Drifting along the trickling Tully river, flanked by sprawling, lush forest walls, Wildside Adventures trip leader John McCrossin gestures to the nearby mountain.
To displease the river god, he says, is to find yourself catapulted downstream, feet-first through fluffy white rapids and over smooth, submerged boulders.
It's all in jest, of course, but it adds to the excitement of the Far North Queensland holiday experience.
The Cassowary Coast, once a thriving acropolis for holiday-goers from near and far, could be one of the state's most unspoiled and diverse areas for all ages - from the young and adventurous, to the leisurely and relaxed.
But during a period that was supposed to cap off the region's thriving tourism season, tourism operators and hotel owners across the Mission Beach area saw mass cancellations after media hype deterred tourists from visiting the area.
"It rained a lot here (at Tully) but we didn't get a lot of rain at Mission Beach. (At Tully) we got about 1.5m in about a week, so the river got up to about 4.7m on the gauge, which is just huge," Mr McCrossin said.
"Once the rain stopped, the water started running away and now it's back to manageable levels again...there's wonderful sunshine, it's perfect. Everyone can handle it.
"We've got everything going on here. The reef is beautiful. The beaches are all lovely - they've all been cleaned up with the last big full moons, the forest is looking great, everything is green, the rivers are full, the waterfalls are running, the fish are biting, it's all happening.
"It's just beautiful here at the moment. I can't say that for the poor buggers 200km north of us."
Mr McCrossin, joined by fellow "facilitators of adventure" Amelia McKay, Leon Parkhill and young Kaya Parkhill, starts the rapids ride with a safety talk, ensuring everyone knows how to manoeuvre each rapid before approaching and what to do in the instance of a 'man overboard' situation.
It's a rite of passage, and part of the thrill. Two passengers per inflatable canoe straddle the churning waters, leaning and weaving around rocks, carving through the currents and whooping as they soar over the lurching torrents.
Each rapid is affectionately named - there is the Crinkle Cut (a sprawling blanket of choppy bumps), the 'Double-Decker', and the aptly named 'Surprise, Surprise' - which sent this journalist down a watery, adrenaline-pumping slide.
It's addictive. It's exhilarating. Even the youngsters can join in on the fun alongside one of the experienced tour leaders. After digging your oars into the frothing white water and bracing as you barrel downstream, you find yourself captivated by one of the most beautiful offices in the region.
Stunning panoramic views, cascading waterfalls and cool, pristine swimming holes - there is no doubting why the Wildside crew are so fun and jovial - how could you not be in a place like this?
"Holidays are the busiest, and winter because it's cold down south and people like to come up here. We often get people from northern winters come here as well," Mr McCrossin said.
"We were really busy before COVID, now it's sporadic. It's really made a bit of a mess of things and then of course the flood came up here, and...everyone thinks the whole world is underwater.
"Sure it was up there (around Port Douglas and Cairns) but down here, we were just not bothered at any point, but people get the fear and cancel their holidays.
"This part of the world is built for it, the rain, it's a rain forest...it runs away very quickly."
Wildside Adventures runs white water rafting at Tully, school and corporate group camps with abseiling, rain forest tours, laser tag, archery, challenge courses, rock towers, and snorkelling boat trips to Dunk Island.
There are 15 stunning waterfalls, 10 swimming holes, and sprawling rain forests for tourists to enjoy - each thriving; green and flowing, after the recent rain.
Wildside Adventures was started by outdoors-man Al Thomas, who grew up in Birdsville, attended Townsville for schooling and got his first taste of the hospitality experience as duty manager at the Sugar Shaker.
In 1989, he came across an advertisement for river guides at Tully, and when he saw the crystal clear water, he was enamoured with the "different planet" from what he'd known.
"I totally fell in love with it. Out west, I was the only white kid, it was all about fishing, having fun, tracking things, and out on stations it was all motorbikes, horses, chasing cattle. Both were fantastic. That outdoor world (always appealed to me)," he said.
"One of the things we love about this business is it changes people's lives...you see people on the river having an amazing experience, they come out a better person.
