4/2/14 - Melbourne to Cairns

After an early breakfast we flew from Melbourne to Cairns, 3.5 hours. The state of Queensland has a population of 4.1 million with about 160 thousand and growing in Cairns. Cairns is growing fast, young, laid back. It receives 64" of rain per year. 

Our Tour Bus

First we made our way to Hartley's Crocodile Farm for lunch, a croc feeding, a tour and a cruise in the natural environment. The croc feeding was much as you would expect, they held food near the croc and it jumped to get it, more than once. The largest croc found was 22 ft long right here at Hartlet's. Crocodiles are protected by the United Nations - no killing them. May be relocated or sent to a farm sanctuary. They can have a short burst of energy resulting in a speed of 35 mph!

We also saw several different species of birds most notable being the Southern Cassowary. The southern cassowary is a large flightless black bird. It is a ratite and therefore related to the emu, ostrich, the dwarf cassowary and northern cassowary. The female is more dominant and has slightly brighter colors; the male raises the chicks. The cassowary has 3 toes and a sharp point on its head. It's almost the same size and an ostrich. The Cassowary is only found in Australia and Papa New Guinea. They make a booming call during mating season and hissing and rumblings otherwise. Chicks will make frequent high-pitches whistles to call the male. The blade-like claws are capable of killing humans and dogs if the bird is provoked they can peal open a car door. They eat only fruit and germinate trees. The emu, ostrich and cassowaries may be the last living dinosaurs.

Cassowary

We went to Kewarra Beach Resort for the next 3 nights. It reminded us of the place we stayed in Costa Rica near Arenal Volcano. The restaurant was open air and so wild life was all around. The resort had many brave wallabys around the property, mainly out at night. 

Wallaby

In the evening we saw an Aboriginal cultural performance of dancing and music and more. The people played a didgeridoo using circular breathing. They also did a Cassowary dance.