I slept until 9 today. Then I decided I wanted to do some bushwalking through the rainforest. I wanted to do the Kennedy Track, a 10 km walk along the coast over secluded beaches, but I missed the bus. So instead I decided to walk to and up Bicton Hill, renowned for its "spectacular views." The guy in reception said it was a 10 minute walk, but he must be in pretty good shape, since it turned out to be 5 km (3.1 miles) away. I was covered in sweat by the time I got there, and it was worse when I entered the forest, since it was humid and uphill. I saw a black lizard with yellow spots as big as my arm, though, so it was all good. At the top the only view was from a 10 foot window in the trees, so it wasn't too spectacular. You could see a bit of the ocean below, though. During the walk I started vigorously equalizing my ears (holding my nose and blowing), which started to clear them out. It's weird that my right ear is clogged too. Each blow would only give me about a minute of hearing, but I was pretty glad I was not deaf.

During the walk through the forest back to Sanctuary I spotted another cassowary. He was right on the trail ahead of me, and I was thinking of moving up for a better look. Then he started to walk towards me. Now this guy was as big as me, with a horn on his head. And they have killed people before (back in 1945, and the kid was taunting it, but it can happen). So I did like they told us, and backed away and hid behind a tree. I probably took about 10 steps back before he stopped his charge (it wasn't really a charge, but that sounds more dramatic)

That night I had a final encounter with wildlife: there was a huge spider in my hut. I went to brush my teeth and he was gone when I got back.