COLOURFULWORLD

Wednesday 22 January 2020

December Wrap-Up - Part 4

On the 20th December - the day after our return from Margaret River, we drove in two cars to Caversham Wildlife Park, about 30km (28miles) away.

This is a privately run wildlife park located in Whiteman Park, home to several Australian native animals like kangaroos, koalas, possums, wallabies, wombats, dingos and Tasmanian devils, and is wholly funded by the entrance fees and donations.

Jose stayed home as he had just returned from a physio appointment, having had sciatica pain for a few days while we were away, so he had to avoid walking a lot.


Karina, Isabelle, Max, Benoit and Thomas
Map of Caversham Wildlife park, the various koalas in the "Meet the koalas" enclosure


The park has various shows throughout the day, and the "Meet the Koalas" show was about to start, so we headed there and got into the long line to go and pat the koalas.
From the long line, each person or family go into booths with a koala and a keeper, and can stand next to a koala and pat its fur (not the head) and take photos of course.
Our koala was Eric, although truth be told they all looked the same to me. (4th one from top in the koala photo lineup).





Next we started following the path along the map to see as much as we could before the next show with the Wombats - the pelicans, kookaburras, owls, birds, penguins....




The huge kangaroo enclosure is one of the most popular, as the kangaroos roam around freely, seem to be quite pacific and patient with adults and kids who pat them the whole day.
There is a food bin, and I took a handful of food but the ones I approached just weren't interested in eating.  Most of them were more interested in having a snooze.




I was lucky to see a joey entering and exiting his mother's pouch, and managed to make a short video of him exiting the pouch. He seemed far too big to go in, but he did! 
Hope you enjoy it 😉



The next show we attended was the "Wombat and Friends" and while we waited for the doors to open we took photos in the photo booths.





At "Meet the Wombat and Friends" show
Closer to opening time we joined the queue but it all went very quickly. There were two keepers with two wombats and the families or individuals sat down next to them and could just touch the wombat's legs, the other keeper would take the photos, and out again.

Then we went around the barn looking at the exotic birds and small mammals on display. 

Various Australian birds on display
At Molly's Farm, which is open daily from 9,30 to 4,30h, they have farm shows like sheep shearing, crack a whip, lamb feeding, or sheep dogs mustering the sheep.

In the animal shed the chickens are running around, there are ducks, an ostrich, the llama ... very nice for young kids to see.

Chickens, the llama, a quokka, ?, camel

When we left the animal park we looked for a place to eat nearby and settled for Nando's Chicken , so Isabelle wouldn't have trouble with the food.

                  

Our next stop was the Pinnaroo Valley Memorial Park Cemetery about 20min away.

Why the cemetery you might ask? Well, this cemetery is a very different concept to what we are used to in most countries. This one is just used for cremations, so there are no buried coffins, and families just have a little plaque with the loved one's name around the lakes, on a bench, or a tree.
A lot of ducks and kangaroos roam around, even though it's right next to the freeway.
No fresh flowers are allowed, as the kangaroos eat them.

It is not unusual to see people jogging, or walking around, even having a picnic on the lawns.



We ended our day with a visit to Hillary's Boat Harbour (and shopping centre) about 10min away.
It was a beautiful day and many people were still enjoying a swim on the small sheltered beach.
We had an ice-cream first, then walked around the harbour, and then back to the car to head home. 

Entry to Hillary's Boat Harbour
At Hillary's Harbour
Hillary's small beach
Back home we decided to order food from the nearby Japanese Restaurant - Yuki.
We love Japanese food, and so do Karina and Thomas who recently visited Japan, but Isabelle was not too keen. Luckily we still had leftovers from the night before, and I warmed that up for her dinner. It was a fabulous meal.

Delicious Japanese food for our dinner
Linking to Signs2

Linking to Saturday Critters

44 comments:

  1. ...I'd love to see a kangaroo!

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    1. They are amazing animals Tom, as are most of the unique Australian animals.

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  2. A fabulous day with a fabulous meal at the end. It doesn't get much better than that.

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  3. I would have enjoyed exploring there and wow on that meal. Yummy.

    Have a fabulous day. ♥

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    1. Thanks Sandee, I'm sure you would love all the animals :)

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  4. Oh, sweet memories of that park! We visited in 2013 and got to pet a Koala, too.
    Amazing fur they have!
    Oh, that poor kangaroo Mum! Help! Mums are just awesome.
    Hmmm, Nando´s, yum. Oh, yes, such a beautiful cemetery. And Hillary´s, you make me all "home sick"!
    Another great day, thank you for sharing, Sami!

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    1. Apart from Caversham I have never seen a kangaroo in the wild, apparently there are some north of Perth. They are such cute creatures :)
      All great memories for you for sure Iris.

