Thru the eyes of Road Warrior Stefany
When I envisioned my trip to Australia, I had lots of expectations. The majority of those were connected with seeing the animals of Australia. So imagine my excitement when we headed to Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary this morning.
It sits just south of Surfer’s Paradise in the town of Palm Beach (not kidding). They boast a great collection of indigenous Australian animals, most of which were rescued and for some reason or another could not be returned. The location of the sanctuary is key because if it sat 1 km further south it would no longer be in the state of Queensland. It just so happens that Queensland is the only state in Australia that allows visitors to hold koalas for photos. Anywhere else in Australia, the koalas are on a tree or stump while you stand at their side. So naturally, our first stop in the sanctuary was at the koala cuddling. For our group we had Wilbur. He was an adorable koala who loved to cuddle. ☺
Our next stop was at the petting zoo. Unlike the petting zoos at home, here you get to pet kangaroos. They were everywhere and extremely friendly. You could even feed them. From there we visited tree-climbing kangaroos, a HUGE crocodile, Tasmanian devils, wombats, echidnas and dingos. It was a blast!
From Palm Beach we headed to Byron Bay for lunch and exploring. What a great city! It has some amazing beaches, but its greatest feature is the rule that no franchises are allowed. Not a McDonalds or Gap for miles. We enjoyed a great lunch of fish and chips at Fish Mongers then picked up some incredible artwork from the Institute of Cute. After some more browsing at the many local shops we headed to the beach to watch the surfers and catch some rays. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
As the sun started to make its way to the horizon, we said goodbye to Bryon Bay and headed south to surf camp in Arrawarra Beach. Hopefully, watching those surfers in Byron Bay will help me out.
Tomorrow: Surfing at Surf Camp
