At the conclusion of our first trip to Far North Queensland this year, we decided to treat ourselves to a few days at Thala Beach Nature Reserve Resort. The resort is about 15 minutes the Cairns side of Port Douglas. It is privately owned and doesn’t have the feel of a large commercial resort. That said, it has all the trimmings. 
It is not cheap, but it is delightful, and quite different to the style of accommodation we have stayed in before. 

There are stunning views from the Restaurant along the coast to the Daintree, while from the   Bar, there are coastal views looking back towards Cairns. The restaurant and bar are open-air, with wooden ceilings and no windows. It was breezy and gave the feel of a big tree house.
The accommodation is set in the woodland and is secluded, hut-style accommodation. All in all, it is quite a destination.

The question is, what do you do in such a place? You can eat and drink if that’s your fancy. It is certainly one of mine and one we didn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy. However, as the name suggests, it’s also a place to take in the natural environment.

After we had settled into our room, we took a walk along one of the secluded beaches. There was not another person or, thankfully, crocodile in sight.

Thala Beach offers several organised opportunities to enjoy the location. I decided to book myself on the morning birdwatching tour. I’m not sure that when I contemplated ‘What’s Next’, birdwatching was on the list of things I’d try, in fact, I’m sure it wasn’t!

I was one of only two hotel guests on the tour. Our guide was an experienced bird watcher, as was the other member of the party. They pretty much ‘talked in tongues’, but they made me, very much a novice, welcome. I can’t name the particular birds we saw, but there were plenty, and for the first time in my life, I understood exactly what the charm of such a pursuit was.  It’s not hurried; it’s quiet time with plenty of opportunity to reflect on the location and environment. 
I was armed with my iPhone for photos, while the bird enthusiast had a serious camera. We both took plenty of photos. I know whose were better!

In addition to birds, we saw wallabies, butterflies, and fascinating fungi. I’m not sure I’m selling this very well, but I did enjoy it.

As we completed the tour, our guide suggested that, since it was a bright, sunny day, the butterflies would be out by mid-morning. Yawn, would have once been my reaction, but I bounced back to my room and suggested to my favourite person that we should take the southern loop track to see what we could see.
Butterflies aren’t easy to photograph with an iPhone, but we saw plenty, some were blue, some were black with red wings, others were yellow and brown. It was worth the walk.

Not done with new experiences, the next morning, we booked ourselves into the Coconut Discovery event. It was a fun 45 minutes, where one of the gardeners took my favourite person and I through the life cycle of a coconut!  I certainly know a lot more about coconuts now than I did before! 

We took the nature walk trail after learning more about coconuts than I had ever expected. The nature walk follows an overgrown path through rainforest to a secluded, stunning sandy beach.  The path was marked by pink ribbons tied to trees at frequent intervals. Very Hansel and Gretel!

As we walked along the beach, we saw hundreds of coconuts that had fallen from the trees. Many had started to shoot. Following our recent Coconut Discovery event, I understood how it occurred. 

Like so much of our time at Thala, this post is about the scenery, which my iPhone photos barely do justice.

Thala was an excuse for a bit of luxury in the warmth of North Queensland before returning to the cold Adelaide winter.