Australia Zoo day!

* There are 2 new posts so make sure to look for the one I posted a right before this one.

they were HUGE

Yesterday I went to the Australia Zoo with Karin and her host mother (and then when to a Footy game after).  We spent the day at the "Home of the Crocodile Hunter".

The first thing we did was pass by a few exhibits before heading to the Corcoseum for a Wildlife Warrior show.  On our way there we saw a Komodo dragon and other Australian lizards. We saw some giant tortoises that were standing less than 3 feet away from us.  As we got closer to the Crocoseum we saw saltwater crocodiles. For anyone who watched the crocodile hunter growing up (and remembers any of it) some of the crocodile names would be familiar.  There was Bluey, Agro, and Casper all in a line and then Acco and Lucy among others.  And again if you remember the show the enclosures would also look familiar.

Mossman going after the chicken 

We arrived at the Crocoseum just in time for the show.  There were birds, snakes, an alligator, and yes a big crocodile.  The show was all about conservation and how the average Australian can help out by doing simple things at home.  The most impressive part of the show was definitely the part with the saltwater crocodile named Mossman.

After the show we grabbed lunch and moved on to some more of Australia's famous animals.  We walked through an open area with Kangaroos and Wallabies hopping around.  There were also some Echidnas in a smaller enclosure.  Then we walked though wetlands with large Australia birds and across to the Emu enclosure where we saw an Emu up close with less fence in between us than I expected.  One of the Emus was only about 3 or 4 feet away from us and it walked along the fence with us making a very deep noise that you would never thing a bird could make.

Sleeping Kangaroo sleeps like my cats at home

We walked through an open Koala area where Karin and I got to pet a Koala (they are softer than I had been led to believe they were). While we were standing there one of the Koalas decided to get down from his tree and run across the path to a different tree with all kinds of people walking around.

Just chilling in the grass

We then got to see Wombats! Finally I have been waiting all trip to see a wombat and I now have.  There were four or five of them out wandering around their enclosure with a keeper.  For anyone who doesn't know what a Wombat is they look like a cross between a Koala and a woodchuck (at least I think so).

Another animal I got to check off my list that day was Tasmanian Devils! There were a bunch out running around sniffing the air and just looking too cute for words.

A Tassie Devil peeking out from the rocks

We also stopped by the American alligator exhibit so that Karin could say that she had seen both Crocs and Alligators.  We would later see an enclosure with a bunch of young gators. The young gators were actually moving around instead of just basking in the sun like the larger ones.

Near the end of our day we saw another crocodile being fed. This one's name was Weipa and he shares an enclosure with Lucy (known for being very protective of her nest of eggs).  Weipa put on quite a show as he launched himself out of the murky water in his enclosure.  I know that I never want to be inside that fence.

I wish I could have gotten closer to these beautiful young cheetahs 

Our last area of the Zoo was Southeast Asia and Africa. First stop Asian elephants and it was feeding time so Karin and I jumped in line to feed them.  And then we didn't know what to do with the Elephant slobber that was all over our hands.  We continued on to see the Red Pandas and Tigers before heading to Africa.  On our walk to Africa we saw 2 cheetah cubs with handlers being walked on leashes.  The two looked happy that they were allowed to just lounge in the grass.  The rest of the Africa exhibit was an open grassy plain with Giraffes, Zebras, and a Rhino sharing the space.

One of the Asian elephants we got to feed

On our way out we stopped by the wildlife animal hospital where we got a peek into what goes on there and what kind of animals they treat.  A koala named Ros was being re-bandaged after a dag attacked him, there was a bird with something wrong with his wing and a turtle that had a shell problem from being run over with a car. All three seemed to be on the mend and there were more animals resting in cages recovering from numerous injuries.

Ros the injured koala waking up from anesthesia. 

It was a long day. We got back to my homestay house at 6pm, just in time to leave for the Footy game that night.

Tassie Devil

I haven't had a chance to do anything with the pictures so they are all completely unedited and there are a few pictures that I don't have on my computer so I'll have to add them later.