Australia - Wednesday May 18 - Liger and Lorrikeets

Wednesday we had an all-day outing with the Pascoes. After a long drive, our first stop was a jungle safari-type place. There was a drive-through animal enclosure which we drove through twice. We saw camels that walked up to the car--looking for a handout, or just curious, who knows? We had to stay sealed up in our cars, so we just watched through the windows. There were goats and, of course, big lions that padded around on their cat feet and pounced on the meat truck at feeding time. There was also a liger, pacing around in its own cage.

After the animal enclosure, we rode on camels. Gordon rode with Andrew, Laura with Christine, and I rode with Karren, who hated it. Riding on a camel is much higher off the ground than a horse, and the camel's gait feels lumpy and ungainly. But it was an adventure, and Laura and Gordon were thrilled.

Our next stop was at the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast. First rain, then lunch, then David and Brian went off to shop while the rest of us walked down and looked at the kangaroos, who were very tame and allowed the kids to pat them, and the emus, who were less tolerant and shied away at the least thing. But the kids were ecstatic and couldn't get enough of it. They also enjoyed seeing the koalas up in the trees, just hanging on and looking sleepy. Then we headed for the lorrikeet feeding. Every day at certain times, the lorrikeets come by the thousands to eat, and if you are holding a pan of crumbled bread and water, you can participate. So we helped Laura and Gordon get into position holding pans of food, and David got back just in time to take pictures (he had bought a sheepskin carseat cover) as the brilliantly colored little birds descended from the sky and covered Gordon and Laura. Karren would have freaked out completely, so I'm glad she didn't do it. Gordon and Laura were a little scared at first, but they quickly recovered and were delighted with the beautiful birds that were perched on their heads, arms and the pan. It was amazing.

Afterwards, we drove back to Brisbane, which was a long drive. We had to stop several times because Andrew was carsick. When we got back to the hotel, we went in and visited a while longer before they went home and we went to bed, tired and grateful for kind friends and the exciting outing they had planned for us.