Monday January 5, 2009 - Caloundra

This morning we were up and on the road by around 9 o’clock headed south on Bruce Hwy. Our goal for the day is to get to Caloundra in time to spend the afternoon in The Australian Zoo. The day is variable, we awoke to bright sunshine, but by the time we left we had the windshield wipers going, mind you – it is still 28 C, so are not complaining. The land is very lush and green, with sugar cane, fruit crops and lots of cattle. We had mountains to our right most of the drive, and occasionally on the left as well. We made a couple of coffee-in/out stops and then had lunch at Gympie at a lovely sidewalk diner in the heart of town. While there we had a conversation with Michelle and Aaron to celebrate Michelle’s birthday. We had taken the “Tourist Route” to get off the main highway and to see a few more sights.
We arrived at The Australian Zoo at 2 PM, just in time to watch the end of a bird demonstration (with parrots) and the Crocodile demonstration. Here the animals are explained, and though some degree of performance is displayed, it is more to inform and teach than to have the animals do anything they are not accustomed to doing. We then spent the next 3 hours wandering through the various enclosures in the Zoo.
We saw an animal that was similar to a hedgehog (sorry – no actual name) and were able to pet our first live Kangaroo! Their coats are very soft and smooth, and these ones – as they are well fed are very placid. All around are instructions as to how to approach and feed etc.
These Lizard-type of animal are roaming free around the park. This particular fellow was about ¾ M long – a big guy!
The Koala area is really neat; these animals are so docile it is amusing to see. There are spots in the surrounding mountain parks where they can be seen in the wild, but you need lots and lots of time for that activity. Next the tropical bird display – we were able to get a few good pictures particularly of this Eclectis Parrot, but – as they are in a very natural setting – they did tend to hide a bit. We did see these Black headed storks - a very beautiful bird!While we were in the snake enclosure (each is kept in it’s own climate controlled enclosure) we were enthralled by one snake that was in the process of shedding it’s skin. Quite an arduous process which involved it going round and round it’s enclosure over as many sticks as possible, and through the dried leaves in the enclosure. There was quite a variety including this brightly coloured green snake.
We wandered through the Croc exhibit, noting the differences between Salt water and Fresh water Crocs and reading about each animal – including one that is estimated to be over 130 years old.
We had our first sighting of Tasmanian Devils who were doing laps around their enclosures. They move really quickly, but do stop when offered a chunk of meat by their attendants.
Then we went around the Dingo enclosure, and were fascinated by the Cassowary Bird which is about the size of an Emu and reported to be very vicious. I don’t think I would want to tangle with this guy! This Dingo was quite a bit thiner than the singing dingo outside of Alice Springs.

We then found ourselves a hotel for the night (Crowne Plaza in Caloundra), one with good internet as we need to plan for the balance of the trip.