Minke whales on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo Rob Prettejohn Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in Tropical North Queensland is the only place in the world where can you swim with friendly dwarf minke whales. There’s only one spot on the planet where you can swim with

Port Douglas is one of Australia's most popular cruise destinations, with an 80% increase in future cruise ship visits. The increasing popularity of ocean cruising will see the number of cruise ship visits to Port Douglas nearly double this year’s tally over the next two years. Just 15

A new Deloitte Access Economics report released recently identifies the social, economic and iconic asset value of the Great Barrier Reef at AUD56 billion. Minister for the Great Barrier Reef Steven Miles welcomed the report which brings the three elements together for the first time and shows the

As winter drags on down in southern Australia, in Cairns and Port Douglas we’re enjoying balmy tropical days kissed by sunshine. We’re well into the busy season now and enjoying welcoming guests from all over the world to our very special piece of paradise. In fact it’s a

Visitors to Thala Beach Nature Reserve and Tropical North Queensland hang onto your swimmers! Water babies now have the opportunity to slide into the Great Barrier Reef with the launch of Tropical North Queensland’s first ever floating theme-park style water-slide. Yep, that's right, you can now slide all

One of the most appealing aspects of a visit to Port Douglas and the Daintree Rainforest is the beguiling combination of rainforest and reef. Two World Heritage icons, the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest run into each other in Tropical North Queensland. Here's five video

Cairns & Great Barrier Reef’s Indigenous tourism offerings will be launched at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2017 as Timeless  Experiences with the tagline 'Sharing our Reef & Rainforest stories. Thala is thrilled to be a part of this campaign which showcases experiences such as Thala's weekly cultural

Thala Beach Nature Reserve in Port Douglas, Queensland has been recognised as a Green Travel Leader by Ecotourism Australia. The Green Travel Leader program was established in 2006 and is awarded to Ecotourism Australia members who demonstrate a sustainable and long-term past, present and future commitment to ecotourism.

Cape York's Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival is held every two years at Laura, a town on Cape York approx. 250km northwest of Thala. Celebrating the world's oldest culture, the 2017 Laura Festival runs from 30 June - 2 July. The festival celebrates Aboriginal communities, language song, dance and

It’s a time of transition in tropical north Queensland as the season changes from wet season to dry season. Thala’s native forest is on the migratory route of bird life heading north and south. Channel Billed Cuckoo Migrating north to PNG and Indonesia, the Channel Billed Cuckoo is

Port Douglas Carnivale is one of north Queensland's favourite festivals! Held in venues across Port Douglas, there are plenty of events to suit everyone! The official festival runs from 26 to 28 May 2017, though some events, such as the always fabulous Spiegeltent starts a week earlier. The

Thala’s onsite Rangers have spent a lifetime in the forests of far north Queensland and are on hand as wildlife experts to guide and inform guests about the diverse flora and fauna within the forests, beaches or along Thala’s rocky headland. Daily complimentary tours are personal and intimate

Being green comes natural to north Queensland frogs’ best friend Deborah Pergolotti. Conservationist and founding president of Frog Safe Inc, otherwise known as the Cairns Frog Hospital, Deborah is a passionate advocate for frogs. Cairns Frog Hospital rescues and rehabilitates distressed, sick and injured frogs with the aim

The Great Barrier Reef Masters Games are held across the Cairns region from 25 – 28 May 2017. These popular games were first held in Cairns in 2013. The Cairns and Port Douglas region is the ideal location to host the Games and is one of Australia's most

The summer wet season is one of the most exciting times to visit tropical north Queensland. Sure, it’s humid but the best part is tropical drenching rains that give life to the forest. Tropical rain also ensures the creeks, rivers and waterfalls are in full flow, providing the

Admittedly there’s a lot more than 10 famous residents but let’s keep it simple to start with. The good folks at Tourism Queensland limit themselves to just eight – known as the Great Eight (as opposed to Africa's Big Five). Legendary naturalist and the Great Barrier Reef's number

North Queensland has a number of exceptional opportunities to experience the Indigenous culture of Australia’s first people. Each Monday evening elders from Kuku Yalanji visit Thala to share a personal cultural presentation, along with didgeridoo performance, which is free for all Thala guests. If your visit coincides with

Brand new video clips with splendid 360-degree videos of Tropical North Queensland have recently been created to take visitors on a virtual tour of Port Douglas and Cairns and the surrounding area. If you can't touch the sand, taste the salt and see the sunrise over the Great

It's true that North Queensland is blessed with an abundance of natural beauty. From rainforest to reef sounds a bit of a cliche. Until you actually look around, that is, when it's hard to avoid forest-clad mountain ranges, an endless coastline with outlying islands popping out of the

Visitors to Thala Beach Nature Reserve would be well acquainted with Apple the Wallaby who charmed all with her friendly nature and wild wallaby ways. With her recent passing after a short illness, her adorable joey Coco is being looked after by wildlife carer Jenna. A zoologist with