Saturday, 1 August 2015

Serendipity

Yet another unexpected experience awaits us at Etty Beach just east of Innisfail: We urgently need a powered camp site and internet connection to take care of the chores of daily life administration, like paying bills and checking bank accounts. However, the camp grounds around Innisfail, all lined up along the Bruce Highway, don’t really cut it. So we make the detour to Etty Bay. Etty Bay is a small ocean beach bordered by some rocks at one end and the rain forest on the other one. According to the number of barbecues and picnic tables the place must be popular on weekends. For whatever reason there is a surf life saving club — the waves are hardly 50 cm high. But in essence Etty Bay is a caravan park with a kiosk that sells take-away meals and offers wi-fi. And that is what we are after.

The next morning we get up early and start packing up our gear when out of a sudden 2 cassowaries leave the undergrowth that borders the camp ground. These mystical birds are highly endangered, and their numbers are very small. After some minutes of careful observation — cassowaries are known to have killed people with their sharp claws — we eventually become more adventurous and start following them. Gracefully they inspect the camp ground like patrolling “their” little kingdom, before they eventually, not shy at all, start mating just metres from our tent … How shall we explain Niklas and Jonas this strange behaviour?! :-)

What next?

Young talent

"Don't I look intimidating?"

[Etty Bay, 31. July - 1. August]