We have seen a Cassowary!

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Hello everyone.

Time for another update on Chezza’s Travels.

After a great time in Cairns we bid farewell to Susan & Damien and made our way south about 120 – 140 kilometres to a small place called Etty Bay. Etty Bay is a sugar cane growing area with no town and is a small beach on the coast. It has a small caravan park & surf lifesaving club & one road in & the same road out.We were very disappointed with the caravan park, which was small, full & the facilities were very tired. We also endured endless rain for most of our stay which made the grass slippery & the ground boggy.

During our three nights at Etty Bay we got to see some Cassowaries. Cassowaries are native to the humid rainforests of New Guinea and nearby smaller islands, and to north eastern Australia. They will, however, venture out into palm scrub, grassland, savanna & and swamp forest.

Cassowaries are solitary birds except during courtship, egg-laying, and sometimes around ample food supplies. The male cassowary defends a territory of about 7 km² (1,700 acres) for himself and his mate. Female cassowary have larger territories, overlapping those of several males. While females move among satellite territories of different males, they appear to remain within the same territories for most of their lives, mating with the same, or closely related, males over the course of their life spans.Courtship and pair bonding rituals begin with the vibratory sounds broadcast by females. Males approach and run with necks parallel to the ground while making dramatic movements of the head, which accentuate the frontal neck region.

Males are far more tolerant of one another than females, which do not tolerate the presence of other females. (Does that seem familiar LOL)

After Etty Bay we again travelled south through the towns of Tully & Cardwell & onto Lucinda near Ingham where we are staying for five nights. The area has lots to offer as it is surrounded by mountain ranges, the Great Barrier Reef, rainforest & waterfalls & tropical islands.

Lucinda is also a fishing hotspot. We had a fish & I regret to inform you it was the same old story. Cheryl beat me!

Today we went into Ingham for supplies & then met Christine Beven & Nashy from Hobart for lunch. They have been up as far as Darwin then came across to Cairns & are gradually heading south.