miss ryan
9.21.2005
This is the python we saw on our nightwalk in the wilderness. Alexi took the photo.. not too shabby especially for a night photo. it was about a meter and a half long... we also saw bird ALSEEP on little branches chosen for there safe location away from scary snakes. They choose tiny branches that snake would be incapable of manoeuvering on. It was very peculiar to see birds sleep, there feathers all ruffled up. They actually looked stuffed. We weren't allowed to take photos of them because it may wake them up. and if they get startled and fly away into the night they may not be able to secure a safe branch away from the snakes. We also saw giant crickets and giant spiders, a stickbug, termite houses and termites, tree frogs, cane toads, fresh water shrimp whose eyes glowed as we flashed our torches over their stream, anyway we saw a lot.
We went on a nightwalk through the Daintree rainforest. We were with a guide of course. We were equipped with flashlights... and basically walked throught the jungle looking for things.. animals mainly. There's a lot more going on in the forest at night. We saw quite a few interesting things, but unfortunately taking photos in the dark, in the jungle, proved to be slightly difficult, as this is pretty much one of the few that are actually in focus. It's a huge Fig Tree.... though you cannot really see it's true size or intrigue with this bad photo. Take my word for it.
9.20.2005
The Cassowary: a large black flightless bird of Australia and New Guinea having a horny head crest. This was a rare sighting; two adult cassowaries, probably male, and two chicks. They were crossing the road. The females are typically about 6-feet tall and can get very angry and very agressive. Being equipped with Rapture-like claws, an angry Cassowary isn't something you wanna be around. They'll also go after you with that large bone on their head. Thankfully, nothing so dramatic occurred when we spotted them.
The Daintree River
This is a crocodile we saw from our little boat with we cruised along the Daintree River that runs through the rainforest just north of Port Douglas. We went with Bruce Belcher's Croc Cruises. But we got onboard during high tide which isn't the best time to actually see the large 5 meter long crocs that live in this river. During high tide they're usually hiding in the water... duringthe summer you rarely see them cause it's so hot here. but, we saw some heads and scary eyes...