I walked down the hill & into the Sanctuary to be a spectator at the first of the technical rehearsals for the new show in the new arena. I took a bunch of pictures & video clips of some of the acts appearing for the first time with an audience, but have decided not to post any content before I get a chance to capture the final product in the new year. I will say that I am totally stoked with the new venue and the new acts that I got to see!
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The koala boys & girls were their usual wonderful selves today (as were the keepers & other vols!). The bonus was a gecko that got caught out on a gate between koala enclosures for a while. After a brief briefing by our duty-vol James in our newly renovated and now air-conditioned volunteer office, I headed off to perform my assigned duties. I had lots of time before the kangaroo paddocks would open, so I strolled a wandering route to get there. There were lots of rainbow lorikeets waiting for the morning feed to commence. I walked through the Forest Fringe aviary and various pigeons & stilts were posing in sunny patches. I peeked at the roos, and then walked up the hill towards the croc ponds. I was treated to a real bonus - a pair of pale-headed rosellas!
I did my 2 rounds in the paddocks, and my third assignment was 'roam', so I started by going up to the ridge walk and Land of Parrots. I saw our wandering peacock down by the koala nursery, and turtles in the pond below Education's Discovery Den. AND THEN, I wandered through the newly completed bird show arena. WOW! I am impressed. It looks like it will be a terrific venue for the free flight bird show! A bit of a sad note for me - the bush tucker garden is no-more. :( I used to enjoy dawdling through it - looking & smelling & learning. The whole area has been leveled & paved and 2 picnic tables have been added. The last pic is koala Stark on the ground beside one of his trees in a new enclosure. He is a big boy now and gets his own space! Our newly renovated volunteer office is open & looks spiffy! Bunker is the best, but Elliot is a gent as well. The lady koalas were letting it all hang out as they awaited fresh browse. A few trees in the enclosures were replaced on this shift. Also came upon some interesting insects today. Our last morning in the temporary volunteer office. It was also the morning of our quarterly volunteer morning tea, so there were lots of us attending after the lorikeet feeding. Friend & neighbor Barry got his 10 year pin & appreciation gift at the tea. I finished off my shift in the kangaroos & Lost Valley. The red panda cooperated today with a lot of not sleeping high up in a tree activity. See vids for proof! Koala day. Plus: Cape Berrens Goose, picturesque fungi, the pelican & giant eel feeding show, and a frosty surprise (in the videos). Oh, the joys of losing an hour of typing! I'll try to recreate my comments. It went something like this: Oh the joys of having a large, well trained, & fully capable team of Park Volunteers on shift! My first assignment this morning was to be a roving, roaming park ambassador, and I made the most of it, visiting some areas that I usually do not see on a normal shift. I made my way through Bliky Bill's Home Tree, talking to visitors along the way. Through the nocturnal house & up to the bilby environment, where the ghost bats had just been fed. I think one of my pics captured the image of a ghost bat ghost photo-bombing my shot of still very alive ghost bat! The old bush tucker garden is gone and the whole area has been paved. (Of course I have the lyrics to 'paved paradise & put up a parking lot' going through my head!) Will have to wait to see what becomes of this space. There is a lot of new-to-me signage & displays at the west side koala nursery. My second assignment was to monitor activity into Lost Valley before spending the rest of the morning with various kangaroos & wallabies. That brings me to the once in a career moment for me. I had just come into the grey roo paddock from lost valley and noticed one couple feeding animals at the edge of their rest area. I went up the hill to say hi & keep an eye on things. The guy asked me to take a picture of them, and when he handed me his phone it was set to video. I asked & got confirmation that he wanted me to video them. He did, and when I started recording he dropped one knee, whipped a ring out of a pocket & proposed to the girl! She accepted, so, happy life to Dirk & Nicole from Cape Town South Africa! |
AuthorRetired Canadian volunteer. Archives
March 2024
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