View from Rex Lookout along Captain Cook Highway , which has been re-opened .

WORDS AND IMAGES : CAROLYNE JASINSKI

When Cyclone Jasper hit Tropical North Queensland on December 18 last year , it did a good job of destroying more than its pristine palm-lined beaches .

Winds from the category 2 cyclone were ‘ not really that bad ’, according to the locals .

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But when Jasper decided to ‘ hang around ’ as a tropical low , its flooding rains drenched the region – and its magnetic pull for tourists .

Tourism is the lifeblood of TNQ – 80 per cent of the economy relies on visitors and their welcome injection of cash . The cyclone saw more than $ 90 million in tourism revenue lost from Port Douglas and Mossman alone , and people are still cancelling holidays .