Leatherback Turtle
Southern Right Whale to lay their eggs . It was a beautiful night , clear skies and a full moon . The rangers guided us to a Turtle halfway up the beach who had dug a nest in the sand and was laying her eggs . We sat on the sand watching this beautiful creature , when she had finished laying she filled in the nest , turned and made her way back to the sea .
Buderim was well known for ginger and whilst visiting a growing centre I found a Koala rescue centre . The ranger asked me if I would like to hold a Koala ( what a silly question ). He placed a mature Koala in my arms , it had a very bony bottom and clung to my shoulders , quite content to be held .
Another wildlife rescue centre was the ‘ Big Pineapple ’, yes you guessed it , they grow pineapples . The rescue centre was an animal heaven to me , Wallabies to cuddle , Koalas in a tree top enclosure and a large Red Kangaroo taller than me at 5ft 4in just waiting for a stroke . The rule about Kangaroos is you always approach from the side , if you stand in front it could lash out with its hind legs .
Centre where you could paddle in the sea with Dolphins swimming around your legs . Everyday at 10am and 4pm the Dolphins swam in to be fed while the study group watched from the jetty . The rangers would bring five buckets of fish , four buckets for the Dolphins and one for a Pelican who had to be enticed away from the Dolphin feed . A magical experience .
Unfortunately the recent Australian bushfires devastated the countryside in Queensland , NSW and Victoria . An estimated one billion creatures were killed . Although the trees and shrubs have started showing green shoots , what of the wildlife ? Who can tell .
Wallabies
We also visited Perth on the West Coast of Australia . This was our favourite place to see Dolphins . Monkey Mia was a study
Wombat