Add Kangaroo Saliva To My List Of Allergies

Today we indulged in a bit of commercialism and went to Steve Irwin's Zoo - a.k.a. the Australia Zoo.

Highlights:

- Feeding numerous kangaroos and wallabies. Calmest things I've ever seen in a zoo - just lounging around without a care in the world. Which is probably pretty accurate - they're handfed like Egyptian pharaohs.

- Touching a snake - made me want some snakeskin boots. No, only kidding - it might encourage me to become sneaky and hide behind things and jump out at people.

Yep, that's the bum.

- Touching an alligator (baby) - apparently they are the "calm" versions of crocodiles - but paradoxically enough, mostly found in the U.S. 

- Feeding an elephant. No joke. I had carrots and watermelon, some in each hand, and that sucker just wrapped its massive trunk around my arm and WHOOSH - it was gone. The food, I mean. Not that it wasn't strong enough :)

Cassowary

- Seeing a cassowary in the flesh. These birds, sadly endangered, are Australian natives. They look a lot like the bird from the Pixar movie "Up". However, they do not respond to "Kevin". Even if you shout it multiple times. 

- Holding a sleepy koala for a photo. Cost me $20, but totally worth it to hold the little furball. Even if he did poo before every photo. And permanently smell of eucalyptus.

- Visiting the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital and seeing a poor widdle koala bear on an operating table. This probably doesn't sound like a highlight - but I suppose the highlight is that he's getting treatment? And they were only checking his heartbeat. Could be anxiety. Or the stress of being in the limelight. Koala rehab?

Lowlights:

Unimpressed Tassie Devil

- Having an allergic reaction to the kangaroo saliva. Finger swelled up and everything. How in the world does one become allergic to a random animal indigenous to a country she has never before been to??? Yeesh.

- Bindi Irwin. If I see one more Bindi mug, sticker, or book, it will be fed to a crocodile. Although I bet even the Zoo crocodiles are tired of Bindi merchandise.

- Tasmanian devil not impressed by my Tasmanian devil impression. Lousy sport.