Animals Galore!

Since arriving, I have been trying to find a weekend to go by Featherdale Wildlife Park. I had initially been dissuaded by my teammates who told me that a trip to Blacktown (where the park is located) would result in my imminent stabbing. Apparently it's only certain parts. So, in good spirits, I went with my teammate Anna on yet another trip to see animals (no, I don't get tired of this stuff).

As with the zoo trip, this visit was mainly pictorial. Let the critter-cuddling begin!

The entrance. Nothing says fun like a massive

Papier-mâché koala.

A baby koala! We were all a bit shocked when
the keeper took the baby off the mother's

back. He explained that it wasn't the real mother

and that the babies will latch on to anyone.

Vun...two...thrrree batty bats! Ah ah ah...

This little guy, a rainbow bee eater, had a

razor-sharp beak and some incredible coloring.

"Oh, hello! I'm a cassowary and I'll be your

guide for the day."

"Now, the Australian Wood Duck can primarily

be found in the Eastern and Western regions of

Australia..."

I caught me a chicken. Named 'im Fluffy.

This is a Tasmanian Devil. Vicious little beasties,

so much so that they can't be kept in the same

enclosure. A group of them can devour an entire

cow in 30 minutes or your devouring is free.

It was also feeding time for the dingoes. They

got tons of meat, hearts, and chicken legs. Yum.

And for the first time in person I got to see dingo

pups! They were playing with the food dish. I

imagine it will be quite some time before the zoo

notices one is missing...

This guy you've seen before - it's an echidna. I

did learn a new fun fact, however. A baby echidna

is called a puggle.

This guy was adorable. If you scratched his chest

just right, he would hug your hand. If this whole

Google business doesn't work out, I want to live in

a zoo. Actually, even if it does work out, I want to

live in a zoo.

A peacock in full bloom.

A peahen in white.

What happens when you combine the two?

Awkward...

This was totally the time for baby animals. This

little wallaby had a joey crammed into her pouch.

This happy little kangaroo was kind enough to

humor me with a hug.

Sidenote: koalas are fluffy.

Me looking tough with an equally tough-looking

kookaburra.

The animals here are very acclimatized to having

humans around, as evident by this kookaburra

who allowed me to pet him.

The staff does not limit the amount of food that

is fed to the kangaroos. What does that give you?

A lot of fat, lazy kangaroos. Ok, not really. I just

caught them at a bad time.

Can you spot all 4 owls? (OK, there are only 3 -

I just wanted to mess with you).

Little penguins, aptly named...little penguins.

The zoo is going to call me if they happen to find

any more of my teeth.

This guy was begging for a belly rub.

And then we played red hands for a while. His

claws gave him a distinct advantage.

I then switched to intimidation tactics. He just

mocked me.

This is a fat little wombat. I found a spot he

liked scratched behind his ear and he was putty

in my hands. After that, he followed me around

the edge of his enclosure until I pet him again.

After the zoo, Anna and I hit up Wagamama for

dinner. This was barramundi (one of the more

common fish here) in some sort of coconut curry.

Barramundi is a fishy-tasting fish, but overall this

was very tasty.

Fried bananas with ice cream for dessert.

So. Good.