Cairns area wildlife parks

On our last day in Queensland we drove out of Port Douglas on the beautiful coastal road to Cairns. We had time before our flight and decided on a whim to drive up into the mountains to the Tablelands and spend a few hours in the touristy town of Kuranda. The view from the road made the 30 minute detour feel worth it.

Once in Kuranda we signed up to visit three different private zoos - Koala Gardens, Bird World and Butterfly World. Our expectations were low but we knew we were in one of the few places in the country where they still allow you to hold a koala.

Having watched the Koala Hospital special about one hundred times I really enjoyed getting in close to a koala. I took note of his sweet eucalyptus smell. I looked for a healthy grey coat. I enjoyed how he lounged peacefully on my arm. And then we started working on how to break it to the kids that we did this without them.

The Koala Garden also allows you to hand feed kangaroos under no supervision whatsoever. They have a resting area in the shade where the roos can go when they tire of tourists and want to be alone.

I reluctantly entered Australia's only walk through snake house. I'm glad I saw the Coastal Carpet Python the day after our rainforest tour and not the day before.

From there we moved on to Bird World where they sell you bird seed and then let you loose unsupervised in an enclosure with dozens of tropical birds. We held some of the tamer ones, admired others and took lots of pictures.

These rainbow ones were my favorites.

By the end we had pushed our luck a little too far and each gotten warning bites from parrots that wanted to assert themselves. 

Bird World also allowed us to see a cassowary up close. These large flightless birds eat mostly fruit but can be aggressive to humans and harm and even kill humans with their sharp front claws. They are fairly rare but we actually saw two dart by during our drive through the rainforest. Still, until you get close you don't get a full sense of their bizarre appearance. Someone described them as like an emu in drag. I think it fits.

Kuranda also offers a tourist market where one can purchase a kangaroo fur bikini or a change purse made from kangaroo scrotum. Yeah, it's classy like that.

Our last stop took us to Butterfly World. Again we went in for a chance to photograph in a controlled setting something we had seen in the wild. This time it was the brilliant blue Ulysses butterfly - the unofficial symbol of Queensland. The butterfly is black on its underside and iridescent blue on top. They are strong but erratic flyers so you tend to glimpse one flitting by but often don't have time to point it out to anyone.

We flew home tired and happy and eager to kiss our little girls and tell our stories to Nina, Grampi and all of you!