Julatten

I always like Julatten and I have tended to stay around the Kingfisher Park area . Once, I headed to the Daintree from Julatten, I stayed at the local caravan park at the Julatten Roadhouse. The grounds were nice enough but the whole place was so humid that it was uncomfortable. Most caravan parks have permanent residents and often their caravans have built on living areas. Here they were usually covered in some kind of tarpaulin or canvas. Without exception those were all covered in thick mould, slime and maybe moss? They looked damp and miserable. I was very glad I was only staying overnight. 

Visited: all year round

Recommendation: The areas around Julatten are well worth exploring. From open country birds to rainforest specialists, you never know what might turn up.

Behind the park was a lane which ran deep into the rainforest. It was wonderful to walk along there and listen to the sounds of the birds. Because I was on a track within the forest, there was a bit more light and the photography easier. All I needed now were some birds. I had been hoping to find the Lovely Fairywren which I had only briefly seen once in Mossman. As soon as I thought that, I then heard fairywren. I hunted around until I found the group and couldn't immediately tell which species it was. I rattled off photos of the females in view and then spotted a familiar dark shape. It was the Red-backed Fairywren and a rather stunning male bird moulting into breeding colours.

One of the nicest things about walking this road through the rainforest was the noise. I could hear catbirds, whipbirds, riflebird and all manner of other small birds. Photography was tricky in the low light but the atmosphere was wonderful.