Hanging with a Cassowary

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After a few tiring days with little sleep in the Whitsundays I was off to Mission Beach. From what I've heard the town doesn't have a whole lot to offer except a relaxed atmosphere which is what I was looking for. The town is basically one street about 300m long. My hostel was set on the beach and about 10 min from town. The only activity on the agenda was spotting a cassowary. They are the second largest bird in the world and look basically like dinosaurs. They have some nasty claws and have actually killed 6 people in Queensland.

After talking with the town info center, they suggested a 8k trail that above town. I persuaded the hostel shuttle driver to drop me off at the trailhead and the walk began. It was a beautiful walk through pretty dense rainforest with plenty of wildlife to be heard. I could only see about 5' into either side of the trail so I heard plenty but didn't see much. Kinda eerie actually. I didn't spot one cassowary the entire 2 hour trek. I ended at the trailhead with all the picnic tables and guess what is standing in front of me. There is the cassowary I've been waiting for. They usually aren't aggressive so I approached slowly and snapped a few pictures. I was satisfied. At this point I found myself 7km from town, so I thought I'd try hitching. The first car stopped and gave me a lift about halfway. A perfectly normal man racing in some regatta later that day. Ride 2 came from two french travlerers who were extremely kind. Overall a good experience, but it'll remain a last resort. That was about all for Mission Beach. Next was Cairns and the Far North of Cape Trib.

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Photos

Warning
I only saw one but 15 have been killed in the last 5 years.

Cassowary!!!!!
The elusive and deadly cassowary!