The Hand That Feeds…

The first stop on the tour was at the Featherdale Wildlife Park.  Besides the dude that is hired to hold a baby kangaroo (a joey) when people get off the bus, the first creature encountered is the koala bear.  They are very “cute” and cool and all that, but were also sleepy and very lazy.  Greer explained from the very beginning about the stoner-like properties of the eucalyptus leaf, and the koalas were so entirely mellow that it proved to be true.  Next area, we were given a cake cone full of feed for the kangaroos and emus wandering about the property.  There was a small thrill in being able to guide and influence the pathways of the kangaroos with the influence of the food.  I forget who it was, but one girl in our group almost got punched in the face for creeping behind one and sinking too closely too quickly to it.  Yes, they definitely do box.  As the group moved on, quotable Kristen and I went around a partially hidden corner to where a set of kangaroos were behind a wooden post.  One of the kangaroos had a joey in its pouch, and I managed to lure the mom beyond the post to us with baby in tow.  Using our feeding skills, Kristen completed her quest to touch the kangaroos pouch unharmed as we fed the joey!  It was awesome.  We finally finished and chose a path since the group was nowhere in sight, and we ran into Carrie who had just finished washing her hands.  The three of us continued to explore the rest of the park as I snagged pictures of penguins, dingoes, Tasmanian devils, and other assorted creatures.