While NSW was getting smashed by storms, Queensland looked like this

Australia is a country of extreme weather.

It has floods. It has drought. Bushfires scorch the earth and cyclones flatten the houses on it.

A perfect example of these extremes was evident last week when the south-east coast of Australia was hammered by ferocious storms that literally ate away at beachfront houses, and flooded others.

Three people died in floodwaters.

Here’s a look at the devastation it caused.

Collaroy Beach in Sydney’s northern beaches was one of the hardest hit

Powerful sea surges hammered the coastline

Coogee’s surf club copped a beating too

Meanwhile just a two-hour flight north of Sydney, Cairns and Port Douglas remained untouched, if not had better weather because of the southern weather system.

Business Insider flew in a helicopter over this northern region in the wake of the Sydney storm, as it moved into Tasmania — where Launceston copped the brunt of it.

This is what we saw in Cairns.

From the air over Cairns, it was nothing but cloudless sky and pristine water

Flying over the Great Barrier Reef, it was so clear we could spot eagle rays and pods of dolphins

With next to no wind, the sea was calm and crystal clear

We took the land route on the way home. A few clouds but still idyllic conditions

The pilot of the chopper said he thought the unusually still conditions, and pristine waters were due to what was happening in the south-east parts of Australia.

Business Insider reached out to the Bureau of Meteorology to find out if there was a correlation between the weather conditions.

We’re waiting to hear back.

* Business Insider traveled to Cairns as a guest of Airbnb.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.