This sign is seen several times on the way into Mission Beach.  There are many cassowaries in this area - thus the name The Cassowary Coast. The cassowary can be quite an aggressive bird and has a very sharp claw on its foot which can rip a person open.  It is best to give them a wide berth.

This is what a cassowary looks like -
only not quite as big as this one outside the local
shopping centre

Yesterday (Tues) we moved north again to Cairns passing through more areas of sugar cane and also banana plantations.  There are also mountain ranges in the background.  The weather is certainly warming up and the vegetation is tropical.  32C today.

Bananas

So far we have travelled 2070km although apart from the first day we have done it in easy stages.
We are staying for 2 nights at the Coconut Caravan Park on the way into the city.  Last night we went into Cairns to walk along the Esplanade and check out the Night Markets.  We were interested to see how much Cairns had changed since we lived here.  It was busy with tourists - many were from Europe but there were also a lot of Chinese.

Night Markets in Cairns

Coloured Spotlights Light up the Trees

Cairns at Night

Warm enough to swim at night

Today we finally met up with Steve & Jacqui when they drove down from Atherton for the day to meet us.  Jacqui & I checked out the shops in Cairns Central while Steve & Terry fixed a few things on the caravan.  After lunch we all met up for a swim in the free-form pool on the Esplanade.  It is a beautiful setting with its' own sandy beach.  From the pool you can watch the boats returning from the Gt Barrier Reef full of tourists.

Tomorrow we are on the move again to Cairns Northern Beaches.  We plan to stay for a few days at Ellis Beach.  Jacqui & Steve are coming down from the Tablelands again on Sunday and we will meet them in Port Douglas.