Best place to see, pet and possibly feed kangaroos
 

Hi,

I am new at this forum. So hello everyone!

My husband and I are planning a week's trip to Sydney and Cairns (or Port Douglas), in early January 2006. I would really appreciate if someone could tell me the best place to see, pet and maybe get a chance a to feed kangaroos. I have seen pictures of people feeding kangaroos and really want to do that. Some guide books mention Jervis bay. Is it possible to make a day trip to Jervis bay from Sydney? Is there any other place that is better?

I would also appreciate any suggestions on what to do or see in/around these two cities. We want to see wildlife, relax at the beaches and definitely dive into the reef.

Thanks in advance!

When I was in Australia in 2001 I spent a week in Port Douglas, which I would highly recommend. There is a wildlife park just south of PD where you can pet and feed kangaroos. Many reef trips take off from PD, and there is a beautiful beach at PD (four mile beach). I rented an apartment a block from the beach, which was also very convenient (walking distance) to all the shops and restaurants in the main strip of PD.
Martha

There are zoos of course, a great one in near Palm cove in QL I think its the same one mjnbrown is talking about it was called Wildworld when we were there, but I believe the name changed not long after.

But up near the blue mountains there is a great place calle Eureka Clearing...lol I have probably spelt it wrong.

Anyway it's bit off the beaten track, but Alan Knows all about it hopefully he will be along soon.
Anyway Kangaroos and beautiful birds are in the wild around there not sure about touching the Kangaroos as you probably wouldn't get close enough..lol

Good luck

Muck

The closest to Port Douglas is Rainforest Habitat, just a few kms out of the town. Daintree Mangrove Sanctuary north of Mossman has them, there's a baby orphaned joey there at the moment called Molly who is still being bottle fed. The closest to Cairns is Cairns Tropical Zoo at Palm Cove. These of course are tame kangaroos, easy to pet and feed. Its best to see them in their natural habitat in the wild, last week I saw 4 different species in less than 10 minutes on a country road west of Cairns, as well as an echidna.

Mucky, you must have been answering at the same time as me, yes, Wildworld is now Cairns Tropical Zoo. For those who wish to cuddle a koala, it's one of the few remaining places which allows this.

Pat, are we still protecting pollies from piddling koalas ? Or koalas from pollies?
Cheers Bokhara

Bokhara, hopefully the latter! Koala Foundation in Brisbane say they don't approve of the whole koala cuddling thing, but they need the funding provided from these operations for rescue and rehab of sick and injured animals.

Thanks everyone for your responses!

An orphaned kangaroo......how sad! I would like to see it. But I guess the rainforest habitat fits in best. Do I need to purchase tickets in advance for that?

I think the Blue Mountains also sound exciting. Lets see about that....

If I want to visit one of the islands near Cairns, which do you think would be good? We might do a day trip from Port Douglas or Cairns. For that also should I book tickets in advance? For snorkelling what is the best option. Since we are not trained divers (I wish we were), we will have to stick to snorkelling. So I need to go snorkelling where the reef looks best from. Well maybe the whole reef is best, but I mean whichever place is good to see a variety of corals.

Excited about Oz!
Shweta

Pat - we reared a few "Mollys"too; hung up in sugar bags filled with wool in the old kitchen & bottle fed. The babies were pretty tricky (we had to work out a formula by trial & error back then "before the ice thawed") (lol - showing my age!) Then out in the "roo yard" until big enough to let go. They were v.cute, and came flying up to the gate as soon as it squeeked or someone called "tch, tch, roo loo, rooloo". Did you see where some idiot was "boxing" with joeys the other day?
Would be the same idiot who wonders why when they grow up & have a go at him and/or his dogs!

Schweta: you'll love them - one look in those big inky black eyes and you'll be gaga :)

Shweta,
Rainforest Habitat just south of PD has a "Breakfast with the Birds" inside their bird habitat that is quite fun, and the kangaroos and wallabees roam free and you can feed them. There are also koalas which you can pose with and pat, but no holding. The best koala cuddling we found was at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane. It does stress them, but their rule is that a koala 'poses' for one half hour then gets three days off!

