On set of Nim's Island 2: Mud, leeches and the most magnificent tree in the world

Trailers on site

I'm filled with admiration for people who can blog on exciting events as they happen. I even have every intention of following their example, but in the end I get caught up in the event and the blogging just doesn't happen.

In fact, I did make notes and start a post while I was sitting in the rainforest on the set of Nim's Island 2, but lost them when I closed the iPad...

But yes, I said, 'The set of Nim's Island 2.' And although I'm giving up exclamation marks, that deserves a few: !!!!!  In fact everything about it deserved a few: the location, the trees, the actors, the crew, the atmosphere on set. (!!!!) Being with my friend Paula Mazur the producer, meeting the real-life Nim, Bindi Irwin and her lovely mum Terri, making new friends...

Actors' stand-ins, waiting - cold but cheerful

This is going to get sentimental, so I'll add the ticks, the leeches, the mud, the cold.  (Why don't we have upside down exclamation marks?) Filming is never quite as glamorous as it sounds, and even in tropical Queensland, rain forests are dark and shady – and the word 'rain' ought to suggest mud. In fact, since the mud lasts even longer than the rain, mudforest would actually be a more accurate term, albeit somewhat less romantic. And cold, did I mention that?

But beautiful. There are so many aspects to watching a book's characters come to life, that I'm not going to touch on most of them now, partly because I've spent the last two days editing the last Rainbow Street series book and my brain is slightly fried. But partly because I just want to share some of these pictures now and show you why leeches, ticks, mud and cold, can't do anything to spoil this.