‘Sup GBD!  Sorry this edition is late.  May has been, and will continue to be, a crazy month for me.  Did you know that I forgot my brother was going to visit from California?  And that I was supposed to pick him up from the airport?  He texted me the morning he was coming, and I was like, “DOHHHHHH!”  But it’s okay.  I managed to pick him up.

See, I’m not kidding when I say I’m going senile.

Anyway, Dez is still waitin’ on the king for her Maori post.  So she’s going to tell y’all about her trip to the Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park instead.  AND she’s got another challenge for you!  Whoohoo!

(Click on the pics for bigger versions.)

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The main reason I wanted to visit Australia was to get an up close and personal introduction to Australia’s iconic species of animals.  Maybe I could meet a koala, hang with a kangaroo, or finally see what a wombat was.  I didn’t have time to travel to the Outback of Australia so the next best thing was the Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park, just 50 minutes outside of Sidney.

This park is an amazing 180-acre sanctuary in which you never know what you might see!  You will get the opportunity to walk around with the wildlife and actually pet some of them.  The fun thing about this park is that many of the animals are roaming free, so you are not separated by a fence like many zoos.  They have kangaroo, emus and six species of wallabies hanging around near the visitor centre and along the three kilometers of walking tracks.

Let’s tell you about a few of the friendly animals you may encounter along the tracks:  Zoë, with her diamante-studded collar, is probably the most-photographed kangaroo on the Central Coast.  Her joeys (young kangaroo) are always close by, including the recently-named Bounce.  Bounce loves a good scratch on the ear.  Leila, the female red kangaroo, is ever popular as well as Ally, the baby wombat.  Don’t let the baby part fool you because this little thing is built like a tank.  Blaney is the most adorable brush tail possum — the eyes alone will get you every time. Dexter, the cockatoo, is a well-known character – he and I had a game of hide and seek, which was more like me hiding and him trying to seek and bite me.  Bad Dexter!  Marni, the eastern pygmy possum, is everybody’s favorite!  He is no bigger than a 50 cent piece and the sweetest thing I have ever seen.  They let me hold this little guy in the palm of my hand.  He was sleeping rolled up in a tight ball so I spoke softly to try and ease him awake, but he would not be denied his day time nap.  I just wanted to put him in my pocket!

OK, I am getting ahead of myself.  When I arrived, I was greeted by Tassin, the owner of the park and her somewhat mischievous Dexter, the
cockatoo.  They both looked at me from head to toe and gave a small shake of the head.  Really, I think the bird was judging me.  I had this strange feeling I did not meet the correct dress code.  I was in shorts, a summer top and sandals.  What?  I thought I was going to a zoo, but I guess when they say Walkabout Park that’s what it is.  It may be just 50 minutes outside of the city, but you would never know it.  It’s as if the outback is right on your doorstep.

As Tassin and her mischievous bird gave me the rundown of what to expect, I became more and more nervous; a little uneasy and somewhat
fearful — even as far as frightened.  Now, you’re thinking, what she is going on about?  Why would Dez be so apprehensive in a walkabout park with cuddly koalas and hippity hoppity kangaroos?  I WILL TELL YOU – SNAKES!  That’s right — big, deadly, slinky snakes.  The one thing I fear most in life is encountering a snake and they have free reign of the place, just like in the outback.  My palms began to sweat and I felt a little unsteady — more so as she gives me the safety speech.  In the end, my survival would be based on my acting abilities, because it all came down to me posing as a tree.  You heard me — a tree.  If I happen to run into one of the ghastly creatures, I was to act like I was a tree and stand still.  That’s hilarious — a tree!  I was thinking more like an express train and get the heck out of there.  But OK, really, what are the chances that I will run it to one of these wicked things?   Well, we will leave this for later.  For now I’m going to move onto the mind-blowing and astounding sites of the park as well as the bonus Aboriginal art along the way.

So we start our walkabout on a better note as Tassin points out the stories told in the rock art.  The tales behind the art are handed down to each generation of Aborigines.  When you think about it, it’s amazing that today’s Aborigines can interpret the meaning of art that is tens of thousands of years old, such as a hand print or a picture of a bird pointing in such a way.  The paintings communicate direction, hunting grounds, and even where to get water.  Can you imagine doing this all without our computers and blackberries of today?  Maybe we should try this – what do you think, girls?  Chaos?

As we head further up the path we meet the Dingo, the legendary Australian wild dog.  These Australian animals are descendants of Asian dingoes that were introduced to the continent some 3,000 to 4,000 years ago.  I am told that Munji and Kirraka are the purest of the breed, and what an amazing treat they are.  They are two of the most beautiful wild dogs that I have ever seen.  Now, I know what you’re going to say.  The dingo ate my baby! – The silly line from the movie.  But not these two lovable dogs.  As much as I would love to have one, I’m told they are still wild animals and, much to my regret, I have to say goodbye to Munji and Kirraka and move on to the koalas.  Holy cuteness!  I’m now face to face with 3 of the most amazing creatures I could ever meet.  Livingstone, Daiquiri, and Saligna.

