Friday 29 August 2014

Week Seven


Me and Yanni
The elusive tree kangaroo
A not so manic Tasmanian Devil

A very friendly kangaroo

Hello again and welcome to Week Seven! Once again, I hope everyone is doing alright and that the transition back into school has gone smoothly. Sorry for the delay in this week's post, but as I mentioned last week, I have been away for a few days and without access to a good internet connection. And the reason why I have been away will be the subject of this week's post, and I think it will be the subject of next week's post as well. 

As I mentioned last time, I took a trip up to the Gold Coast in southern Queensland; which for those of us not well-versed in Australian geography is still on the east coast, although significantly further north of where I'm studying in Wagga. A quick fun fact for you: as Australia is in the southern hemisphere, it actually gets hotter as you journey further north and get closer to the equator. Conversely, traveling south brings you closer to Antarctica and cooler weather (although not miserably cold weather like you get in Missouri winters).So, as a result, I was able to spend a few days in a very pleasant sub-tropical climate. When I first arrived at the Gold Coast it was cloudy and rainy, and I was also very tired from traveling, so the first day was quite uneventful. The second day, however, was, to borrow an Australian expression- "heaps" of fun. And that will be the topic of this week's blog entry.

On Sunday August 24th, I paid a visit to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary in the Gold Coast. It is a very large zoo-like place that has a bit more of an open natural feel to it: hence the name "wildlife sanctuary". However, I can confidently say that, in my experience, it is the best zoo I've ever visited. It has come to my attention that in my previous posts I have not been very good about posting pictures of myself. So hopefully these next two weeks will make up for that. Not only was Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary the best zoo I've ever been to, it was also the most interactive. The first photograph, quite obviously, is me holding a six year old koala named Yanni. I had to pay a bit extra to get to hold her, but it was well worth it. The second picture is, you guessed it, me fulfilling a life goal of petting a kangaroo. At one point in the wildlife sanctuary, there was a delightful open enclosure with several kangaroos bathing lazily in the sun. I was taken aback by how friendly these kangaroos were, they literally rolled over like dogs when you started to pet them. 

In addition to the cute and cuddly kangaroos and koalas, there were of course many other fascinating animals at Currumbin. There was a crocodile feeding show which I attended, which you can find photographic evidence of on my Facebook page, and all sorts of native Australian wildlife. I'd have to say that out of all the animals there, my favorite would probably have to be the bashful tree kangaroo. I didn't even know this creature existed prior to my visit to Currumbin, but after seeing it, I immediately loved it. As you can see, it's a bit smaller than the average kangaroo, and it has a very fox-like color to its fur. I was kind of disappointed that I didn't get to see it up close, but as it makes its home in the trees, it's not one for petting. Other than the tree kangaroo, I also particularly enjoyed the Tasmanian devils and the dingoes in addition to my aforementioned furry friends.

Well, I think that's about it for this week. Next week, I will discuss the other highlight of my trip: my full day tour of the rainforest and the Gold Coast "hinterlands". See you then!







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