I remember stepping off the plane in Cairns, Australia on September 28th and finally feeling like myself for the first time in weeks. And when I mean myself, I mean happy, content, warm and able to wear a freakin’ dress for the first time in months. (And if you know me, you know how serious of an issue this is.) It was a peace I never felt stepping off a plane in a new country before. Even when I went to Europe for the first time last year, my feelings were more of excitement and nervousness than a sense of belonging. New Zealand started off with a bit of dread, but from the very beginning, Australia was different. Maybe its just the fact I am a warm, sunny, beach-kind of person, or maybe its because I knew I had to be happy and bright to enjoy the rather expensive trip. Perhaps its something on a deeper level, but in any case, I knew from the moment I stepped off the plane I was in for a true adventure.
Our first stop after sorting out our rental car at Cairns airport was the Kuranda Village, a cute assortment of shops, restaurants, and attractions in the middle of a rainforest about 40 minutes north of Cairns. And we had to get there quickly, as we had a date with a very special lady.
As soon as we were able to find parking, the girls and I passed by the shops and restaurants and headed straight to our destination: Kuranda Koala Gardens. Now, yes, I have seen koalas before, but what first visit to Australia is complete without them? And, we were doing more than just seeing the koalas, we had an appointment to hold one.
While I have mixed feelings about visiting a place like this (see my previous post about my visit to the Wellington Zoo,) I have to say holding a koala was a lot of fun. They are much heavier than you think and extremely lazy. The handler put the girl in my arms and she just laid there and didn’t move the entire experience. It’s almost like holding a baby, except its much cuter, furrier and has giant claws. (Also, koalas feel a lot more solid and less fragile than babies.)
While I did enjoy this experience, I have to say I’m not sure its something I condone, so I want to provide you with a bit of background on koala cuddling in Australia. Queensland is the only stat in the county where visitors are allowed to handle the marsupials, and like most touristy things in Australia, there are quite a few rules surrounding it. For instance, koalas can only “work” for 30 minutes at a time; after a half-and-hour of being handled the animals have to be allowed to return to their quiet existence on tree branches. 30 minutes may seem like a short work day for you, there’s a lot of controversy surrounding this. According to Kuranda Koala Gardens and other places that have koala cuddling excursions, science shows that this limited amount of interaction doesn’t stress the animals out or shorten their lifespan. However, because of where this information is coming from and finding reports stating otherwise online, I refuse to throw my support behind it.
I do want to say, however, while I’ve read stories of people clinging to the koalas and not letting go when asked, I didn’t see any such behavior while I was at Kuranda Koala Gardens. Everyone was fairly respectful of taking their turn and obeying the rules set out by the handlers. My only negative observation was how quickly the koala got passed from person to person; it seemed like the handlers wanted to maximize the number of photos they could get out of one koala in 30 minutes.
The rest of attraction was less exciting; the Gardens are basically a zoo and a small, somewhat rundown one at that. It features only animals native to Australia, in small enclosures. The kangaroo and wallaby area is interactive, and you are allowed to roam in and out of the same space as the animals, much like the zoo in Wellington. However, unlike that zoo, this one encourages you to feed and pet the animals, even offering you “feed” before entering. This, of course, coaxes the animals to interact with you. We managed to use the pellets to pet and hang out with a wallaby for a brief moment before a tour group of children came into the area, scaring the animals into hiding.
However, their noise seemed to stir another animal I wanted to see: the quokka, or as you might know it: the happiest animal on Earth.
I was stoked to see a Quokka in person because I incorrectly assumed you could only see them in Western Australia. And while that is the only place you can see them in the wild, it was awesome to have a chance to see one, even in captivity.
After checking out the rest of the small zoo, the girls and I headed back to the Village to check out some shops. Its sort of a surreal place, this outdoor mall in the middle of the jungle. Seriously, you could grab a bite to eat, buy a painting, jewelry, clothes and other”touristy” souvenirs all while being surrounded by the humidity and heat of the jungle. Its kind of like Florida, but more exotic.
After a tour of the shops in the village, we headed north to Port Douglas, a small seaside town known for its snorkeling and 5-star resorts. After checking into our own 5-star resort (my first ever, by the way) we went to the local yacht club and had a wonderfully tasty dinner.
Afterwards, we went to sleep, as the next day we had an even bigger adventure planned: scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef.
