Time to dive back in to North Queensland after Jasper

In the wake of Cyclone Jasper, which ripped through northern Queensland exactly a month ago, visitors and tourism operators are finding the silver linings after the natural disaster. Many things are back to normal, some of the necessary changes have created new opportunities, and there are countless reminders of the warmth and strength of the local communities. It could be a good time to look up.

Let's be clear right from the start: North Queensland wants you to visit. As is often the case with disasters of this scale, we see the devastation on the news and think we should stay away. Images of Cairns Airport with planes underwater certainly didn't help, and you can understand why about $270 million worth of bookings were cancelled over the Christmas period. But it was just another direct hit - economic this time - to an already battered region.

"There's no question the people of Far North Queensland are incredibly resilient in the face of natural disasters," the Queensland Premier, Steven Miles, said last week. "But they also need the world to come and share the natural beauty of the region to ensure the tourism sector thrives."

So, how are things looking at the moment? Well, the state government says about 88 per cent of Far North Queensland's tourist infrastructure is operating. In Cairns itself, everything is pretty much as normal for this time of the year (including those well-deserved happy hours to cool down after a day of humidity). And the road to Palm Cove, about 25 kilometres north, is open, with the tropical community relatively unscathed other than a bit of mess on the beach.

Visiting Port Douglas is where things are a bit different. The Captain Cook Highway, the coastal road from Cairns, is still closed but there are two ways to get to the town, both of which offer something a bit interesting for those who've done the standard drive before. One option is to take the daily Quicksilver ferry transfer, which currently costs $50 per person and takes about 90 minutes. The other option is the inland route, either by coach transfer (Examplar is the main company) or by car.

Driving yourself, expect the route to take a bit over two hours plus stops. And you'll want to stop! For example, not far into the drive, you'll hit Kuranda, the colourful village in the rainforest with art galleries, open-air markets, walking trails, and even a butterfly sanctuary. Not surprisingly after all this weather, nearby Barron Falls is a thunderous sight.

From Kuranda, you'll head up into the Atherton Tablelands, where the fertile soil has turned it into the food bowl of the tropical north. Farms stretch out from the roadside, bananas, sugarcane, avocadoes and strawberries among the crops. Along the way, stop to try some of the local produce, including a flat white at Skybury Coffee or the gin at Mt Uncle Distillery. At the Emerald Creek Ice Creamery, many of the flavours are made with local ingredients like macadamia nuts and ginger. While the Golden Drop Winery takes the prize for innovation, turning tablelands mangos into wine! Hmmm...

Once in Port Douglas, most things are back to normal, and there's very little in town still affected in the aftermath of the cyclone. But if you were to continue further north up the coast, you could run into some issues. Mossman, the most popular part of the Daintree Rainforest, was hit by flooding and the cultural centre has been delayed in reopening, tour operators are having to change their routes, and food and accommodation providers have not been able to operate at capacity.

But the Daintree is another of the places where we've seen a silver lining. Back Country Bliss Adventures has turned its River Drift Snorkelling tour into a new experience called the Rainforest River Adventure because, as the tour company puts it, "post-Cyclone Jasper, the Mossman River has revealed new secrets, allowing us to explore areas that were previously beyond our reach".

From the rainforest to the reef, we know that major events like cyclones can impact the Great Barrier Reef. Thankfully it doesn't seem like there's been much damage this time. Most of it's been minor - some broken coral, for instance - but the master reef guides have been out tending to these, mainly with a technique called "flipping coral" which means facing the fragments towards the sun to encourage regrowth. It's one of the reasons that embedding these master reef guides with tour companies that head out on the water every day has been such a big success.

In fact, some marine biologists think Cyclone Jasper could even be a positive for the Great Barrier Reef by cooling the water by up to two degrees, washing nutrients from the land into the ocean to feed the fish, and by dispersing coral species to areas where new colonies can form.

So, there are silver linings for the reef and silver linings for visitors. One government-subsidised sale for flights to North Queensland has just finished but there are currently some great deals for accommodation. In the weeks ahead, aid for the region's tourism industry is likely to continue and the biggest priority is to help you visit.