| The next portion
of the show involves a huge, black eagle zooming over the audience’s heads,
landing perfectly on the trainer’s arm. Cockatoos and lorikeets add color
to the performance.
There are
so many animals in the Australia Zoo that you’ll hardly know where
to start. We watched a crocodile feeding at one of the many crocodile homes;
this is something you’ll definitely want to incorporate into your day.
The calm water hides the crocodiles so well, you won’t even know they’re
there until they practically jump out of the water and pounce on the slab
of raw meat. It’s terrifying and thrilling to watch the trainers interact
with these deadly creatures.
The Galapagos
Land Tortoise is bound to catch your eye – the huge reptiles drag their
oversize shells awkwardly around their pen. Komodo Dragons are another
sight you’ll want to make sure you see. Other animals you’ll come across
at the Australia Zoo include cassowaries, dingoes, camels, koalas,
otters, alligators and elephants. We spent a considerable amount of time
watching the Tasmanian Devil running in a circle around his corral. He
followed the exact same route, running as fast as he could, for at least
ten minutes. It was priceless.
A great way
to end the day is a trip to the calming rainforest aviary. The aviary is
home to a variety of gorgeous birds, including Doves, the Red Parrot and
the rare Sacred Kingfisher.
Surfer's
Paradise
With a name
like Surfer’s Paradise, you’d expect the most popular town on Australia’s
Gold Coast to be a little less commercialized. I’m not sure what your idea
of paradise is, but mine is most certainly not the never-ending miles of
skyscrapers ruining the view from the sandy beach. Given that, it’s still
a nice place, just not the kind of area I like to stay in when there are
rainforests to be explored and wild animals to photograph.
I did meet
many people who loved Surfers; it really depends on what you are looking
for in a holiday. Australia has so many things to offer – beautiful
scenery, strange creatures and untouched islands and beaches. So arriving
in Surfers was somewhat of a culture shock. I felt like I could have been
anywhere in America. The main attractions here are Dreamworld, an amusement
park, Wet ‘n’Wild, a typical water park, Movie World, Australia’s
equivalent of Universal Studios, and Sea World. Surfer’s is also known
for its pulsating nightlife; so if it’s a party you’re after, look no farther.
Surfer’s Esplanade
is a cascade of boutiques, restaurants, bars and ice cream parlors. Right
in the center of all the hustle and bustle lies the Ripley’s Believe
It or Not Museum. We entered hesitantly, not sure what to expect. Within
minutes we were absorbed in the many eccentric and varied displays. Shrunken
heads, the world’s tallest man as well as the history of Ripley himself
will leave you enthralled from the moment you enter. And how could I forget
to mention the mini golf courses? They are everywhere in Surfers Paradise.
Not a bad way to spend a warm, lazy evening either.
But as always,
wherever I go, I find something I love about the place. For Surfers, it
was the night tours to nearby David Fleay National Park that captured my
heart. The night safari doesn’t start until well after the sun disappears
behind the towering buildings, but it’s only a short thirty-minute drive
to the park.
Upon arrival,
we’re led into a mini theater for the show that begins the evening. Three
Aborigines, dressed in traditional attire and face paint, begin to
sing. They sing in their native language and move their bodies in time
to the eerie music. Everyone in the theater has their eyes glued on the
trio, and it’s hard to tell if anyone is remembering to breathe. When they
finish the first song, and everyone has clapped enthusiastically, one of
the Aboriginal women addresses the small crowd. She explains that the song
that they have just shared with us is, appropriately, a song of welcome
to other tribes.
The next
song they perform is the Dance of Women, a tribute to Mother Earth.
It’s catchy and uplifting and my toes tap instinctively. The Mosquito Dance
has a completely different beat, and the actions are perfectly in tune
with the mad swats one performs when surrounded by the irritating insects.
The final song has no words, and we’re instructed to close our eyes while
the only man in the group performs on the didgeridoo. Within his song,
we identify the calls of the kookaburra and the hopping sounds of a kangaroo.
After the presentation,
we’re invited down to chat with the performers. They paint our faces with
white stripes to match their own and pose for photos with us. Soon, the
music starts up again, but this time we’re invited to dance with the group
as they perform the Emu Dance. We stamp around the small stage area, heads
and arms moving to mimic the movements of the huge bird. It’s an incredible
experience.
