Today I went to Oakvale animal park with Sue, Marina and Ten. I’d been here about six years ago and remembered it as the pinnacle of kangaroo-visiting locations, and today absolutely did not disappoint!
We got there right when it opened and there were tour buses full of Koreans unloading in front of us. Everyone legged it for the kangaroos that were sunning it at the park of the park. As it turns out there were so many kangaroos (more than 37; I counted) which were more than enough for everyone to find one to feed 🙂
The Korean tourists were mad with excitement, and everyone was all smiles as the kangaroos welcomed us and our little food bags! Marina and Ten were equally excited, and kangaroos were the first of many animals they fed today that they had never experienced first-hand before.
We fed kangaroos, llamas, goats, sheep, bulls, camels and even miniature horses. The girls were excited and scared of many of the animals – most of which were significantly larger than themselves – and many laughs were had 🙂
Another highlight was the baby goat feeding. Small bottles of milk were distributed to the crowd of visitors and then a pen of hungry baby goats was opened and the little goats went berserk running around drinking from the bottles. It was hilarious!
The park is beautifully kept, with well-maintained enclosures and a healthy animals. The weather today was ideal – not too hot or cold – and we saw lots of activity even amongst animals that are usually quite sedentary.
Marina and Ten are studying English at Newcastle University and both are fairly fluent, so we had no trouble communicating. Of course I was full of questions about Japan and it was fascinating getting the perspective of ‘locals’. I think they were amused by my otaku qualifications, which were similar to Marina’s dad!
As you know I love kangaroos, and I could happily visit them any time. It was a lovely day 🙂