preternatural - adj. - beyond what is normal (Oxford Languages)
Although the third largest city of Adelaide, Australia (a near duplicate of Grand Rapids, South Dakota) did not impress me, Cleland Wildlife Park, a multi-acred expanse devoted to the preternatural, natural animal species of Australia did. And I almost sailed out of Australia sans seeing these creatures, unique to the continent. Shame on me! If I had, I would have missed out on Australia's true worth: its amazing marsupials, etc.
When my friend Victor, a self-pronounced Mexican playboy, and I were informed by our tour guide that we would have only an hour and a half (too brief) to explore, we hit the dusty trail at the park's entrance, running. It was in vain as by the time we arrived at the koala habitat, there was a long line of tourists waiting to pet and hold one of about three koalas. Fortunately, there were other koalas to see, so rather than spend time waiting, we just watched while the three left in the cage entertained us. If you have never seen one of these cuties, definitely try as they are worth the admission price to the right zoo.
What I liked about this preserve was that the kangaroos (big and small, old and young) were left to roam freely. The little ones were extra friendly, and we enjoyed feeding them pellets, the kind you'd feed rabbits. But be careful. They have feet like ravens' and the claws are just as sharp. We also saw a lazy yellow dingo, a dead ringer for a yellow lab mix, wallabies (very small kangaroos), and a Tasmanian devil, who behaved like the Pope at the Vatican. In full control of his audience, the little devil (who had the face of a bear cub) would come out of his log home to greet the onlookers and then would retreat after about two minutes. He did this intermittently to keep everyone in place, hungry for the next appearance. Clearly, the critter really knew what he was doing.
Before having to report to the bus, Victor and I took in the huge pelicans, musical cockatoos, and content wallabies (mini kangaroos). Although I tried hard, I couldn't seem to locate the wombats (that are a cross between guinea pigs and woodchucks), but I was told that they were out of sight, asleep, anyway.
If you are anywhere in Australia, don't forget to get to a wildlife preserve. They have them near every major city. You won't be disappointed.
Last stop in Australia: Perth
#Adelaide, #Australia, #animals, #wildlife, #blog, #blogger, #travel
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