Cleland Park and Granite Island

Today was amazing! I signed up for a trip through the International Student Services Unit to go to Mt. Lofty, Cleland Wildlife Park, and Granite Island. I've become friendly with a girl from California and a bunch of other students (mostly from Sweden and Norway, but a few from South Korea and Indonesia as well) and they came on the trip too, which made it even better. First we went up to Mt. Lofty, which isn't really a mountain, but is still the highest point in the Adelaide region. From the top we had fantastic views of the city and the ocean, and the drive took us through eucalyptus forests where we saw lots of wild koalas just hanging out in the trees. It was very exciting because we passed by a sign that said "Koala crossing next 35 km" and had a picture of a koala walking on FOUR LEGS, because that's how koalas walk, Rick. We only spent twenty minutes there, and afterwards we headed to Cleland Wildlife Park, which I think is the coolest place EVER.

This wildlife park only has animals from South Australia. You enter and they give you this big bag of food and tell you that you can feed any free-roaming animal. The enclosures are really just huuuge grassy pastures with lots of eucalyptus trees and animals lounging around. The first area we went to had tons of grey and red kangaroos, all of whom looked very relaxed.


As you approach the kangaroos, they sort of reluctantly heft themselves up and hop over to you, expecting food. They were like big rabbits and were incredibly, unbelievably soft. I want one. After they finished whatever was in your hand, they would become very interested in the bag. I also got a few tugs on my jacket sleeve. This little guy also put his front paws on my leg and stuck his face in mine while I was busy trying to get another handful of food out.



Me petting one of the smaller red kangaroos. There were some really big guys, but I didn't really feel like seeing what it would be like to bother one. There was a funny moment where a little kid, maybe five or six, ran past us, chasing a big red kangaroo who was hopping away as if this happened all the time.


These shaggy-haired kangaroos are found only on Kangaroo Island. They were much shier than the other roos. I can't wait to go to KI and see them in the wild!


There were also wallabies around, but they were very flighty. They are way too cute not to include here, though!

The waterbirds were incredible, and I really like the way this one's neck is curved around.


And the highlight of the park: I got to hold a koala!!! His name was Osmond. He was very heavy and fluffly and soft, and in order to keep him placated, the woman kept feeding him leaves. For a few minutes he was chewing them very loudly right in my face and wouldn't look at the camera, and I got a faceful of eucalyptus leaves. Eventually we got him to look at the camera. I considered attempting to run out the door while he was in my arms, but that probably wouldn't have gone over well. So I have apprehended a koala, fed it a leaf, and pet it on the back of its head. It was awesome. The picture is much better in real life, but I don't have a scanner here so I had to take a picture of the picture.

Some of the enclosures had emus wandering around, which I appreciated. I liked this one's hair. After I took this picture one of my friends tried to touch it and it sort of reared up really high and ran away, which was terrifying.


There were also dingoes!! They pretty much look like the most beautiful dogs ever. I want one of these, too.

After the park, we drove to Victor Harbor, which I would love to visit in the summer. The drive was absolutely gorgeous, through eucalyptus forests (more koala sightings there) and hills dotted with gum trees. The sun was setting and we kept getting glimpses of the ocean as the sky turned all sorts of colors and the hills turned deep orange. It was amazing. Victor Harbor was a very cute little town, too, with lots of restaurants and pubs situated on the waterfront. We walked across a long bridge to Granite Island, where the smallest penguins in the world, Little Blue Penguins, come ashore at night. There we met up with a tour guide who took us around the island. We saw tons of penguins!! They are SO cute, and they really are blue. White light bothers them, so I had to take pictures using the red light of the flashlight, so they turned out really badly. I can't believe I saw penguins in the wild.


Now it's late and I'm getting ready to go to sleep. I want to read more Harry Potter, though! I am woefully behind.