As the three deep “om’s” of the yoga teacher resonated into the rainforest, they were answered by the counterpoint of high, sharp chirrups from some unseen exotic bird. The dawn yoga session at the Cape Tribulation resort was ending, another day in the Daintree rainforest was beginning and little did I suspect, even in such extraordinary surroundings, that before many hours had passed I would be licking an ant’s bottom.

I had already explored the rainforest at night, yomping by the feeble light of a torch through the total, 100%-black dark, the beam picking out bandicoots, white-tail rats, spiders, tree frogs and dragon lizards sleeping vertically on slender tree trunks that would vibrate warningly if a snake approached. We also saw the droppings of the legendary cassowary, but never managed to spot this elusive, endangered ostrich-size bird.

On our daytime tour of the Daintree, our guide invited us to sample a local delicacy: the lemony-vinegary taste of the green ant. Take one of these inch-long creatures carefully between thumb and forefinger, savour the acidic fizz on your tongue as you lick its rear end, then return it to the branch you lifted it from.

The rainforest turns to mangrove as it nears the coast: from the boardwalks through the the swamps you can spot crabs and archer fish among the water-logged tree roots, and hope you don’t get too close to the saltwater crocodiles that live at the river mouths.

Out there under the sea another of nature’s marvels beckons. The Great Barrier Reef, a mere 5m years old, conceals its jewel-bright treasures beneath a copper-sulphate sea, white-sand islands full of noisy seabirds marking the spot where your boat will moor.

The Ocean Spirit catamaran from Cairns offers access to the underwater world for almost anyone. The intrepid can scuba dive with qualified and careful instructors (my 12-year-old son needed a special dive medical from a Cairns clinic). The able-bodied can snorkel, floating a few feet above the coral world, where multicoloured fish swim past bright blue clams the size of prams. We even saw a tiny shark (shark!) and a placid turtle planing through the water. Clownfish (now officially renamed Nemo) look so cute you want to hug them.

The Ocean Spirit has a semi-submersible vessel, so even if you just want to sit in the dry and look with an oceanographer providing commentary, you can get close to the reef.

We returned to our hotel after our day on the reef in no mood for a fish dinner but luckily our suite at the new Sea Temple in Palm Cove, an elegant haven of cool Asian minimalism, had its own gas barbecue on the terrace. The chef sent up a selection of prepared meats — lamb, steak, quail, chicken — and salads for our deluxe private version of the traditional Aussie barbie.

It’s impossible not to relax in North Queensland, but for an ultra-chillout, head to one of the islands. Dunk has plenty of watersports if you feel you have to do something active, and on the Whitsundays, further south, you can combine diving on the reef, lounging on impossibly white beaches and cruising, either with a crew to do all the hard work or by hiring your own yacht.

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