Hello again shweta, no you don't need to pre-purchase tickets for Rainforest Habitat, just buy them at the door. AU$28 for admittance and AU$39 if you want to include "breakfast with the birds". Daintree Mangrove Sanctuary is $AU$22, apart from the kangaroos it has a fantastic collection of Australian cockatoos, finches as well as crocs, cassowaries, emus,kangaroos, dingoes, quolls, sugar gliders, huge amethystine python (OK, its well caged) and funny little things like leaf geckoes. My favourite little parrot there is a gang-gang, his name is "Creaky Door" because that is exactly what he says. He's a friendly little thing with mad red "hair". And of course Molly, who hops around the restaurant areas. It also has accommodation, very reasonably priced.

Bokhara, no I didn't see that, fortunately or my BP would have gone through the roof. Have a friend who had a dairy farm in Malanda who also often raised orphan joeys, the last one in particular was very tricky because it was so young when she found it, utterly devoted to her, followed her everywhere for ages. But one night, when we happened to be there, a mob of roos came through the property and it was off like the proverbial Bondi tram with nary a glance behind. So great to see.

If you go to Rainforest Station / Karunda, is the Rainforest Habitat that much different to warrant the trip to Port Douglas? What do you see/do at the Rainforest Habitat that you do not see/do at Rainforest Station / Karunda? Would you recommend Rainforest Habitat over Skyrail / Rainforest Station?

thanks for enlightening me

I haven't noticed anyone with a Sydney suggestion, so here goes.....

My wife and I visited the Featherdale Wildlife Park while in Sydney and were VERY impressed with it. Took the train from Circular Quay out to Blacktown, then a quick transfer from the station by bus to the wildlife park.

Fed kangaroos, pet a koala, saw a bunch of other great stuff.

Thank you all so much for your replies! But I am not finished yet :)

Pat, how far is the Daintree Mangrove Sanctuary from Port Douglas? Or better yet, which is closer, Rainforst Habitat or Daintree Sanctuary to PD? We want to minimise travel time. And thanks for mentioning the entry fee for both.

Awwww Bokhara, that is so sweet! I wish I could live around roos! And this is coming from someone who hasen't even seen them for real :)

Midwestcoup, thanks for the Sydney suggestion. We will be in Sydney for our marriage anniversary. I was thinking of watching a show in Sydney Opera House and then dinner (I must mention that it would be our first show ever). Is there anything else romantic to do in Sydney?

It would be a good idea to check www.sydneyoperahouse.com to see what's on in January. Sydney of course has a lot of other arts/entertainment venues in case nothing at the SOH suits you.

I'm far too old and crabby to advise on matters romantic, but you shouldn't miss an evening at one of Sydney's many top-class restaurants - check previous threads using the search box above. Note: in Australia tipping is practiced either not at all or only modestly, and then only in restaurants - by law the staff must be paid a living wage.

I know some have their reservations about harbour cruises, but a cruise up and down the harbour at night is pretty special. I've only done it once, and someone else was picking up the tab on that occasion, so had no complaints.

I don't think anyone anwered your question about Jervis Bay. Green PAtch at Jervis Bay is idyllic. You would swear you were on a tropical island. It is a two-three hour drive south of Sydney so one day is pushing it.
IMHO the best place to interact with kangaroos (in the wild) is at Pebbly Beach which is four hours south. They have cabins thereand the neighbouring beach Depot Beach also has cabins. Try googling.
The kangaroos at Pebbly have been known to ride the surf. Feeding them isnot recommended as thecan become a little aggressive but you can definitely pet then. Also it isn't good for their diet.
I have a major problem with cuddling koalas. It has been banned in NSW as it puts unnnecessary stress on the animals. The only reason the QLD govt allows it is because of the pressure from the tourism industry who want to satisfy the demand of international tourists to pet these shy animals.

That's true to a point Sarvowinner, but there are many Qld operators who abhor the cuddling koala thing. For instance, Rainforest Habitat near Port Douglas would lose its eco-rating if it stooped to this practice , legislation to ban it totally in Qld is pending, although expect a few fights. As mentioned above Koala Foundation in Brisbane, whilst totally against practice, still needs funding from the few remaining operators who let this happen, it goes a long way in funding rescue and rehabilitation of sick and injured animals.

