Cairns and Townsville on Australia's north eastern coast provided a stark contrast to the Outback as well as ample opportunities to film marine animals for Bite Me. The Queensland shoot featured most deadly "A-listers" such as the world’s most poisonous fish (the stone fish) and the deadly box jelly fish which boasts the most poisonous venom (drop by drop) of any creature on earth.
We arrived to find the beaches closed due to the presence of box jellyfish. Already nine people had been hospitalized and one person killed after being stung. It was a nerve wracking time for us as Mike put his health on the line to experience and describe a sting on camera...rather him than me!
Shortly after, we got to take a walk on the wild side of our own with Mike when, accompanied by two professional zoo keepers, we filmed inside the enclosure of two Cassowary birds. Known to be highly territorial and aggressive, Cassowary birds will use their claws to disembowel anyone unfortunate enough to cross their path.
What followed next resembled the “Raptor hunts humans scene” from the movie Jurassic Park. Within minutes of entering the enclosure, the birds managed to separate us into two groups putting the keepers, armed with metal rakes, on high alert. These guys will happily wrestle an alligator but even they are extremely wary around the Cassowary so after a few minutes we took our cue from them and bid a hasty exit. I have to say I was pretty relieved when the keepers locked the gate again....if you notice any droplets on the camera during the Cassowary scene of the Queensland episode, they're probably mine.
