Sunday, 25 October 2015

Lots of Cuddly Things

Alice Springs (formerly Stuart) is home to some great parks / museums where one can go to see or play with the local wildlife. Have a look at these: goannas, lizards, snakes, pythons, crocs - all in the reptile park. As you can see, some of the bigger items were quite friendly and the python I held showed no sign of wanting to consume me.




This one is nicely camouflaged.




And even Max was able to handle one: a lizard that is, not the croc.!




And on the last morning of the trip we went to the Desert Park to see animals in a natural setting, wild-flowers blooming in profusion (given that it is Spring), and an amazing bird display. The park is at the base of the McDonnell  ranges which runs east-west for hundreds of km just to the south of Alice Springs.


Here's a dingo sheltering from the heat.


More wild-flowers and and an emu.



And so to the amphitheatre where we sat for as long as an hour watching different types of bird obey the commands of their trainer - performing aerial aerobatics for the audience in return for a variety of treats - lumps of meat, fish, seed or whatever they tend to consume. You can see here a tawny frogmouth nicely camouflaged in the auditorium's rafters - waiting its turn to perform.



Can you see the raptor here? We saw in succession kites, falcons, owls, and - towards the end - a wedge-tailed eagle


and a heron ... followed by a magpie (Pied Currawong) of the kind that inhabit our garden in Armidale.



And a lovely picture of an owl seeking food.


Our leader who ran the bird show is twirling a piece of food for a falcon.


 
And the Desert Park had another large collection of reptiles in natural settings.




And a buzzard, or plains turkey - which seems to suggest that it often ended up on a dinner table.


These destinations are well worth a visit and don't underestimate the time needed to see all their attractions!

AS

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