"We had two deaf girls on Sunday...at the end they were snorkelling off together. Their eyes were bulging. The same thing at the camps. The kids...their hair is over their faces, their shoulders are done, and you put them on the abseil, they're terrified but push through and the next day their hair and shoulders are back. They're a new person.
"It's a buzz for us to see when it has a positive effect on people's lives. That's why we do this...and it's a stunning (area). We're so blessed to have such natural assets."
For his multi-faceted business, the impact of Tropical Cyclone Jasper is still having flow-on effects.
"Pretty much from when it was announced, we started seeing cancellations. It was 100 per cent loss. Every booking we had cancelled. That went for about three weeks...the river and the boat, any bookings we had went belly up," he said.
"Last year was our toughest year ever since we began operations 14 years ago...there would be nothing happening and all of a sudden 20 (people) on the river and the next day nobody. The bookings are very sporadic...it's made things very difficult.
"If this was a normal season, we would be running seven days a week, with 30-40 people every day...through to mid-February...and international couples in that (quiet time) in February. Since COVID, we've not seen that yet.
"Just after COVID, we had a bit of a boom...our domestic market was great because they were coming on the school holidays...and then we lost groups at camp...because all the prices are going up and schools are on a very limited budget."
Mr Thomas said the financial strain has "knocked him for six", seeing him paying wages on overdraft.
"We're into the land of overdrafts now. We're surviving so far but...the insurance, after COVID, the insurance, fuel, etc has gone up so much, then we had a downturn and lost three weeks," he said.
"Last year we turned over $300,000, we didn't make a profit.
"Hope is a big word these days. There was a big company that came in and bought Mission Beach and took over Dunk. They were turning Mission Beach into a resort town but they went belly up and burnt everybody. We've had a few now where we've got our hopes up...but we hope, wish and dream for any assistance for Mission Beach.
"Mission Beach is 100 per cent (sometimes left out). We do a lot of work to get the numbers we get here but we definitely don't get the love like Cairns or Airlie Beach."
Joined by river guide and camp facilitator, Bellinda Bailey, Mr Thomas steers his private charter out into the sunrise, the crystal clear waters illuminated by the warm rays, spilling out across Dunk Island's shoreline like golden honey.
Fleetwood Mac and ACDC pump out from the onboard speaker as this journalist straps on fins and dips into the water, swimming up into the vine-curtained mouth of Pirate Cave - a secret haunt for locals, buried into the side of the mountain behind a lone, bowing palm.
Paddling around the abandoned Dunk Island - once a thriving resort island that now sits derelict off Mission Beach's coast - you are captivated by the underwater oasis - bursting with a kaleidoscope of coral hues, tropical fish weaving and ducking around your fins, and sea birds swooping overhead.
A low fog crowns the island's peak, lingering over the mainland as well, as fishing boats skip along the calm water, chasing the horizon.
The Clump Point jetty, an joint state and federal government investment brought about by MP Bob Katter, is abuzz with avid fishermen, the streets lined with parked trailers as numbers begin to trickle in.
Mission Beach Dive's vessel, Reef Goddess, sits moored, waiting for a cohort of guests and its crew to come aboard.
A scenic trip out to Beaver Cay and Friendship Bommie is an unforgettable experience. The reefs are stunning - reminiscent of the Pixar movie, 'Finding Nemo'. Surely this was the place that inspired the glorious animated artwork.
You are treated like family, and quickly feel at home aboard the luxurious boat - whether its sun-baking on the top deck, gorging on fresh seafood, paddling out into the nearby drop off, or tackling the current to savour the scenic feast; you feel spoiled.
While the Whitsundays has long been touted as the front gate to the Great Barrier Reef, Mission Beach is undoubtedly the front door.
Rainbow scales glint as fish peak out from behind bulbous cushions of pink and purple coral, electric blue star fish arms envelop pillars of white, Swiss-cheese adornments, and schools of hundreds of little bait fish scatter through the rolling, teal waves.
Snorkels dot the horizon as guests kick along the surface, and in the distance, the odd squeal of excitement cuts through the sound of sea spray and lapping water. A turtle, a group of leaping dolphins, and further off in the distance, a marlin catapults itself in the air.
