Getting Close to Nature

At Featherdale Wildlife Park kangaroos and wallabies hop around freely so you can feed them (but also have sanctuaries where people aren’t allowed to go). This albino wallaby and her joey were in a protected area though.


The koalas are in open stalls, and there is usually at least one outside on a branch that you can touch and get a picture with (without having to pay extra like some zoos here make you do).


Many birds, like ibises, geese and this pheasant, are able to roam wherever they like in the park.


They let emus walk around too, which is a little scary, especially when you’re carrying kangaroo food because they’re just as hungry, but twice as tall. At least they keep the cassowaries, like this one, mostly enclosed. These guys have the body of an emu or ostrich, the neck of a turkey and a horn like a rhino. They freak me out.


They have some brilliant looking birds. This one reminds me of a villain glaring from behind his cape. I think he just had an itch though. Do birds get itchy?


This bird was my favorite because we made a personal connection. I realized if I bounced up and down or side to side, the cockatoo would imitate me. If I raised my arms, he’d flap his wings. He also knew how to say hello and bye-bye. He was my buddy.


And if you weren’t convinced already that Featherdale is worth the 50-minute train ride from the city, there are penguins.

Aussie Animals Up Close

On Easter Sunday, Jane and her daughter Kirstie took me on a drive in their area of Sutherland, about a 45-minute train ride southwest of where I am in Sydney. We stopped at Sublime Point Lookout, and it was a bit hazy but sublime nonetheless.


We drove along the coast and then up to Symbio Wildlife Park, where I saw my first true Australian koala. We were lucky to arrive just when this one was sitting on the ledge against the fence. I was able to pet him, and lemme tell you they’ve got the cushiest fur.


You just want to nuzzle ’em...until you spot these bad boys.


Then we were able to feed some kangaroos. When everyone is carrying a bag of food, you don’t have to be as stealth as I had to be the first time I saw roos.


One did grip my hand a little too hard, turning my part of my pinky purple for a few minutes. But that’s what I get for eating his cousin in a kebab last week.


And for one last aww, here’s another koala, just hanging out.

I've seen roo poo. Have you?

Straight from the Melbourne airport, jetlagged and stiff from a 15+ hour flight, our study abroad group went to an area where kangaroos live in the wild. Our three groups of 20 were hardly inconspicuous, but we managed to get fairly close to several gangs of kangaroo. Being in front, I snuck within 10 yards of that one before he hopped away.

We saw some joeys, but none in a mother's pouch unfortunately.