Territory Wildlife Park

Yesterday we spent a really nice, but also pretty exhausting day at Territory Wildlife Park. It's located a bit outside of Darwin (about 50 km) and we drove there together with Karo and Matze.

We left at quarter to 9 in the morning and arrived there at around 10. It took us a bit longer because we had to refuel and there was a construction site on the way where we had to wait for a long time. But in the end, we found the way well. To our surprise, there wasn't much going on in the visitor parking lot. Well, there were a few cars, but it wasn't really worth mentioning. So there probably wasn't much going on in the park either. We went in and paid the student price, which was really worth it as it made a difference of 10 AUD. The staff explained the park map to us and when the trains go through the park. Unfortunately, we missed 2 feedings already, even though we were only 1 hour after opening. Later in the day, there were 2 more feedings and a bird show, so we planned our route through the park according to their times.

First, we went to the Nocturnal House and walked through it. Many of the animals there weren't particularly active :D Then we went to the Flight Deck, where the bird show was supposed to take place. And there at the Flight Deck was the first place where we saw other visitors! Before that, we only saw employees doing some gardening in the park. The wildlife park is still quite natural, so it grows what grows in the Northern Territory of Australia. Occasionally, there are signs along the way to explain things. But overall, it was pretty dry everywhere because it's towards the end of the dry season and there are no water reserves left.

But the bird show was pretty cool. A bird trainer did it and introduced several different birds, explaining their characteristics, origins, and abilities, and letting them do some "tricks". For example, there was an eagle that steals eggs from nests in nature and then throws a stone at the egg to open it. The park staff built plastic eggs for the bird, which he can open with stones, and he demonstrated that to us. It looks funny! Another bird was an owl that flew very close above our heads a few times to show us that it can fly completely silently. Then there was another bird that could catch its prey, a little fish, in mid-air with its claws. But the osprey (fish eagle) completely dived into the water to get the fish. That was impressive! We didn't understand everything they said, of course, because there was a lot of specialized English vocabulary for birds, but it was still good.

After the show, we continued to Rocky Ridge. There we saw emus and a wallaby. The emus looked pretty stupid and weren't as beautiful as ostriches. Then we went on to Goose Lagoon, where there were really many geese. However, the lagoon had also shrunk a lot during the dry season. By now, it had gotten pretty hot and walking around was quite exhausting. We then went to Oolloo Sandbar, where the feeding of the fish and giant rays was supposed to take place at 1:10 pm. Since we had some time left, we went to see the dingoes, but unfortunately, we only saw one lying in the back, nothing else. So we went back and took a little break before the feeding started. That was also really interesting, what he told us. He fed the barramundi, which are kind of the national fish in the north, the rays, which were really huge, and the so-called archer fish, which shoot insects out of the water with a water jet so that they fall down and they can eat them in the water. That was really fascinating, how accurate they are! They have built in a mechanism that compensates for the distortion of the outside world through the water, so they can hit the target so precisely. Pretty cool. The whole feeding took half an hour, so quite long. Since there weren't many visitors in the park, the train waited at Oolloo Sandbar and we got on and rode along.

We then drove back to where we started and walked the Woodland Walk. There, wallabies roam freely, which is pretty cool. Unfortunately, it was 2 o'clock and they had their midday rest. So we only saw two wallabies. After that, we went on to the Billabong and the Wetland Walk. Well, unfortunately, it wasn't that wet :D But the Billabong was really nice to look at and there were also pelicans. A billabong is a lake that is cut off from rivers during the dry season but is connected to rivers and other lakes during the rainy season. There were supposed to be crocodiles in the billabong in the park, but unfortunately, we didn't see any.

After that, we did the Monsoon Forest Walk. That was really nice because there were little houses along the way where you could see various birds, water animals, or plants. The highlight was the birdhouse, where many native, colorful birds were flying around. On the way back through the forest, you could imagine how beautiful and green it is there during the rainy season. But even so, the forest with its huge trees and palms was really impressive.

Our last stop was the aquarium. We were a bit disappointed because there weren't any super colorful and particularly exotic fish swimming around, just the local ones that all look kind of the same :D But what was cool was the corridor where the fish could swim above you. There we saw one of those big rays from below. There were also barramundi, a swordfish, and a pig-nosed turtle in there, which looks so funny! We had the animals very close to us, it was pretty cool.

After that, we took a train back to the entrance, bought an ice cream, and drove home. The other two fell asleep on the back seat because the day was so exhausting and we got up early^^ But Andi and I were actually fine. We also drank a lot during the day. What I really like about Australia is that there are drinking fountains everywhere where you can drink or refill your bottle. Unfortunately, the water doesn't taste the same everywhere. In Perth, for example, the water was pretty good, but it tasted a bit like chlorine. Here in Darwin, it tasted stronger of chlorine and it was warm. Really disgusting. But the water in the park was cool and didn't taste like anything. It was sooo good! Even better than the one you buy in a bottle. And when the sun is burning and you're on the go all the time, you have to drink a lot. The only problem is that you then constantly have to go to the bathroom :D

So that was our first trip a bit further away and our first longer car ride. Let's see what the next few days will bring :)