G'Day Possums

The glorious Melbourne winter weather is continuing it has been a freezing 20 degrees today so we headed out of the city with Jill and Richard. The first stop for us was a short drive and the one I was dreading the most, a visit to the street where they film Neighbours. I am sure that all you Neighbours buffs will know that Ramsey Street is actually called Pin Oak Street!!

We then had the obligatory photos outside all the houses, The Kennedys,Harold and Toadys and the Timmins etc followed by a picture with the street sign, and even a photo with the tourist bus, we were 100% touristy and Mel was loving every minute of it!!!

It was then a drive out to the Yarra Valley which is famous for its wine producing but unfortunately we had an appointment with the animal sanctuary at Healesville. All the animals here are unable to look after themselves but are left to roam pretty freely to an extent around their particular area within the park.

As soon as we were through the gates the Emu's were there in front of us, a few of them were sat in the sun with a couple running around. Next it was a visit to the animals Australia is famous for, the kangaroos as it was hot most of them were laid out enjoying the weather while a few of the younger ones drank water and bounced around.

The walk around the sanctuary was so pleasant and it wasn't long before we arrived at the Platypus house to listen to the keeper tell us all about these mammals (they were a lot smaller than I expected them to be.)

We took a small detour off the main track to walk the short woodland track where we passed various woodland birds, the Lace Monitor lizards and the huge Pelicans sat on the jetty at the edge of the lake. As we took the bend sat straight in front of us was a wallaby sat in the sun. We were lucky enough to be able to approach it and stroke it and just metres away there was a second one feeding. They felt so soft and were obviously used to humans walking around.

Time had passed so quickly and 2 1/2 hours had already passed and it was time to watch the Birds of Prey. The first bird out was a Whistling Kite, and the handler demonstrated how it fed while flying and it swooped and flew close to our heads several times,and when I say close I mean within a foot!!!

Once the kite had gone next out was the Wedge Tailed Eagle but it had become pre occupied with the wild wedge tailed eagle that was living nearby but we were treated to some wild territorial behaviour which was fantastic to watch and experience. The next bird that we saw was the 3rd largest bird of prey that they have in Australia, the black Chested Buzzard called Beatrice and she showed us how they break into emu eggs using rocks which is instinctive to them and did not need to be taught. To end the show out came the Peregrine Falcon and we were treated to an aerial acrobatic show with the bird catching food on the fly. It was a great thing to see and we learnt a little too.

It was nearly time to leave and we just had time to go and see the Koalas in the eucalyptus trees luckily they were awake and feeding which was a bonus as they sleep for 20 hours a day!!! (a bit like mel)

We had a great day in the sun watching and learning about several of Australia's native species.

Lots of Love

M & M