A walk with Cairns' wildlife

The rest of our day was spent walking back into town. We returned through rainforest and swung by the freshwater pond to see the local birds. The usual suspects were present, including the ibis species we had seen before, several species of ducks, and a shag with its wings spread in the afternoon sun. The big surprise came when the enormous wingspan of a pelican came swooping over the treeline and onto the water. Over two metres of wings folded up as it powered its way towards several other pelicans resting on the green grass. We wandered around the trail hoping for a better view and to investigate what we though to be a turtle resting on a far embankment. We missed the turtle but definitely got a good look at the pelicans.

As we left the park, we passed our first coconut tree, missing only the gigantic crab I still long to see. With our safe little journey through some Australian "Jungle" ending, we passed a sign that reminded us to remain vigilant of the ever present, yet only potential dangers. This sign popped up at basically any open water, including along the beach and boardwalk which would be our next leg of our walking route.

My hopes to find more mudskippers was not particularly fruitful on this bout of the trip, but the nice boardwalk and shaded trees made for a pleasant afternoon. My very understanding wife leisurely remained on the boardwalk, while her curious husband examined the pools along the edge of the beach. Wading birds and gulls walked around the mudflats probing the pools and mud for small creatures. The pools were largely occupied by minuscule hermit crabs and enormous mud snails. Further down the beach, we ran into yet more of those magnificent pelicans we had seen earlier, resting on the beach and pruning themselves.

There were some very interesting wildlife on the boardwalk itself, and not just the feathered kind, that made for some intriguing people watching. But again, the feathered individuals brought the most amusement, as these two ibis stalked an older gentleman eating on a park bench. We poked around a few of the shops, and got ourselves some ice cream and miniature burgers at the shops that boarded the shoreline.

Leaving the boardwalk, we went looking for the aquarium I had seen online and ended up staggering through the streets in confusion at its lack of obvious presence. Eventually, we gave up and continued our walk back to the hotel, a wise decision given that I later found out that the website indicated the grand opening to be slated for 2016. Wandering by the bats again, we found them squawking in the trees still. Makes one wonder when they actually find time to sleep.

A nice day behind us, filled with walking, primitive and beautiful plants, and a host of amazing creatures. The next day we would be investigating the zoo in the hopes of seeing more of these fantastic animals and hopefully see a few enormous reptiles.