Hi Mike,
It looks to me like we are back to the normal weather patterns from 20years back and then some which means November in FNQ will be a no-go for visual on anything and you may not even be able to get around due to road closures. Last November was terrible and the Wet lasts from November to May according to the website below with an average of 400mm of rain per month.
http://www.cairns-australia.com/cairns-weather.html