Mission Beach Dive instructor Darryl Stratford said the business had lost a couple of days of trading during the height of the cyclone activity, with the boat moored at Cardwell to wait out the system.
However, there was hardly any damage sustained to the reefs, and after just over a week, it was business as usual.
"It was a little bit choppy for a while but then we waited for the wind to drop, it was 10-15 knots, which is a nice beautiful day," he said.
"I was expecting to get out there and see zero visibility and a lot of damaged coral, but we had 20m visibility, a few bits of coral upside down and a couple of giant clams that had fallen to the side. We picked them up and put them back in position.
"The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority gave us the authority.
"These are two beautiful spots. The marine life is fantastic. It's fully protected - there's no fishing or spear fishing. It's always a good time to go to Mission Beach."
Mission Beach Dive owner and Tropical Coast Tourism chairwoman Nancy Lowe was born and raised in the peaceful beach-side town, and after returning to the area after travelling abroad, she began Mission Beach Dunk Island Water Taxis with her late partner Steven 'Fozzy' Foster.
"We're pretty lucky to have such good reefs. It's always been a very underrated place. The likes of Port Douglas, their marketing budget before COVID was in the vicinity of $700-and-something-thousand a year. We've only just really started to get funding from the council for our LTO here and it started at $110,000 a few years ago," she said.
"I've been on the board for six years, and chair for the last four years, and this year they've given us a 100 per cent increase on the funding. It just goes to show what can be done with a serious marketing budget for a destination.
"When I was growing up here, we had Dunk Island operating, Bedarra Island operating, Elandra...all these big hitters...two water taxis, a hovercraft, two reef boats, a ferry, it was massive back then.
"Dunk Island was the key to the region, and since losing Dunk Island after (Cyclone) Yasi, it really has dramatically changed the footprint of the Cassowary Coast."
On the island was where her father, a head chef, and her mother, a matre d', met in 1972.
"There were 100-something rooms, we lost the staff, the transfer vessels, all the infrastructure, the staff that goes with that, the residents..the flow on effect was enormous. To have (Dunk Island) up and running again would be great," she said.
"Fifty-five years ago, they wanted to mine Ellison Reef for lime...They stood and fought from a property (called New Rise) at Bingle Bay to stop the mining.
"From there they halted the mining of the GBR and in turn, they created the GBR Marine Park. We're actually the birthplace of the GBR Marine Park and from Mission Beach which is why it's protected now."
Ms Lowe said 2024 will see a $10.5m investment into the main hub of Mission Beach, which will go towards a face lift to reinvigorate the peaceful, tourist town.
While Stage One has already been completed, including additional car parking, Stage Two of the Mission Beach Town Centre Revitalisation Project will involve improvements to the town centre's access and amenities including formalised seating, exclusive greenery, sculptural play elements, bicycle racks and LED lighting, pedestrian-friendly connections to the new car park and opportunities for local artists and artwork to be showcased.
"It is really going to change the face of downtown Mission Beach for the better...it's going to be massive and will impact businesses quite a bit but in the long run they will see how good it's going to be," Ms Lowe said.
"It's a very united region...There are a lot of funding grants the Cassowary Coast Regional Council are going for and we finally got one.
"If the weather plays ball, I think we will have a really good year. I think Mission Beach is on the verge of really turning that corner of being back to where it needs to be.
"(2023 was) the worst I've seen weather-wise...June/July was so windy and we had to cancel... (but) 2022 was the busiest year on record for a lot of shop owners, caravan parks, and hotels coming out of COVID, as everyone wasn't prepared to go overseas quite yet."
Before Christmas, Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO Mark Olsen urged holiday makers not to cancel their trips up north.
He said the region was open for business and encouraged domestic travellers to support the area during its busy tourism period, particularly in places like Mission Beach, which he said were unaffected.
"Since December 5, the region has lost an estimated $60 million in cancellations and forward bookings," he said.
Take it from this journalist - Far North Queensland is open for business.