It's beyond me too, but an amazing amount of tourists, not just Japanese, want to have their photo taken clutching a koala; not a wombat, not a numbat, not a quoll which would give them a good nip anyway, not a semi-tamed native cockatoo which is intelligent enough to enjoy the attention. There are still strict regulations in parks which do allow this to happen in terms of no of animals handled over a period of time. The koala suffers to a point because it looks cute.

The other day I took the dog for a walk in the Mt Ainslie Nature Reserve near our Canberra home, and encountered an enormous male kangaroo blocking the track as his harem made its escape. Don't let anyone tell you those things are cute or cuddly - they can do serious damage. Fortunately the dog took one nervous look and retreated, closely followed by yours truly.

In general, feeding wild animals is bad policy, and if they tolerate petting it's only the price paid for the food, not because they like you - that's a human conceit, and affection for humans isn't part of their vocabulary.

I remember NPS signs around the Grand Canyon warning against feeding the wild mule deer, as they'd taken to attacking humans and also raiding garbage bins, frequently swallowing plastic bags and having to be put down. I guess that kind of situation is common in many parts of the world.

I freely admit to being an idiot about wanting to hold a koala, which I did in both Brisbane and Kuranda, and I have been swimming with manatees in north Florida - another true animal high. I would cheerfully clutch a wombat if it were permitted, which it is not. I have patted the butt of a Tasmanian devil while it was being held by the keeper who raised it. I have carefully fed both kangaroos and wallabies, knowing they both could seriously hurt me especially if I were stupid enough to try to touch a joey. That said, if you are an "animal person" these things do appeal to you, but hopefully we all understand when the state makes a decision for the animal's welfare. My impression in N. Queensland was that precautions were being taken to protect koalas, but if the rules change, they change. No one seems to be particularly concerned about swimming with dolphins in NZ, or other parts of the world, which strikes me as similarly odd. Now I understand there will be special cruises to see the emperor penguins as a result of the recent film about them, but those might be the same folks who only two years ago were searching for Hobbits.

OK, oliverandharry, I'll bite - who was looking for Hobbits?

Every American kid hooked on Lord of the Rings! Even Air NZ got in the act with "Visit Middle Earth" tours!

Of course, of course. I believe that another kids' movie, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" also made use of that spectacular NZ scenery.

I saw the first LOTR movie - OK if you get off on fairy stories and digital special effects, but I wasn't tempted to watch the others. Great for the Kiwi tourism industry though.

At pebbly Beach, I was the one at risk!

A cuppla kangaroos just about attacked me - because they wanted my chocolate caramel slice! These fellows stood about 6 ft tall - a tad taller than I am - and were very persistent. And waht were my friends doing - laughing their heads off at my predicament! It was their afternoon tea I was protecting! :)

Margo Oz: We had a very funny thing happen years ago while picnicing at Dubbo Zoo. My stepson (then about 7 or 8) was eating a sandwich, holding it in his hand between bites and while he was chatting an emu sneaked up behind him and very quietly & neatly removed it! We nearly died laughing, first at the cheeky emu and secondly at the astounded look on Sean's face.
His father's comment, when he could speak: " Now you know why you don't put your elbows on the dining table!"

Don't forget the Bridge Climb in Sydney!
Great view plus running commentary the whole way! I hate heights but decided I had to do it...awesome!

I also second the idea for Featherdale. Great little zoo to go to, and very family friendly.

That being said, you can find a wildlife reserve and go there and find kangaroos/wallabys, usually around dawn or dusk.

My brother and his wife live just outside of Glenbrook (1 hr west of Sydney). You need a car to get to it, but go to the clearing in the National Park in the early evening and you can see the kangaroos jumping around. You may not be able to touch or feed them, but it is a lot more fun seeing them in the wild than it is in a zoo. My daughters are 8 and 5, and still talk about being at their uncle's house and going to the park to cook dinner and see the 'roos'.