Australia 2015
The rainforest is dense with vegetation, with an impressive spread of
symbiotic and parasitic relationships throughout the vast array of
plantlife.
During a meander through the rainforest on a raised boardwalk, we come
across this reptilian poledancer clinging to a sapling.
Note the green patch on the sapling just below the lizard's hands.
That's the beginnings of a staghorn fern attaching itself to the sapling.
One of the most difficult Aussie animals to catch on camera is the
cassowary, a very large but shy fruitarian bird that lives in the
rainforest. We saw this female, which stands nearly six feet tall, feasting
on fallen soursop in the exotic fruit orchard of the Daintreee Icecream
Company, which sells cups of ice cream made from the fruits grown there.
And yes, we got a video...
We celebrate our luck in sighting a cassowary with ice cream, of course.
That day the four flavors in the cup were soursop, jackfruit, black sapote,
and wattleseed (which tastes surprisingly like chocolate).