Nine Mile Beach – Byfield National Park

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Cassowary Chick Photos

Cassowary chicks in captivity are a very rare occurence. Cooberrie Park (official website), has two such chicks that are being hand raised, because the parents are too great a risk to trust with feeding and caring. This afternoon my sisters and I drove there with some rats (the rats are for breeding and their babies will be used to feed the snakes on display) to sell.

The owner then said that he had something very special to show us, something that most people will never see in their lifetimes. He then took us to a cage with two young Cassowary chicks inside. More information on Cassowarys can be found at the Queensland Government’s Enviromental Protection Agency website, as well as Wikipedia.

Cooberrie Park currently has more protected Cassowarys in captivity than any other park or zoo (besides Australia Zoo, which has 5 as well) in Australia. They currently have 3 adults and 2 chicks.

Below are the photos. Sorry for the blurry black lines on the pictures, they’re a result of the wire getting in the way.

The top part of the Cassowary Chick. The head looks a bit like a chook's head but the obdy shape and colour is totally different.
The top part of the Cassowary Chick. The head looks a bit like a chook’s head but the obdy shape and colour is totally different.

A full view of the Cassowary. Notice the very distintive black markings running along the body.
A full view of the Cassowary. Notice the very distintive black markings running along the body.

The two chicks together in a corner.
The two chicks together in a corner.

Another view of the Cassowary chick.
Another view of the Cassowary chick.

October 27, 2008 – 8:44 pm | Posted in Daily Life, Information for Locals, Information for Tourists, Photography, Woodbury, Bungundarra & Adelaide Park | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Climbing Mt Hedlow

At the beginning of this winter we said that we would climb a nearby (within 10km) mountain called Mt Hedlow, which is approximately 230m high. Because of snake danger, climbing mountains like Mt Hedlow in Summer or Spring is not recommended.

Anyway, we drove up as close as we could to the mountain and started to walk. I had put on my SES trousers, shirt and boots to protect myself from snakes and branches. After about half an hour of walking we reached the base of the mountain and started climbing. Below are a few photos of Lake Mary (a small lake near Mt Hedlow which has shrunk a lot) and Mt Hedlow itself. The mountain you can see in the background of Lake Mary is not Hedlow, which is actually to the left of the lake.

Climbing Mt Hedlow 1

Climbing Mt Hedlow 2

I sighted the first snake just as I was about to step on it. It was fairly short and slim, and I think it was a light brown colour. It slithered away into some rocks and plants so we just walked around it. Some time after this, I spotted a plant whose leaves had intricate patterns on them. I liked the photo so much I put it on my photoblog. A bit further on we stopped for a while and I took the opportunity to snap some photos of the view which can be seen below.

Climbing Mt Hedlow 3

Climbing Mt Hedlow 4

Climbing Mt Hedlow 5

About 5 or so minutes later we were able to see up to the north, including Lake Mary.

Climbing Mt Hedlow 6

Finally we (my mum and I, my sisters stopped before the top) reached the top of Mt Hedlow after a long climb that took about 50 minutes. I took a few photos to prove this, as you can see below. The round piece of metal in one of the photos is a survey marker.

Climbing Mt Hedlow 7

Climbing Mt Hedlow 8

Climbing Mt Hedlow 9

After reaching the top and adding a stone to rock pile (each time someone climbs a mountain they add a rock to the pile to show that they’ve been there), we started our descent to the bottom. On the way we saw another snake, this time a yellow belly. See below for the picture. Anyway, we arrived at the car very feeling very thirsty and ended up coming home after dark. All in all, it was a great way to spend the afternoon!

Climbing Mt Hedlow 10

August 25, 2007 – 4:24 pm | Posted in Daily Life, Information for Locals, Information for Tourists, Lake Mary, Photography | Also tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)