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| Geraldton Lighthouse |
When we arrived in Geraldton, Australia we knew it was time to get off the ship. We were getting too lazy! We booked an excursion to see a wildlife reserve.
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| No rain can cause some desolate looking land |
The owner of the reserve has been working with rescuing animals since she was in her early teens when she would take them home to take care of, hoping her mom will let her keep them.
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| Friend or foe? |
She now rescues many animals such as kangaroos, crocodiles, birds and snakes. She takes two weeks off a year to go crocodile hunting. She also spent some time with Steve Erwin and his family in Australia to learn more about what she loves to do.
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| Australian Bush Turkey |
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| Tawny Frogmouth Owl |
She has so much knowledge it was amazing to listen to her talk. When she picked us up, she had 3 baby kangaroos called joeys/pinkies because of their age. The mom was hit by a car. She was called to rescue the babies from the pouch. They usually have 1-3 babies at a time but typically only one will survive due to the size of her pouch and which one will get the most milk.
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| Kangaroo looking for handouts |
One was so young and so small it fit in the palm of her hand. They are the size of a jellybean when born. He didn’t have his eyes open yet and she was feeding him every three hours. It looked like a new baby rabbit. No hair. The older one that I got to hold was 9 months old but was only a few pounds. They must really grow slow. It was so cute and cuddly. They dont leave their mom’s pouch until at least 7 months – 2 years old.
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| The goats jumped almost on top of the fence for food. If you didnt have food, they would butt your hand! |
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| Crazy Chuck feeding the Ostrich. Watch out fingers! |
Next, we walked around to watch her feed the crocodiles. There were two. One huge, bite your leg off, crocodile. She said he was in one of the waters close to where a woman was walking her dog and the crocodile took the dog right of the leash! Yikes!!
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| This is the one that was butting us if we didnt feed him. |
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| Cute Alpaca enjoying some shade with the horses |
They brought it to the sanctuary and had it with another female to keep him company, but he bit her leg off, so they decided he was now a confirmed bachelor to be left to himself!
We fed some adorable older, 3-4-year-old kangaroos and some goats. We also encountered a Dingo; an Australian wild dog that doesn’t bark but howls like a wolf.
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| This crocodile was huge and not very friendly! |
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| A teenager crocodile. I couldn’t and probably didn’t want to get closer. |
Many birds that were rescued from homes that people couldn’t take care of them anymore. Parakeets and Galahs which look and act like parrots. They talk. Some were saying “hello”, “I’m fine”, “how are you”. It was interesting having a conversation with a bird! After our tour we headed back to the ship and the tour guide stopped at a couple of interesting sites.
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| Pied Butcherbird – Australian native songbird. Unfortunately it wasnt singing today. |
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| “Lads” the central bearded dragon. He was very inquisitive! |
One was a huge eucalyptus camaldulensis tree better known as River Gum. The most photographed tree in Australia. It was actually laying on its side on the ground.
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| Adorable 9 month old kangaroo joey. His mom was hit and killed by a car. |
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| He sure liked to cuddle! |
Due to the constant westerly winds, it molded the tree in this position. I’m guessing they must have good roots! It is so dry in this area, the grass is all brown.
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| Famous River Gum tree |
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| I guess if you don’t have a horse you use a motorcycle! |
It’s easy to see why fires can pick up so quickly. We have yet to see any evidence of fires having been here but that’s mainly because we are touring all coastal towns.
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| The winds push the sand over to make dunes beside the opening to the river. |
Today was a nice fun day playing with the animals and getting to explore a little more about Australia. Our next stop is Freemantle/Perth.
May God bless you always.
Chuck & Lea Ann
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