We say good-bye
to the performers and take our seats again. The Ranger comes out with
a small python, which she allows us to pet, if we’re up for it! I have
managed to overcome my fear of snakes by now, so I have no problem running
my fingers down its back. The next creature is a bird I have never seen
before, or even heard of, for that matter. It’s called a Tawny Frog Mouth,
and it looks exactly like an exotic owl. It’s not an owl, but it is one
of the area’s most popular night birds. The Ranger explains to us that
she hits them with her car all the time – that’s how abundant they are.
After this,
it’s time to begin our night safari. As we start down the wooden pathway,
I see something dart into the bush. “Over there!” I exclaim, thinking
its something rare that I don’t want to miss.
“That was
just a rat,” the Ranger explains, and shines her torch up in the trees
to look for something a little more interesting. I resolve to keep my mouth
shut the rest of the way and let the Ranger do the guiding. We see several
lizards sitting on boulders before we come to the animal enclosure. Inside,
the night animals are active in their glassed in homes. We see Gliders;
tiny, furry marsupials that dwell in trees, the extraordinary platypus
swimming around his home and the rare Mahogany Gliders. I want to pick
one up and put it in my pocket – they are so cute and cuddly, and they
are definitely small enough to fit in my pocket with no one noticing. We
head back outside and make our way around the rest of the park. We see
a mob of kangaroos and huge emus. Dingoes relax in their enclosure, ignoring
our prying lights. When we get to the wallaby enclosure, I finally learn
the difference between wallabies and kangaroos. The Ranger explains
that a kangaroo’s tail sits halfway off the ground – he rests the bottom
half of his tail on the ground while the rest stands straight up. Wallabies’
tails sit much lower down; three quarters of their tails trail along on
the ground with only about one quarter standing up off the ground. It’s
a small difference, but it’s there.
The Ranger
periodically shines her light in the treetops looking for the rare gliders,
but we don’t see any in the wild. We enter the koala enclosure where we’re
permitted to pet the cuddly animals - if we can get close enough. As we
continue our walk, a tall blue-necked stork pecks at the water, hundreds
of black and white ibis fly above us and huge, but harmless golden orb
spiders hang from their webs. A wombat waddles around near his hole, and
two crocodiles hide in their river. The rainforest is a whole other place
after dark, and I’m grateful for this glimpse into its nightlife.
Nimbin
As we make
our farther south towards our final destination of Sydney, we decide
to take an inland detour to a place by the name of Nimbin. I’d heard so
much about this unique town that I felt I couldn’t pass by without stopping
for a look. The history of Nimbin starts in the early 1970’s, when a group
of hippies came for the Aquarius Festival and, basically, just never left.
The alternative lifestyle is flourished around here, and your chances of
being offered a certain smokable plant are quite high. But there’s more
to Nimbin than its reputation, although, in general, its reputation is
substantiated.
Nimbin is
set high in the hills and the views en route are spectacular. The road
winds around the green covered hills and you’ll never get tired of gawking
at the valleys, trees and fields on the way. Mt. Warning can also be spotted
from the road – this is the mountain named by Captain Cook to warn of all
the islands to come as you travel farther north by ship.
Nimbin is actually
tiny; it has a population of only 1300, one main street, an outdoor theater
and a small river. But within that river lives one very special creature–
the platypus. Often elusive, the platypus is one of Australia’s
most unique animals. An egg laying mammal with a bill resembling a duck’s,
the male platypus has a poisonous spur on its underside.
The best
time to spot the platypus is either at dusk or dawn. An hour before
the sun set, we made our way to the bridge running over the river and staked
out our places. We strained our eyes at every splash and saw ducks, fish
and even turtles, but no platypus. Right before we were ready to give up,
I saw an elongated shape near the surface, just for a second, and then
it disappeared. I kept my eyes fixed on the same spot and sure enough,
the platypus came back up. It was a quick glimpse, but it was enough. It
was a platypus in the wild.
The following
is a list of articles that Dawnelle has written for the magazine:
To contact Dawnelle
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