. I had never seen a blue anemone before so this is a highlight for me when I visit.
Lightning at Yorkeys Knob Beach
We get some good storms roll in this time of year in Cairns and in this case we were very lucky. It was actually a couple of years back but on one side there was a sunrise and the other lightning so it was very special.
The palm trees at Thala Beach really do make you feel like you’re in paradise. Drones and aerial video now give you an opportunity to capture angles that before may have been almost impossible or cost a lot more with a helicopter so I couldn’t help but fly the drone there. In saying that so have a lot of other people and it’s fast becoming an icon of the north if it wasn’t already. And for good reason, it’s stunning.
The Great Barrier Reef
Granted the reef has taken a hit of late with the coral bleaching and COTS (crown of thorns starfish) but there are still a lot of areas that are beautiful and colourful. This shot was taken a while back after the first coral bleaching episode but I have seen spots this colourful since (but also quite a few damaged). Those of us that live and work on the Great Barrier Reef are doing what we can to reverse the damage so become a Citizen of the Great Barrier Reef and see what you can do to help.
Gilberton Outback Retreat
We recently produced a video for Gilberton Outback Retreat, a new private luxury retreat 7 hours drive west south west of Cairns. We drove out but you can get a helicopter or light aircraft out there too. I couldn’t help but fly the drone as we drove out to get an aerial view of the long roads and the red dirt of the outback. The retreat is an amazing outback experience and I’d highly recommend it. The bath alone is worth the trip!
Vlasoff Cay
Coral cays on the Great Barrier Reef are personally one of my favorite places to visit. Sandy Islands surrounded by reef, paradise. The colour of the water is usually always that clear turquoise next to the white sand so always worthy of a shot. This particular cay they can land a helicopter on and you can have a picnic. One of those must do experiences in your life.
Sunrise at the Cairns Wharf
It’s hard to believe but on this particular morning the sky was that red and orange. Had to get a shot of it.
Turtles
No video about Tropical North Queensland would be complete without a turtle in it. Every time I head to the reef I hope I see one and get to swim with it. This particular turtle I swam with was at Mackay Cay out of Cape Tribulation with Ocean Safari. A great trip and they go to a sand cay as well.
Tree Jumping
If there is something to jump off I’ll usually give it a go, checking if it’s safe first of course. This tree jumping spot has now been closed off so I won’t say where it is but I did like the way the sun glimmered in this video clip…….and it reminds me how fun it was jumping out of that tree!
Port Douglas
Port Douglas and the surrounding areas speak for themselves. It’s a special place north of Cairns with access to the Great Barrier Reef and is on the doorstep to Mossman Gorge, the Daintree and Cape Tribulation. Plus they have 4 mile beach which is a beautiful beach. You can also head to the tip of Australia this way and go camping up north. There are so many colours to be found in this area including the animals (Cassowaries and Boyd’s Forrest dragons to name a couple) but lucky for me I have had quite a few video jobs up here so I get to see lot of it.
Cairns inlet
Just a nice little sunrise from the balcony at the Reef Hotel Casino.
Muggy Muggy Beach – Dunk Island
This is another one of my favorite hidden beaches. A short walk from the jetty on Dunk Island you would be hard pressed to find another person there if you paid the beach a visit. There is also a good walk to the lookout at the top that looks back over the other islands. The water is usually beautiful and has palm trees along the beach. We were there filming 360 videos and also for Coral Expeditions. Well worth travelling to dunk for. The below photo was taken on the beach with a 360 VR setup and I skewed the image to look like this. Something different!
Mossman Gorge
Every time I go to Mossman Gorge the colours blow my mind. Not just the colour of the water but the dark green of the trees and the wildlife I come across. On the last visit we also saw a Boyd’s Forrest dragon and he just hung on the tree and let us take photos with him. The water is so fresh and so is the air, it’s a very special place.
Barron Falls – Kuranda
I love seeing the falls raging and most years after a fair amount of rain the falls will flow quite hard but some years are bigger than others. This video clip was from over a year ago but I love the white water with the green around it. I love this shot and it is beautiful to hear the falls raging as well. Last year I went up there and saw the falls running red, something I had never seen before but very cool.
Schooling fish
I recently went on a video and photo shoot from Cairns with Coral Expeditions and spent 7 days on the Great Barrier Reef. This was just one of many of the colourful shots I got while diving and shooting different sections of the reef from the ribbon reefs and Lizard Island in the North to the bottom of the Hinchinbrook channel in the south. It was an amazing way to see the reef and I’d Highly recommend it!
I’d love to hear some of your favorite spots for finding the amazing colours we have up here so drop a comment and let me know. Happy adventuring!