MEETING CELEBRITIES IN AUSTRALIA – KANGAROOS AND KOALAS, Guest Post by Caroline Hatton at The Intrepid Tourist

Wild kangaroos: joey sipping milk, Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia

My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s book writer and frequent contributor to this blog, captured these images in Australia in November 2023, springtime Down Under.

Why Australia? Because it was on my husband’s bucket list well before the phrase was coined. A long-time dream of his was to see exotic Australian animals in the wild, including koalas and kangaroos, the top celebrities.

We thought that seeing them in a wildlife sanctuary first would give us a better idea of what to look for in the wild. And that calibrating our eyeballs to the size of target species at various distances would increase our chances of spotting them.

Relaxed kangaroo, Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria, Australia.

To pick where to seek such guaranteed sightings upon arrival, we ranked the species we most wanted to see, and cross-referenced them with urban zoos, non-zoos and closer-to-natural sanctuaries near Sydney (New South Wales) and Melbourne (Victoria), two destinations for many choices of flights from the U.S.

The Healesville Sanctuary, a two-hour drive from Melbourne, won hands down. There, napping kangaroos and koalas presented front, back, and side views, and one kangaroo even scratched an ear with a back toe. Starting our tour of Australia in the state of Victoria turned out to be optimal because that’s where we found all the wild kangaroos and koalas we saw on our entire trip.

 KANGAROO MOBS

 A kangaroo mob is a group of kangaroos, a fun word that seems to suggest that they’re up to no good.

The first place where we went looking for wild kangaroos was the Anglesea Golf Course, named on many web pages about driving the scenic Great Ocean Road. Without paying for a guided tour, only one side of the golf course perimeter fence was approachable. Our itinerary brought us there at noon, nap time for the animals, so our chances of success were dim. All we saw was one pair of sleepy kangaroo ears above the grass in the shade of distant trees.

Wild kangaroo family outside our rental cabin, Halls Gap, Victoria, Australia.

Doe and joey outside our cabin. Doe licking forearms to cool down.

Two days later, after reaching the western end of the Great Ocean Road in Warrnambool, we drove inland for two hours to the town of Halls Gap, a vacation destination in low mountains, the Grampians. Tons of wild kangaroos live there! Good places to look for them include the town park and any other open grass, such as any meadow and the golf course.

Fate spoiled us with the wild kangaroo stampede in this video. During a torrential downpour, at first, all the kangaroos in the meadow outside our rental cabin sat still as statues… until they suddenly all hopped away for reasons unknown to us.

Wild doe and joey, Halls Gap.

The town park was all theirs, its lawns littered with generations of kangaroos. Like tourists, they lounged, dozed, and snacked (on grass). Moms brought their offspring to the park to play and enjoy quality mommy-and-me time. The “roos” generously left paved paths and benches to us humans. After work hours, this video shows locals exercising at the park, the kangaroos kickboxing, oblivious of the human jogging past.

LONE KOALAS

What surprised me about koala sightings was how un-subtle they were. The glaring contrast in size and shape between slim eucalyptus (“gum”) leaves and obese fur balls made detection unavoidable.

Wild koala near Kafe Koala, Australia.

To look for wild koalas on the Great Ocean Road, an obligatory stop is at Kafe Koala on the Kennett River. Parking lot attendants (“wild” parrots) watch for food crumbs, like pigeons in Paris or Venice. There, tour buses let passengers out, perhaps as much for souvenirs and snacks as for walks up the dirt road looking for giant pompoms perched high in the gum trees.

When we arrived mid-afternoon, we were the only ones there. Gums are so tall that before looking up at those near me, tipping my head back as far as my neck would bend, I made sure my feet were securely planted on even ground, so I wouldn’t fall over.

Wild koala scratching--a high action shot!

My first wild koala was awake! Scratching! Changing venue in this video. Then I noticed the drops, falling one at a time, seconds apart, drawing a graceful arc against the tender blue sky in the steady breeze. My koala was urinating! How many lucky tourists can say they witnessed such a rare event?

