MacsTravel Blog

After purchasing our entry passes and two small bags of food to feed the kangaroos we set off in the direction of the koala enclosure. Patty had booked a “hold a koala” experience for Robin and Lisa which they were very much looking forward to. Along the was we ran into lots of adorable and non-lethal Aussie critters.

Upon arrival at the koala enclosure we queued up in the special line to hold a koala. As you can see from the pictures this was a pretty cool experience. They only use “rescue” koalas who have become habituated to humans and they ensure that a koala is not held by more than six people before being returned to its enclosure. The keepers were very calm and methodical and the whole experience certainly brought to life the magic of these unique marsupials.

After our time with the cuddly koalas we ventured along the path to the kangaroo and emu areas. The kangaroos were docile and approachable as they lounged in the shade. We all had a great experience.

The emus were another story entirely. The first emu approached Pete who, armed with his bag of kanga-kibble, calmed the great bird. For those of us who grew up watching Sunday afternoon tv in the 70s, it was a scene reminiscent of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Pete, channeling his inner Steve Irwin, was calm and assured under pressure.

In Robin’s case it was a different story.

In the above photo you can see the tentativeness, dare I say fear. Moments after Graham snapped this image Robin dropped her phone. I submit the audio recording below into the record.

“Rattle your bag Pete, rattle your bag.”

To be fair emus do make a sound somewhat reminiscent of an angry Rottweiler in a dark alley.

After the close encounter with the emus we headed to what we assumed would be the relative safety of the Aviary. As Graham went to push open the gate he, Pete and I noticed a three foot long salami thick brown snake. This particular snake was not part of the exhibit.

The snake slithered further into the Aviary and left the path, disappearing out of sight. We opted to walk through the area, thumping the path with our feet (Eastern Brown Snakes are apparently timid and shy) with our eyes firmly fixed to the ground. I’m pretty sure none of us saw a single bird.

The final stop was the terrarium. This was a little too “snakey” for my taste after the Aviary incident but it was certainly full of interesting information.

We finished our trip to Cleland with a short detour to Mount Lofty (an obvious name for a mountain) which had the benefit of fabulous views of Adelaide and the coastline and a relative absence of snakes.