Submitted by Emily St. Pierre on the 2018 winter session program in Australia and New Zealand sponsored by the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics…
Today, my group was given the amazing opportunity to interact with some of Australia’s most famous wildlife. We went to the Featherdale Wildlife Park, and for just $2AU we were able to purchase a cup of food for the animals. The first animals we encountered were the wallabies. The soft and sweet wallabies hopped right up to us and enjoyed the food straight from our hands. After seeing the rest of the zoo, I returned back to the Wallabies since they were the most interactive and fun to be around. The wildlife park also had a huge array of Australian birds, some bright and colorful, others too small to spot. I became extremely excited when I saw I had entered the koala section of the park. I had heard that koalas, while adorable, can be very vicious, but this was not my experience with them. The first group of koalas I saw were all asleep, high in their trees. A few minutes later, I was able to see the koalas being fed. A ton of tree branches were placed within reach of the koalas, and they began to slowly munch away. Next, I saw an area where you could touch and take a picture with one of the koalas. I hesitantly pet it’s back, and even got a picture to save the memory!
After the wildlife park, we went on a hike in the Blue Mountains. We learned that many names in Australia are simple and literal, and the Blue Mountains are named after the slight blue tint that is a result of the oil emitted from the eucalyptus trees. After what seemed like thousands of steps and jumping over fallen down branches, we reached a landing. There, we got a spectacular view of a waterfall that overlooks the entire mountain range.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Australia is a beautiful country, and I wish I had more time to see every part!
