On our last day on Kangaroo Island, my family and I decided that we should maximise our remaining hours there by visiting the real stars of the island. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we are talking about the kangaroos that are indigenous to this bucolic paradise. Our craving for comfortable creatures brought us to the Parndana Wildlife Park, an award winning sanctuary for South Australia’s macropods (kangaroos, wallabies), cockatoos, koalas, and other beautiful beasts. The animal attraction was charming and unpretentious, allowing us to venture up close and personal with God’s wonderful creatures.
These tall and shady Eucalyptus trees provided a nice natural look to the park. However, they are also…
…homes to koalas! Like this one over here. More on these furry bear-like marsupials later.
First, a customary visit to the retail cum ticketing shop to get our tickets and animal food.
What are in those steel cages?
Parakeets, lorikeets, cockatoos and other members of the parrot family. Like this pretty yellow lory here.
And this pair of green coloured parakeets.
We next spotted a couple of emus and kangaroos living harmoniously together.
We ventured into one of the enclosures, and Tina quickly posed for a nice group photo. These kangaroos are native to this island, and are in fact called Kangaroo Island kangaroos!
Here’s a close-up shot of one of the cute brown and furry ‘roos.
Naturally, Ethan quickly “activated” his “magic” bag of feed.
“He ain’t heavy…. his my son…” What are they strenously looking at?
Well, its a spiny little echidna ambling about.
“Hello Koala! How do you do?”
Notice how the same Koala maintains that sagely and placid pose for us, as the camera clicked.
Ever wondered how Koalas feed? Here’s a video to demonstrate its dining habits.
Other beasts in this menagerie included a black pig muddying itself.
A couple of ducks quacking about.
A pair of pelicans looking serious, framed by the “No Entry” sign.
And two cuddly Kangaroo Island wallabies, one albino white and one brown.
Well, not all animals here are cute though. While this crocodile was lethargic…
…this noble looking eagle was feeding on its hapless prey!
Food, glorious food! First were these baa baa white sheep…
…followed by a plump and furry white pony.
Next was this huge water buffalo. Notice how the size of its head compares to my son!
Finally, a rather emancipated looking white baby llama.
One of the best part about this park is that it allows really close up contact with the animals. The koala enclosure was particularly memorable. I was there for more than 15 mins just observing and patting the soft creatures.
Nice post, Walter. So you finally got to see kangaroos! Good to see that Kangaroo Island isn’t lacking its namesakes.