Up Close With Kangaroos, A 20 Hour Sleep

25/2/2013

You can’t not go to Australia without having an encounter with one of the country’s icons – the kangaroo. In fact both the kangaroo and the emu are symbolised in the Australian coat of arms which is meant to represent progression as the animals always move forward and never backward.

Entering Caversham Wildlife Park in Perth.

Having said that, we’ve been in China for more than three years now and still we have yet to visit the Great Wall (it’s on our travel list!). But back to Australia. In order for us to get into Dr. Doolittle mode we headed for Caversham Wildlife Park. It’s actually a park within a park as the actual ‘zoo’ is located inside Whitman Park in the north eastern side of Perth. What sets it apart is the fact that the whole operation is family owned and is entirely funded by revenue generated from visitors.

We arrived nice and early, 9:30am and the gates had just opened.

$24 dollars per person gets you access to all areas and activities. I had researched a couple of other animal places that were slightly cheaper to get into but then you had outlandish fees of $15-25 per photo charged with, say, a koala. Here, once you were in, that was it, no added costs.

The grounds weren’t huge but ample enough to make you feel you were getting your money’s worth. It was divided into different regions of Australia with its creatures and plants reflecting that specific terrain. Right in the middle was the kangaroo enclosure. We had originally been making a beeline for the opening farm show, but walking past the gate to see a load of kangaroos lazing about was too difficult to resist.

There were no wildlife professionals around. The few signs as you entered gave you some tips on how to interact with the huge marsupials.

Which way to the animals?

Hopping over for a closer look!

I wasn’t sure on their temperament so I was overly cautious as we ventured in. Immediately a couple of them came hopping over for a closer look. Wow! It was the first time I was seeing kangaroos close up. Their heads were like a cross between a camel and rabbit with very sleepy eyes.

At the far end was a sealed bin which you could help yourself to pellets for feeding them. I scooped up a handful, knelt down on the grass and within moments I was inundated with kangaroos – white, red and grey colours. They were so docile. I particularly liked it when they put their tiny paws on your hands, claws slightly digging into your skin, as they contently munched away on the food you were offering them. What an unforgettable experience to be up close to so many kangaroos.

After a good 30 minutes interaction, we moved on to a makeshift covered dome which was where ‘Meet the Wombat and Friends’ activity was taking place. Set in, what looked like, a movie set for a cowboy movie, around five wildlife experts had their stations where you could, again, have a personalised animal encounter.

There were parrots, birds of prey, lizards, kangaroos and, by far the biggest (literally) star of the show was the wombat. In my ignorance, I had no idea just how bulky they were.

Meeting a big cuddly wombat!

Lezil with a dozing koala.

Weighing up to 35kg, it looked more like a potbellied pig than a member of the marsupial family. You had the opportunity to stroke it and have a photo but all the while it was held tight by its keeper. They are particularly sensitive around the head where its whiskers are and any agitation could set it off.

The other biggie, when it comes to Australian animals, has to be the koala (not ‘koala bear’ as its often mistakenly referred to). Again, you could walk into an enclosure, supervised by a wildlife official.

These were incredibly lethargic animals quoted as sleeping up to 20 hours a day. This is primarily because of its diet of mainly eucalyptus leaves which doesn’t contain a lot of protein. So the koalas have to conserve their energy as much as possible.

Their fur was soft-to-the-touch and I felt almost self-conscious that we were disturbing their nap as we spent a few minutes in with them but the animal keeper assured us it was fine. At the opposite end of the grounds was the farm section which had your chickens, pigs, rabbits, guinea pigs, horses, goats and llamas. The goats were a cheeky lot always trying to take a nibble on our clothes. Just as Lezil was in her animal communication mode, a flock of ducks got up and waddled in a straight line around her – a perfect picture moment.

Having a good conversation with a couple of goats!

All the kangaroos trying to escape the heat.

By this time it was nearing 1pm and we had pretty much covered the whole wildlife park. Just before leaving we went for a final goodbye to our kangaroo friends. The peak of the heat was just hitting 40C and they were all sprawled out in the shade trying to keep cool. It seemed like they too were joining their koala cousins in having a good afternoon sleep. And so laidback they were that you could have quite easily curled up on the grass next to one and it wouldn’t have flinched. Definitely one of those memorable experiences.

Walking to our parked car, we noticed a small recreational area in Whitman Park which had a paddling pool (or a ‘Mussel Pool’ as it was called).

Meant for kids, but everyone was taking advantage of the cool waters to try and bring down body temperatures. We sat there with our legs immersed in the water and started to reflect on what a good lifestyle Australia does offer. It’s always the case of seeing it through holiday-glasses, but so far it does seem like people living here do have a very good standard of living. And everyone we have come across has been talking the place up to high heaven as if it’s the one and true promised land. So far, I can’t fault them (except the prices…still too expensive for my liking!).