We saw four more koalas on that hour-long walk. One reached for leaves and munched on them. One male bellowed, part of his job description during the mating season.

Another koala destination off the Great Ocean Road is a few miles inland of Cape Otway, along the dirt road to Bimbi Park, a campground. While my husband drove as slowly as possible, we both scanned treetops ahead and on the sides, but not too far in the forest, only as far as we might be able to detect our targets.

See the wild koala, spotted from inside the car?

“STOP! KOALA!!!” I shouted a second before taking the above photo through the windshield. We saw two more koalas on this 15-minute drive, enough to make us happy.

Other wildlife we saw in 25 days spent in three states (Victoria, New South Wales, and Tasmania) included many wallabies, pademelons, wombats, possums, echidnas, bats, water dragons, and oh, so many colors and species of birds! But that’s another story.

All text and photos, copyright Caroline Arnold. www.theintrepidtourist.blogspot.com

SUMMER AFTERNOON AT THE LOS ANGELES ZOO: Giraffes, Gorillas and Much More

 

Masai Giraffe, Los Angeles Zoo, Los Angeles, CA

We recently visited the Los Angeles Zoo, for the first time since the pandemic. It was good to see the animals again. We missed them. When the zoo was closed to visitors during the pandemic, the animals apparently missed seeing people too! Some adaptations have been made for social distancing since the zoo reopened, but most of the exhibits are open.

Male baby Masai giraffe, 3 months old. Born to Zainabu (mother) and Philip (father)

Highlights of our visit included koalas, cassowaries and other Australian animals, a new baby giraffe (born April 8th and already nearly 7 feet tall!) and a rambunctious young gorilla named Angela (born Jan 2020) playing in her enclosure, not unlike an energetic human two-year-old.

Southern Tamandua, a South American anteater.

Our first stop was the Winnick Family Children’s Zoo, not far from the zoo entrance, where we watched a Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla) wake from its nap and explore its enclosure.

The path to the main part of the zoo passes the meerkat colony, and the animals were on alert, just as they are in the wild of southern Africa, where they are on the constant lookout for predators. If one meerkat spots a hawk soaring in the sky above, it emits a warning and the rest of the animals scurry to safety in their underground burrows. Although the meerkats are presumably safe in their zoo exhibit, they still watch out for large birds soaring overhead.

Caribbean flamingos.

Soon after the meerkats we passed the flamingos—both the bright pink Caribbean species, and the smaller and more delicate colored African flamingos. In both enclosures the birds were busy honking and jostling one another in minor disputes.   

Rock wallaby.

It was a warm day and many of the animals were resting in their enclosures. But in the area with the Australian animals, large trees supplied plenty of shade. We spotted an echidna scurrying around a kangaroo and under two koalas tucked into the branches of one of the trees. Other Australian animals on exhibit included a rock wallaby, a cassowary with its brightly colored head crest, and inside the reptile house, an enormous lizard--a perentie.

Perentie.

The perentie (Varanus giganteus) is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia. It is the one of the largest living lizards on earth. On our several trips to the Australian outback we had always hoped to see one (from a distance, of course), but never came closer than viewing some tracks. The perentie on exhibit at the LA Zoo looked to be at least five feet from nose to the tip of its tail. They can grow to up to  eight feet in length. The striking pattern of its scales resembles elegant designer fabric, but in the wild would likely be effective camouflage.

Angela, a young lowland gorilla.

Our final stop was at the gorilla enclosure. While the older animals appeared to be napping, the youngest member of the family, a young female named Angela, romped around the enclosure, playing with sticks, jumping from rocks, and turning somersaults, as she entertained herself and the crowd. 

As always, a visit to the zoo is potluck--you never know which animals are going to be active or visible in their enclosures.  We had an enjoyable afternoon, saw lots of animals, and didn't even have time to visit all of them.

For a map of the Los Angeles Zoo and information about planning your visit, click HERE.