Etty Bay

 12 - 14 June 2025

We chose to go to Etty Bay because we had the car booked in for a major repair at Toyota in Innisfail, and because of cassowaries. Mick has lots of photos of this magnificent bird, but he is always chasing the perfect shot. We left Atherton after lunch in the park and drove down the Palmerston Highway, arriving in Etty Bay mid-afternoon.

We pulled up at the caravan park reception and as I stepped out of the car, there was a cassowary only a couple of metres away from me. Naturally Mick grabbed the camera while I checked in. Eventually he was able to drag himself away long enough to set up camp.

The welcome cassowary

We realised there were two cassowaries active in and around the caravan park and beach and spent a lot of time trying to photograph them. One was more than happy to come right into our camp - looking for food. Feeding cassowaries is strictly forbidden, but that doesn't stop them helping themselves to whatever they can find.

On Friday morning we drove in to Innifail to drop the car off and pick up a hire car. On the way we saw a young cassowary on the side of the road  but didn't stop for photos. On the way home from Innisfail we drove down to Mourilyan Harbour for a look. There's not much to see, but we did see yet another cassowary on the side of the road on our way back. That made four for the trip - most times we have only seen one.

A spectacular moonrise was an added bonus

We were only going as far as Cairns then next day so took our time packing up, in between photograpy sessions. We left around 10:00 and headed north.

Etty Bay

1 – 3 October 2024

We’ve been to Etty Bay a number of times, including earlier on this trip and each time we hope to see Cassowaries. Although we have seen one on the road beyond the range twice in recent years, we haven’t seen one on the beach for many years, so Mick was more then a little anxious this time. He really wanted to add one to his "year list" for 2024 and this would be his last chance.

We settled on to a nice site with across from the beach. Most people there were hoping for a cassowary sighting and there were a number of other serious bird photographers camped around the park. Everyone was very helpful and it was easy to tell when one of the resident birds made an appearance as people started moving in the same direction as word spread. We were all quite excited to see such a magnificent and striking bird close up, moving around the beach and campground quite confidently.

It's pretty exciting to see a cassowary up close

We stayed for two nights and were treated to multiple sightings, including of a dad with his chick. Mick was very pleased to finally get the sort of photos he had been after. Even if he hadn’t, Etty Bay is still a really nice place to spend a couple of nights.

We had been trying to work out which way we would travel on our way south and decided to go back up though the Atherton Tablelands and along the inland route. Our first overnight stop would be Innot Hot Springs.

 

Etty Bay

22 – 24 July 2024

Etty Bay is well known for its resident cassowaries and there is a small caravan park so we set up camp there for 2 nights. The sites are laid out in such a way that we could see the beach even though we didn’t have a beachfront site. Mick was hopeful of getting a cassowary photo after missing out last time we visited. That time we didn’t see one until we were on the road just over the hill when leaving Etty Bay. Unfortunately photo opportunities were limited that time.

We enjoyed long walks along the beach and in the adjacent rainforest, but there was not a cassowary to be seen. Mick thought that maybe the time if year was to blame, with adults tending eggs and therefore not wandering around as they usually do. We would just have to come back again at a different time of year. It was a lovely spot for a few days anyway.

This stunning sunrise almost made up for the lack of cassowaries

Kurrimine Beach

4 – 5 October 2023

We left Cairns and headed south towards Kurrimine Beach. Because it’s a relatively short drive we decided to detour via Etty Bay, just south of Innisfail. Cassowaries are often seen near the beach at Etty Bay and we were hoping to add to our bird list for the trip. We drove down to the beach and made morning tea – all the while hoping for one of these magnificent, huge birds to come wandering along. Unfortunately there were none around that day.

We jumped back in the car to return to the highway and were very surprised and pleased to see a cassowary wandering along the edge of the road a few kilometres away from the beach, adjacent to some rainforest. We did get a good look but by the time we were able to turn the car (and camper trailer) around, it had disappeared into the bush. At least we were able to add it to the list.

We moved on to Kurrimine Beach and arrived at lunch time. The caravan park was fairly full even though it was late in the tourist season and we ended up in a spot near the road with little shade. It wouldn’t matter for one night but we were glad we weren’t staying longer. During the afternoon we went for a walk along the beach – always a favourite activity – and observed heaps of coral spawn washed up. Coral spawning occurs once a year after a full moon, generally in October or November and when sea temperatures are right. It appears there may be some healthy reef in this part of the Great Barrier Reef.

It has become our habit to go out for dinner on the final night of our long trips so we had chosen to stay at King Reef Resort and Caravan Park, which just happens to have a very nice on-site pub bistro. We sat outside to enjoy the view and were entertained by some of the local curlews who wandered around the tables.

We left early the next morning for the final leg of our almost two year journey – returning to Townsville to make a new home (for now at least).