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That’s right, folks…I’m in the land of actual kangaroo crossing signs! It feels so strange to finally be in Australia after all of these years of wishing I could visit. It’s really as weird and exotic as you may have heard. I’ve had some surprising moments of joy like when I was shown the flying foxes cruising over the house into nearby trees. Or when we went to the golf course and saw roos on the green (at the 12th hole, to be exact). Even today when we went to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and saw devils, wombats, dingoes and monitors…oh, and of course koalas. The sanctuary was started in the late 1920’s after the koala population was decimated by hunting for their fur.

So without further adieu, let the photos begin!

The birds that appear in this yard alone are stunning…rainbow lorikeets, parrots, cockatoo and kookaburra are daily visitors.

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Rose breasted cockatoos

 

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Kookaburra
Kookaburra

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Rainbow lorikeets

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The crowd is waiting for the putt

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Tasmanian Devil
Tasmanian Devil

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Dingo
Dingo
White dingo (that did not eat your baby)
White dingo (that did not eat your baby)

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Koala gang signs
Koala gang signs

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Sure...if that
Sure…if that’s comfortable for you…
Um....ouch.
Um….ouch.
That
That’s a crashed out wombat.

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You have a little mouse tail there, ma
You have a little mouse tail there, ma’am.
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Cassowary
Oooo girl, put some lotion on!
Oooo child, put some lotion on!

 

These are the last birds you want to mess with. The cassowary can cause major damage to your tender human skin with those feet. They can stand up to 6 feet tall, can run and jump and put a huge damper on your day.

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Licking arm to keep cool
Licking arm to keep cool

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Then there were the bats by the house on the way home. WAY too cool…fruit bats (flying foxes) are my favorite!

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I know this is a bit out of place, but I wanted to mention these trucks that are here. They refer to them as Ute’s (utility) and they’re starting to grow on me. Not sure why they haven’t caught on in the States (sort of a throwback to the El Camino days). And actually, just quickly looking up a Cadillac Ute I saw a photo of recently, they mention bringing this one into the U.S.

GM Holden ute (photo from motoring.com.au)
GM Holden ute (photo from motoring.com.au)

Ute

 

 

0 thoughts on “Australian Animal Wonderland!

  1. It’s like living in a fairy tale! I wonder if Australians would feel the same way about finding themselves in Yellowstone Park, the Grand Canyon or New York City?

  2. Before I even scrolled down to your comment, I knew that Dingo ate my baby. Love those wombats, too! Looked like the little taz devil ate my bird, too. XXXOOO!

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