Paul's Place

This is ALL ABOUT ME!

But first, this is Paul.
Or at least, we think it's Paul.
He never actually came up to us and said, "Hi, I'm Paul."
But he acted like he owned the place, so we assumed...


He was a bit of a character, kind of a cross between Ned Kelly and Paul Hogan.
This was to be the day I got to cuddle a koala. I was so excited, I didn't even mind the 15k of dirt road that we had to drive and the half an hour that we sat outside the gate till Paul came barreling up in his station wagon. Or the other half hour that we stood waiting for them to get the animals ready.

First on the agenda was kangaroo feeding, an act for which I was ill-prepared, having given up lifting weights a couple of years ago. The first time Paul handed the roo to me I almost dropped it.


Then into the next area for en masse animal feeding. This is where I got a little disillusioned. Emus, sheep, deer, kangaroos, chickens, ducks, peacocks, and turkeys were all kept in this enclosure and were apparently ravenous when we arrived. Add to the mix, one dog that was as crazy as its owner. As soon as the oats bucket came out, pandemonium ensued. The emus were the worst, thrusting their beaks into our oat-filled palms as soon as we withdrew them from the bucket. I had to get very snippy with them in order to save enough oats for the roos.


These kangaroos were not the placid creatures we had formerly encountered, but were aggressive in chasing down their fair share of the oats. At times, I had four or five of them holding onto my hands and blissfully munching down. My hands were actually scratched up by their little fingernails, or whatever they were, and covered in roo slime. Jeff was grossed out.


And onto the koala.
Paul called for all of the children to get in line.
I was right there.
Myself, in seventh heaven, with a sweet female koala.


Over to cuddle the brush-tailed possum, which was so cute it made me feel quite guilty over my possum socks.


When everyone was done cuddling the koala, Paul asked if anyone else wanted a turn.
Oooh, me, me.
So I got another turn.
A really long one.


Jeff wasn't so lucky.
He got used as a feed bowl by a couple of emus.


More echidnas. Note the freaky long pink tongue, which they use to scoop up the termites and other yummy things that constitute their diet.


Finally, an unanticipated interaction with parrots.
I didn't want them, but suddenly, they were there.


After Paul's Place, we stopped in at the Stokes Bay Bush Garden, where winding paths take you around gardens full of magnificently diverse native flora.



We had planned a stop at Parndana Wildlife Park after this, but it was almost dinnertime and we were tired, so we went home.
Baked beans, toasted crumpets, and fried eggs for dinner, with hot chocolate.
Yum.
It's an acquired taste.
Luckily, Jeff has acquired it!