Saturday, May 15, 2010

Little devils


Today Greg, Sorcha, her best friend Georgie and I took a little trip down to Bicheno for lunch and a little exploring. Originally we were going to attempt a hike (or bushwalking as they call it here) in Douglass-Apsley National Park, but with the kiddies in tow, we decided to check out a nature/animal park instead. And really, I couldn't leave Tasmania without seeing a Tasmanian Devil firsthand. 


We first checked out the "blow hole", so called for obvious reasons: when the big waves roll in, water shoots up through the rocks, thus looking like a whale's blow hole. The surf's been pretty intense the last couple days, so the timing really was perfect.


Idyllic little Bicheno.


Then we went to Natureworld. Prior to coming here, I had heard about the freakish cancer that's spreading through Tasmanian Devils and affecting about 65% at this point. Natureworld is one of the few places that is protecting healthy devils and allowing them to live and procreate in a safe environment. Though you couldn't interact with the devils on your own (they are kind of mean and have some serious teeth) there were about 20 kangaroos just bouncing around, willing to be pet and fed. It really was a cool experience...and kangaroos are soft like bunnies.


chilling with the patriarch of the kangaroos


feeding mama as well as joey


sleeping koala

sarcophilas harrisii, aka Tasmanian Devil, aka I eat road kill

7 comments:

  1. Who knew kangaroos were so soft. I would have guessed coarser fur. Love it! Also, why no pictures of Kai?

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  2. That joey is so adorable.

    I also heard about the Tasmanian Devil cancer. I guess it's spreading like a virus would spread - through skin and blood transfer from when the bite one another. So bizarre! Did they make that scary noise?

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  3. Fun, fun! One never outgrows the love of an animal park! And I wouldn't want to get near a tazzy devil either--I like my fingers just the way they are, thank you!

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  4. Bill has a question after reading your newest addition. He wants to know if you could go back and hold a coin (or any body part) next to the Tas Devil so he can see how big it is. Not necessarily YOUR body part. Is it as big as a rat, a opossum or a bear?

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  5. EEEMMMM!!! So amazing! You go to Bali today right?!?!?! Love you!!!!

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  6. That is not (at all) what I pictured a Tasmanian Devil to look like! Perhaps it's because I was hoping to see a character similar to the super awesome, super classy popcorn machine my mom gave me in college trailed by a volcano of dust.

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  7. they do make that funny "whrayayalahaaa" noise though when they're fighting...and they fight all the time (I have more pictures if you're interested). However they don't move so fast as to create a cloud of dust, sorry to disappoint...

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