Today was the last day of the Easter holidays for Elizabeth, and as I mentioned in my post on the first day of the holiday, Free Things to Do for Kids in Brisbane, there’s been lots of stuff to do that didn’t cost any money.
Today we chose to visit David Fleay Wildlife Park.
Normally, that would have set back our small family about $40 to get in, this week it’s been free. They are celebrating 60 years of operation.
It’s not a zoo, so you won’t find any monkeys, giraffes, elephants or the like. But you will see native Australian wildlife in their natural environment. So kangaroos, crocodiles, snakes, wallabies, cassowaries, that sort of thing.
And it’s all set within wetlands and mangroves, with wooden bridges and walkways to keep us humans high and dry. It reminded me a bit of Nudgee Beach.
Our wildlife park highlights.
Elizabeth touched a snake…
Actually, we all did, it’s just that Elizabeth looks the cutest in photos. For those who want to see the snakes head, here it is…
Biggest surprise of the day though, was this fella…
“Wow!” I thought. “What a big fat possum!”
Except he wasn’t a possum. He was a tree kangaroo.
A tree kangaroo?
Yes, a tree kangaroo.
They say you learn something every day, today I learnt about tree kangaroos.
Apparently we have 14 different species of tree kangaroos in these parts, and they have in some way involved from possum like ancestors. Their very long tails help them balance as they comfortably navigate trees in the rainforest. But on the ground, they are just clumsy, slow and awkward.
Meet Dorothy the Lumholtz, that’s the name of this specie. She is a tree kangaroo. Dorothy lives near the rainforests of Atherton, which is in Queensland. It’s about 30 or 40 km from Cairns.
Lumholtz tree kangaroos are the smallest of all the tree kangaroos. I wonder if they wish they were possums…
Hi again Bob. Another interesting update on Aussie life. I do look forward to your column to appear. On my 3 trips to OZ I hadnt heard of tree Roos so it was a worthwhile read for me.I will share it with my grand children as soon as they finish their school work. Thanks again Bob. Your Wisconsin mate. Best wishes Tom.
Yes, I’d never heard of them either, so I was surprised to see one. Hope your grandchildren enjoyed them.
Cheers Tom!