Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary

Day 1:

A koala bear in the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary

A statue of "Banjo" the eagle

After a 16 hour flight in a broken chair over the Pacific, I finally arrived in Australia. Landing in the growing city of Melbourne, we went directly from the airport to grab a snack at the local McDondald's. Although the restaurant was the same as in the states, we did have our first moment as true tourists when we spotted a parrot perched in a tree in the parking lot. From there we left to visit the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. I didn't manage to capture a kangaroo or koala bear (sorry all those who were relying on me) but I did get a good look into the local wildlife and history of the area. Sitting just inside the entrance was a remarkable statue of an eagle. The story behind the statue was created by the Aboriginals to tell of the creation of Australia. Following the fall of a great star toward Earth, the eagle "Banjo" was born. Banjo first created land, then realizing the need created water. He then formed a rainbow that shattered and led to the existence of parrots (explaining their various and vibrant colors). I was lucky enough to catch the "Birds of Prey" show put on by a couple of the zoo employees. They displayed the fascinating abilities of the birds to mimic, hunt, and even follow several instructions without a second command. The zoo had a display of the top 10 deadliest snakes in Australia (behind a secure piece of plexiglas). They also had three Dingos that I learned an descendants of the Asian wolf. But the most important tidbit I brought away from my trip was that we can all work to save these endangered species by following the instructions of Captain Crapman and "Wipe for Wildlife: Buy Recycled Toilet Paper", but keep in mind that the first step is the hardest: change.