Spot the Cassowary

Cassowaries are flightless birds and are now an endangered species, mainly because of habitat loss. However, the Aussie authorities are trying to protect the bird and we saw lots of evidence through posters and leaflets giving advice on how best to manage the environment so that this Casuarius can avoid extinction. They are also incredibly shy, so we were surprised, but pleased to see one as we drove to our next park, Beachcomer Coconut Holiday Park. The park is at Mission Bay, which consists of a long stretch of beach and little coves. The beach is set against a number of tropical rainforests, so the backdrop is really pretty. Like the park we just left, this one also has a little cafe cum bar, that also does food, so we tried their fish special. It was surprisingly nice, with 3 different types of fish; a white fish, calamari and prawns. The only thing is that they were either battered or breaded, so they were deep fried. And this is something we have noticed whilst here; the Aussies love either deep fried food or BBQ'd meat. As such, the majority of restaurants we have eaten at or looked at, often have a rather limited menu.

The next day, we are off again, but there's a few sights to see whilst in Mission Bay. We go to Licuala State Forest and follow a rainforest trail. We stop at Lacey Creek, which is also in a rainforest, but has a lovely stream flowing through it. Finally, we stop at Bingil Bay, that is yet another of those castaway beaches. The only issue is that our stopping point is next to a creek and we had been warned that saltwater crocodiles will usually reside at such creeks. So, the picture taken of the beach was very quick and Keith hotfooted it back to the van pretty smartly to up the Bruce Highway up to our penultimate park, NRMA Atherton Tablelands.