A Zoo full of Roos

Trip Start Sep 10, 2008
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Trip End Sep 03, 2009


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Where I stayed
Chill Backpackers
(Brisbane hotels)

Flag of Australia  , Queensland,
Tuesday, February 3, 2009

I decided to take it easy when I got to Brisbane, and planned a long stay for me, I spent nearly a week here. I met up with Anna and David (friends from Manchester) to head to the Australia Zoo. Home to many marsupials and made famous by one particular crocodile wrestler. Crikey! I was pleasantly surprised by the zoo, it turned out to be a fantastic day out. I didn't realise there would be so much interaction with the animals. From feeding elephants to stroking a possum, you could do it all! We particularly enjoyed the kangaroo enclosure, where the roos would lie patiently whilst you did any amount of bizarre poses for photos. They would happily munch a bit of food out of your palm if you let them too.

The crocoseum didn't disappoint either, starting with a great bird show, that saw a concoction of different birds flying around the stadium in a choreographed manner, before watching crocodiles try to bite the fingers off their handlers. Anna brought us to fame with her world-class monkey impression that put us onto the big screen. I don't think David was as impressed though! Overall it was a fantastic day, despite the sudden and torrential rainfall that left us running for cover in the Koala enclosure. It was better than chancing it with the swimming tigers I guess!

And the zoo wasn't the only thing Brisbane had going for it, and I'm not just talking about the ridiculously cheap cinema. An evening walk in the botanical gardens turned out to be very fruitful. As we sat on a bench wondering what to do next, we noticed a shape moving above us. And then another one. And then they all came, a colony of huge bats flying overhead. It was spectacular to watch. Our walk back through the park turned up even more animals, from huge spiders that you don't see until you're about to walk into their webs, to toads hopping in the undergrowth and an unknown small creature rushing through the bushes with the mice.

What was really fantastic to see however, were the wild possums, galloping along the lawns. We kept our distance whilst trying to take some photos which inevitably wouldn't turn out in the dark, until one decided to run right up to us. They kept doing this, they would run right up to us and pause until we moved away. We could never quite work out if they were going to bite us, but they seemed to be merely inquisitive. It was really quite a bonus to our trip into the park!

On my last day, I took the time to head over to Byron Bay for the day. Known as being one of the most beautiful beaches in Oz, I could see why it had earned this reputation. The small town was lovely, and they had a cafe that made a great, but posh, fry up! I still hadn't got acclimatised to the heat, so I spent a lot of my time hopping in and out of the shops. (Thats my story and I'm sticking to it!).
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