Mission Beach

Mission Beach

Cassowary, Licuala State Forest

We decided to stay another night which meant we didn't have to pack up and could also get some washing done. It was about 27 degrees so the kids had a swim in the pool without their wetsuits on. After hanging the washing we went for a drive into Mission Beach. All along the road were signs warning drivers to be 'cassowary aware'. We went for a walk along the main street which seemed to be quite busy. Most of the businesses seemed fully operational although there were still some building and renovating being completed. After a bite to eat at a cafe we walked to the beach to watch the skydivers landing and the land yachts racing up and down the sand. We walked to the visitor centre and the Cassowary Conservation Centre which was quite interesting as we knew very little about this large, strange looking bird and were keen to actually see one. The Australian cassowary (other spieces are found in New Guinea) is only found in the dense, tropical rainforest of northern Queensland and is listed as endangered. The cassowary is critical to the survival of many rainforest plants, spreading the seeds of about 150 species. Cassowaries swallow fruit whole and excrete the fruit's seed intact in large piles of dung, which acts as fertilizer encouraging growth of the seed. Since the cyclone, and the destruction of much of their habitat, a large number of feeding sites had been set up. This also prevents them from having to leave the protection of the rainforest to go looking for food which makes them more vulnerable. We did some grocery shopping then headed to Licuala State Forest to do a short walk. When we turned off the main road we were surprised to see a cassowary walking along the dirt road. We took some photos before it darted back into the rainforest. We did a short walk along and headed back to the jetty where we were told you could see turtles. We didn't see any turtles but were pretty excited about our cassowary sighting. Back at the van we cooked a BBQ for dinner.