WINTER

June

Southern Cassowary (Endangered) - The Cassowary breeding season takes place between the months of June and November. Once the birds have mated the female Cassowary will scrape away an area and build a nest from foliage. She will then lay between two and five eggs in the nest, at which time the male will care for the eggs.

Dwarf Minke Whales - These baleen whales, feed by straining tiny plankton and krill through comb-like plates on their upper jaws. They visit the Great Barrier Reef every year in June and July, it is unknown where they come from, or why they gather here. Humpbacks are also seen during these months along with the rare albino Migaloo White Whale.

July

Melaleuca tree- commonly known as Niaouli or Broad-leaved paper bark or the Paper Bark Tea Tree, a small to medium sized tree of the allspice family, Myrtaceae. The plant is native to coastal Eastern Australia. The broad-leaved paperbark grows as a spreading tree up to 20 m high, with the trunk covered by a white, beige and grey thick papery bark. The grey-green leaves are ovate and the cream or white bottlebrush-like flowers appear during July emitting a sweet fragrance that attracts Flying Foxes from inland areas.

Queenfish - Or "Queenie" - Popularly known as the "skinny fish" or "skinny" are found during July migrating up the Bloomfield River, where locals are keen to hook-up a catch. Queenfish are a tropical sporting fish, they have power, speed and courage and will leap repeatedly in the effort to throw the lure. The common Queenfish is a long, fairly deep and extremely laterally compressed saltwater and estuarine fish of tropical waters. Most Queenfish caught weigh from 0.8 to 8 kg, with occasional specimens up to 10 or even 12 kg and very rare giants of 15 kg or slightly more.

August

Escaping the Australia Winter – August is a very pleasant time of year to be at Bloomfield Lodge, especially if the more intense tropical climatic conditions does not agree with you..., August, alongside July, are known by locals as the coolest months, the temperature both day and night is perfectly comfortable. Warm enough to swim during the day, while cosy by night with a doona pulled over for warmth. There is simply no better place to be during the bitter winter cold of Australia’s southern states.