Healesville, Australia
For my birthday, Russ organized a "Koala Magic Moment" at the Healesville Sanctuary.
Holding a koala is on my bucket list. I can't wait!
The sanctuary is located in Yarra Valley, about a 1 1/2 hour drive northeast from Sandringham.
My "moment" is at 12:30. It started to rain at 12:15, shortly after the photo above was taken.
An animal and a photographer are part of the magic moment.
This is when we were told that touching a Koala in Victoria is illegal.
Victoria is the state we are in.
I shared my magic moment with another couple. Koalas sleep twenty hours a day and eat for the other four. We found out that kolas also poop in their sleep. As you can see, Bennie was sleeping. Russ was my personal photographer :)
This is Bennie, the sleeping Koala. Yes, that is a poo on his bottom that won't drop. I took this photo without zoom. We are allowed to get very close.
Bennie was adorable. He looks so soft and cuddly. You might think he is a plush toy, until you notice him breathing.
Bennie has a rough job. He makes babies, but has nothing to do with raising them. We saw his current offspring with one of his many girlfriends. Bennie produces beautiful babies!
So that ended my magic moment. The lighting was not so good for our 15 minutes with Bennie, so the professional photographer's photos were no better than ours.
Luckily I had taken about a dozen photos of Bennie with a zoom lense earlier, when the lighting was better. This was before I knew he would be my magic moment. Here's a few.
Sleeping
Sleeping
Yawning
Talking!
He made these tremendous sounds. Most unlike what you would expect to come out of a soft, cuddly koala. The noises were a cross between a bellow and a pig's grunt. We thought he had to be having a nightmare, but we were wrong. When I asked a park attendant, she told me that it's unusual for guests to hear the koalas talk. He speaks for only two reasons. One, to tell other male koalas that this is his turf and they'd better go away. The second reason is to let the ladies know he is ready and willing :)
In this case, she thought the scent of one of the female koalas must have wafted by. Too cool!!!
I must say that I was disappointed that I did not get to hug a koala. But the sanctuary was really amazing and made up for any disappointment I felt. Plus, Russ promised me a second birthday gift. He will organize a koala hug outside of Victoria :). I love my hubbie!!!
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