Oh, the Zoomanity!: Featherdale Wildlife Park

(clipped from Back of Bourke)

Rating:

Variety of animals: 7

Quality of exhibits: 7

Getting around: 9

Pet-factor: 10

Overall: 9

What to see: Koala pictures for free!, a veritable menagerie of animals to pet, I probably shouldn't encourage this, but if the dingoes are close enough to the fence, you can get a bit of a pet in there...

What to miss: I've never actually stuck around for the afternoon billy tea, so I can't comment on it

* * *

First Visit

Since arriving, I have been trying to find a weekend to go by Featherdale Wildlife Park. I had initially been dissuaded by my teammates who told me that a trip to Blacktown (where the park is located) would result in my imminent stabbing. Apparently it's only certain parts. So, in good spirits, I went with my teammate Anna on yet another trip to see animals (no, I don't get tired of this stuff).

As with the zoo trip, this visit was mainly pictorial. Let the critter-cuddling begin!

The entrance. Nothing says fun like a massive

Papier-mâché koala.

A baby koala! We were all a bit shocked when
the keeper took the baby off the mother's

back. He explained that it wasn't the real mother

and that the babies will latch on to anyone.

Vun...two...thrrree batty bats! Ah ah ah...

This little guy, a rainbow bee eater, had a

razor-sharp beak and some incredible coloring.

"Oh, hello! I'm a cassowary and I'll be your

guide for the day."

"Now, the Australian Wood Duck can primarily

be found in the Eastern and Western regions of

Australia..."

I caught me a chicken. Named 'im Fluffy.

This is a Tasmanian Devil. Vicious little beasties,

so much so that they can't be kept in the same

enclosure. A group of them can devour an entire

cow in 30 minutes or your devouring is free.

It was also feeding time for the dingoes. They

got tons of meat, hearts, and chicken legs. Yum.

And for the first time in person I got to see dingo

pups! They were playing with the food dish. I

imagine it will be quite some time before the zoo

notices one is missing...

This guy you've seen before - it's an echidna. I

did learn a new fun fact, however. A baby echidna

is called a puggle.

This guy was adorable. If you scratched his chest

just right, he would hug your hand. If this whole

Google business doesn't work out, I want to live in

a zoo. Actually, even if it does work out, I want to

live in a zoo.

A peacock in full bloom.

A peahen in white.

What happens when you combine the two?

Awkward...

This was totally the time for baby animals. This

little wallaby had a joey crammed into her pouch.

This happy little kangaroo was kind enough to

humor me with a hug.

Sidenote: koalas are fluffy.

Me looking tough with an equally tough-looking

kookaburra.

The animals here are very acclimatized to having

humans around, as evident by this kookaburra

who allowed me to pet him.

The staff does not limit the amount of food that

is fed to the kangaroos. What does that give you?

A lot of fat, lazy kangaroos. Ok, not really. I just

caught them at a bad time.

Can you spot all 4 owls? (OK, there are only 3 -

I just wanted to mess with you).

Little penguins, aptly named...little penguins.

The zoo is going to call me if they happen to find

any more of my teeth.

This guy was begging for a belly rub.

And then we played red hands for a while. His

claws gave him a distinct advantage.

I then switched to intimidation tactics. He just

mocked me.

This is a fat little wombat. I found a spot he

liked scratched behind his ear and he was putty

in my hands. After that, he followed me around

the edge of his enclosure until I pet him again.

* * *

(clipped from Back of Bourke)

Second Visit

Naturally, I had to show them Featherdale while they were here as well - the wildlife park that I frequent so often. Here are a few pictures from that little venture.

Wallabies are unflinchingly cruel. This one

beat me up and stole my ice cream.

No, this image does not need to be rotated. This

furry little guy was just having an exceptionally

lazy day.

The most sinister-looking koala you

will ever meet.

A close-up of a kookaburra - one of my

favorite birds here. This one was not

in a laughing mood. Even my jokes

did not get him to crack a smile.

Disapproving owl disapproves.

A wombat - roughly the size of an ottoman, and

exceedingly chunky, they are putty in your

hands if you scratch their backs.

A black-necked stork. These guys stand about

5 feet tall. This was the last photo taken before

my unfortunate demise.

Just kidding. Here's an albino peahen

who has my haircut.

I believe this is a black kite, a large bird of prey.

* * *

(clipped from Back of Bourke)

Third Visit

Loyal readers will know the zoo nearest and dearest to my heart is Featherdale - it's close to Sydney, not overly-crowded, and you can pet an entire menagerie of animals. My brother was staying with me in Sydney for a few months before moving on to Indonesia, so I wanted to be sure and take him along at some point as well to show him the sheer awesomeness that is Featherdale.