In winter (July) the lowest low tides of the year allow people to walk for kilometres across the bed of the sea. One of my favourite places for low tide walking is the great sandy expanse around the mouth of the Barron River. For me it is a place to enjoy wide open scenery and to play with my family – mostly just walking around and seeing what we can find or catch. The Barron River mouth is a land shaped by nature that lies minutes from the commercial madness of Cairns.In 1927, the mouth of the Barron River pointed towards Cairns and was about 2 km south of its present position.

This week the Cairns Post carried an article reporting a study showing that sea views actually relieve stress. It good to finally have some ojective confirmation of the emotional release that people undergo when they are in a natural settings. One of the key places where Cairns people go to get away from things and relax is the mouth of Richters Creek, which is at the northern end of Holloways Beach. These photos were taken 2 weekends ago (before the article) and they show just how people love these areas.

Australians make a lot of noise about Crocodiles, poisonous snakes and red back spiders, maybe we think this is what will impress our friends from overseas. So it was when I set out with a friend looking for crocodiles in the upper reaches of Thomatis-Richters Creek, which at the far northern end of Holloways Beach (10 km north of Cairns). To enjoy this place requires a boat, preferable one that is large enough to make you feel safe when you finally encounter that elusive crocodile.

If Cairns did not have the Great Barrier Reef or tropical rainforests, then it would still have nationally significant environmental attractions. I am talking mainly about the wilderness areas in the Great Dividing Range to the west of Cairns. A hilly wonderland lies between Mt Garnet in the south and Lakeland Downs in the north. In a pub on night, a highly intelligent dozer driver taught me that this province is has one of the most diverse geologies on earth. All of the major rock types are represented in this region and each one creates a unique and often spectacular landscape.

Cairns has tides up to 3 m high and at low tide a broad mud flat extends out in front of the city. Many people come to Cairns to watch the theatre of life on the mud. Sights include the world’s largest pelicans, fish that walk on land and birds refuelling so that they can fly to Siberia. The muddy Cairns foreshore is probably partly man-made.