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  5. Também visitámos um semelhante.
    E a Koala que lá vivia era uma verdadeiro case study devido à anormal longevidade.
    Só podia estar connosco pouco tempo porque se cansava.
    Um doce!

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    1. Obrigada Pedro, os koalas sao fofinhos :)

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  6. Another great outing with your visitors. Eric seems an unlikely name for a koala. I love the bird photos. Walking is supposed to be good for sciatica, but I guess there would have been a lot of standing and car sitting, which would not be so good.

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    1. Unlike most dogs, these koalas all had people's names, lol. Yes, there was a lot of standing and car sitting, so not good for Jose, he took it easy for a while, had a couple of physio treatments and was fine then.

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  7. That must have been a great day. Thanks for sharing

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    1. It certainly was Bertie, the French family were thrilled to see the animals.

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    1. Foi realmente um dia fabuloso. Obrigada Francisco

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  9. Reminds me of the images we've been seeing in the news here about how koalas have been affected by the fires there.

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  10. It has been quite bad for the native animals. Thanks Revrunner

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  11. Looks like you all had fun except for the first shot of you all and the unhappy looking Koala. LOL
    Interesting looking birds
    MB

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    1. I think koalas always have a sad look, they don't smile :) Thanks SCS

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  12. What a great place to visit and to see the animals up close like that must have been amazing! These pictures will be great to look at for years to come. Hugs, RO

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    1. Thanks RO, always great to see the native animals up close.

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  13. That wildlife park looks fabulous! All those wonderful birds and animals. And all the blue of the harbor. Oh, I'd love that at this moment. You wrapped up the year with a grand December!

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    1. Thanks Jeanie, glad you are enjoying the visits with me.

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  14. Dearest Sami,
    Well, your drive on December 20 was a short one... I've driven my Pieter on the 20th and 21st some 859 km in order to be at the military ceremony for the burial of the ashes of our Colonel friend. This was in Chattanooga, Tennessee...
    Talking about burial of ashes, I too prefer cremation without a coffin, that would be one step into the right direction for preserving space and our environment!
    As for your video from a Joey exiting his mom's pouch; that looked incredible. Indeed, her pouch must be for quite a part elastic as it doesn't seem to FIT once outside.
    What a smart way for showing European visitors the most of Australian wildlife in a special area. We too have visited such a sanctuary near Melbourne and loved it so much.
    Haha, those Koalas didn't look friendly or happy but I loved seeing your photos here with a face radiating joy and happiness for having your family near!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Wow, that was quite a drive for 2 days Mariette!
      When I saw that joey go in I also thought he wouldn't fit inside, but the pouch must be quite elastic as you say :)
      The koalas don't have much of an expression, they always look the same, or maybe they are just grumpy because they have to pose for photos with strangers for an hour or two every day, lol.

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  15. I apologize for being so late visiting. I would have been here sooner, but I was so ill I didn’t even want to get out of bed, much less be on the computer. I had planned to join you for Monday Murals, but didn't make that, either.

    How great to see Koalas. I agree they all looked the same to me. What's the deal that you can't pet their heads? Is it because they might think it's an aggressive act?

    Had to laugh at the kangaroo film. I swear it reminded me of my cat Squiggles when he gets tangled up in blankets and works his way out. Similar results, too. Great to see Day 4. I'm now off to see Day 5.

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    1. Hope you are feeling better Elizabeth.
      I think you can't touch koala's heads as they get stressed. Koalas sleep for about 18h a day as they have a poor diet of eucalyptus leaves which doesn't give them much energy.

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  16. I forgot to mention. When I was an undergrad, I took an independent study of cemeteries. There is little information on the history, architecture, social, economic, and class structure. I had to dig deeply to find information. This was pre-Wikipedia, of course. During the Victorian era, families visited cemeteries on Sunday and picnicked near their relatives. That's when benches became popular in cemeteries, too. Today, no one wants to even consider death. That's why many cemeteries now have headstones that are so low to the ground, they can only be seen once inside the area itself. This one was fascinating to me.

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    1. I had no idea about the benches in cemeteries. I know in Portugal it's still common to visit cemeteries on Sundays, but no picnics. Thanks Elizabeth, have a lovely weekend.

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  17. Hello, I would like the wildlife park. The koala and the kangaroo are so cute. I love all the birds too. The cemetery is pretty, I wonder do the kangaroos get aggressive with visitors? Great photos and I enjoyed the video! Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend. PS, thank you for today's visit and comment.

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    1. At the wildlife park the animals seem quite used to the people and aren't aggressive. At the cemetery they seem to hop away when people come close, but never heard of them being aggressive. Thanks for hosting Eileen.

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  18. Hello. Great places and wonderful animals. The koala is so cute.

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  19. Certainly looks and sounds a great day.

    All the best Jan

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