I’m in pure heaven.  When God was creating cute cuddly animals, he got it right with these three.  Livingstone is quite a character!  Known for his grumpiness, they tell me this grouchy old boy almost lost his life when, as a wild koala, he sustained an injury that was to leave him permanently crippled.  He was operated on at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, where his kneecap was removed.  Unfortunately, Livingstone would never survive in the wild with this handicap, so the Walkabout Wildlife Park welcomed him with open arms and provided him with a new home and the company of two females.   He does have a little bit of a complex, though, due to the other females pushing him around a bit.  Silly girls!

Now, Daiquiri was born and raised in captivity at a wildlife park in Queensland.  She came to her new home in 2008, where she discovered a new and happy home.  After playing coy with Livingstone, she fell in love and she has recently given birth to her very first joey.  Her little boy is now comfortably in her pouch, but it will be a few months before he pokes his head out to start experiencing the world.  I tried to get a peek but it was a no go — maybe next time. 

Saligna, also captive-bred, is everyone’s darling.  I fell in love with her at first sight.  There is nothing that this koala loves more than cuddles, which is very unusual for a koala.   Dedicated volunteers know quickly — leave her enclosure so that she doesn’t climb up their legs!  Still, she gets her fair share of daily cuddles from the rangers and is thriving under all the affection shown to her by staff and volunteers.  She is a hit with the visitors, too!  Saligna also has a very young joey in the pouch – so young that they don’t know yet whether it is a boy or a girl.  It was sure hard for me to leave.  I wanted to pet her all day.  I mean, look at that face!  I start to wonder what the koalas are thinking about every day.  They seem to be very happy with a smooth tree branch to stay in, nice sunshine to keep them warm, and a delicious branch of leaves to eat… Seems like a pretty good life, doesn’t it?  Haaa, the simple life of a koala.

OK, it is time to meet the baby wombat Ally.  What a little tank she is.  Tassin asks me if I would like to come in to her pen.  Heck yah!  I wanted to get a closer look at this amazing little creature.  Wombats tend to sleep during the day, so Tassin had to wake the little darling.  With sleep still in her little wombat eyes, Ally hesitantly journeys forth to meet the day and myself.  As Tassin points out some of her finer attributes to me, Ally becomes a little bored and now that’s she awake she wants to play.  OK, more like chase.  Although she may look small, she sure is fast.  She had me on the go and I soon found I was no match for the little truck.   As I’m jumping over the fence, I say…make that yell…my farewells to Ally.

I am now suddenly surprised by Tassin with a little treat; an up close and personal introduction with Neil the Diamond Python.  Yep, back to the snakes.  Now, I could have just said no way and thank you for the kind offer, but I wanted to make a challenge out of this.  May I point out for a 2nd time that snakes are my worst fear in life.  So I sucked it up and took the challenge and said sure, why not.   Girls, it took everything I had to stand there and hold Neil without passing out, but in the end I let this guy hang around my neck.  Holy moly!  Did I just do that??  You may have guessed GBD — here’s my challenge for you – Whatever you fear most, meet it face to face.  After you do write me and tell me how it went.

Australia Walkabout Wildlife Park offers Wild Sleep-Out available seven days a week, with a minimum of four adults per Sleep-Out. Wild Sleep Out Packages start from Adult $145.00 and Children $95.00.  I think this would be an amazing way to spend the night with exciting days full of demonstrations, talks and tours, from boomerang throwing to reptile demonstrations to opportunities to get up close and personal with many of their animals.  How about a cuddly koala photo or would you prefer to pose with a python?  You can join in as many of these as you like – or wander around on your own if you prefer, exploring the beautiful bush, including such rare plants as our Wollemi colony and large areas of Darwinia glaucophylla.  Another popular tour is of their well-known Aboriginal Sites,  Bush Tucker and Bush Medicine tours.  Not only located on Darkinjung land, but also a protected special hand stencil cave, numerous rock engravings, mondos, axe-grinding grooves and fire-rings. They ask their visitors to treat these precious reminders of their country’s history with the respect they deserve, as you indulge your five senses with Australian bush tucker and bush medicine.

If you get the opportunity to visit Australia, this park is a must do.  They also take volunteers – paid no less with housing.  Remember we talked about ways to travel on a budget.  Well, this could be one of your opportunities.  No reason not to enjoy the experience!

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Don’t forget the challenge!  And dude…paid volunteer opportunities in the Outback!  How awesome is that??

Thanks to Dez and Lindsey, as always.