The Cairns Aquarium-A Pleasant Way to Spend a Wet Sunday

The best new attraction in Cairns is the Cairns Aquarium. This wonderful tourist attraction is located near the Cairns Esplanade and features three floors of well-designed and maintained exhibits that are bound to entertain and amaze all visitors. Local reef fish and freshwater fish are featured in fantastic settings.

In addition to the fish there are a number reptiles, amphibians and insects on display. There are a few 'touch and feel" areas where people can become familiar with a number of different kinds of reef and tropical biota.

A wonderful restaurant adds to the enjoyment of the place with tasty, well-presented food.

Surely with the Cairns Botanic Gardens, the Cairns Aquarium are the two top tourist attractions on the mainland.

A few hightlights.

Here's lookin' at you-Mudcrab

Orange-spine Unicornfish 

 Discussing the diversity of starfish

 Just Resting

 Big-nose Unicornfish

 Black-back Butterflyfish

 Blue-spot Ray

 Restaurant

 Emperor Angelfish

 Blue Sea Star

 Blue Yabbie (Freshwater)

 Bluetongue Skink 

That's it Folks

They Did It Right On Our Doorstep

This needs little explanation. But this is what we saw first thing this morning.

Now where did he go?

New Kids On The Block

The other day I was sure that we had a new pair of cassowaries on the site. Today it was confirmed.

When we got out of the car, these two greeted us.

It's a small male, probably quite young as indicated by the short wattles and the bub is young too. It's still in the "squeaking" stage and depends on Dad for food. It is much smaller than the three young of the year from the usual pair that occupy this territory. And, by the way, this morning Mom and Dad were doing it right on our front doorstep as you will see in a future blog. (But you never have a camera when you need it.)

This pair were intent on picking up the palm seeds for a couple of species growing on our property. The seeds themselves did not seem to have much flesh on them but the birds ate all they could.

We felt that this male knew our place and perhaps was one of the young birds fathered by our resident male. What will happen when these new birds meet up with the residents can only be imagined. The resident male seems much larger than this one and the bub is completely dependent on him. The residents will attempt to drive this young male from the territory.

Recent logging on Black Mtn Road may have driven these birds from their regular haunts and they have ended up within the territory of the resident male and female.

Good luck little guy. And you will have to have eyes on the back of your head to survive in this world.