Caversham Wildlife Park
All my dreams come true
✒️ Written by: Abbie
Caversham Wildlife Park is just north of Perth, and home to many RBFJs (round brown fluffy jobbies) (aka, my favourite type of animal). The day we spent there will forever be a big day in my life, because it was the first time I ever saw an animal I have always been desperate to see...
The wombat.
To make things better, we got a photo with one! And if that wasn't enough, it gets even better when koalas are added to the mix.
The day started out with an early start and a long(ish) drive to the wildlife park. We bought our various tickets and managed a quick zip through one of the sections, seeing various birds and RBFJs on the way—including a glimpse of a shy tree kangaroo (which looks nothing like a kangaroo, btw). We were rushing, because we needed to make the 11am Wombat and Friends extravaganza.
Tree kangaroo
We made it to the wombat area just a couple minutes early, and were met with the front of a shed-like building with its shutters down, and a huge crowd of people waiting at the door. We snaked our way into the crowd and braced ourselves for 11am on the dot. As the shutters finally started crawling their way up, the iconic Men At Work song 'Down Under' started blaring out the speakers, and we all practically ran inside to meet the wombat, and friends.
It was all a blur at first. I saw a possum sitting on a branch at the back wall, judging us all like crazy. I looked to my right and there was an echidna enclosure, with no echidna in sight (he was hiding; don't blame him). I saw a snake. Some fancy birds. 'Down Under' continued playing, and I have never so far in this trip felt so undoubtedly that I am in Australia. When I turned my head round to the left and followed the quickly forming queues with my eyes, there they were. The wombats. I only treated myself to a quick glance, knowing we'd paid extra for photos with them, and tried to find the rest of my party in the chaos as hoards of people kept making their way into the large open space.
The judging possum
We walked round the room, checking out the cute and the cool animals on display, and every now and then I threw the wombats a glance. After the initial rush of people, but before it could be deemed 'too late', we weaved our way between the crowds and secured a spot in the wombat queue. I have never been so excited. We made it to the front, handed our phones to a member of staff to take photos, and approached the wombat named Judie. She was being held by another member of staff, and we were able to sit next to her on the bench and stroke her feet.
Judie is a bare-nosed wombat, also known as a common wombat. She was huge! We sat with her for a few moments, smiling for photos with her, but really I was just trying to take in such an amazing moment. I have loved wombats all my life, and here I was finally sitting next to one. It was a brief but unforgettable experience. Afterwards, we had a look at a couple of the other wombats too as they mooched around their enclosure.
Trying to calm the excitement of such an encounter, we skirted round the room once more, enjoying all the animals. We saw some awesome birds such as the tawny frogmouth, the kookaburra, and the galah—all sitting on their branches and wondering what the commotion was about. We even held a snake! I got close up to the possum and was able to stroke his tail, which was also a life highlight.
Tawny frogmouth
After that, we went for a walk round the kangaroo and wallaby area, with our bags of feed. This was our first time hand-feeding and getting up close to such awesome creatures. It's so cool to stroke a kangaroo and watch as they don't even bat an eyelid.
With a tight schedule for the day, we rushed to the next stop where we would spend some koala-ty time with... you guessed it, koalas! With it being my first time in AUS, and with a little birthday money not yet spent, I paid extra and waited in queue for one of the coolest moments of my life: the koala hold. It was a loooong queue, but I got there in the end, showed them my lanyard, was given a green fleeced waistcoat to wear and a run-down on all the do's and don'ts, and met my koala named Renee (said Ree-nee). A member of staff took my phone and snapped away as I held the heavy, fluffy ball of cuteness.
Renee was so sweet, so darling. She wasn't shy, but instead remained cool as a cucumber. She sat in my arms munching on eucalyptus leaves. I had a good couple minutes with her, and she remained happy the entire time. I was ecstatic, of course. Koalas are heavier than you'd expect, and so much fluffier. Stroking her fur was like putting your hand in a cloud. She was just a baby. I could have stood there holding Renee all day but, alas, there were many more koala fans waiting behind me and I begrudgingly passed her back to the keeper. What an insane experience!
After the koala hold, we mustered the rest of our energy to see as many Caversham critters as possible before hometime. We tried to get a look in on the Tasmanian devils but, elusive as ever, they were hiding. The blue fairy penguins were waddling around the edge of their pool. This golden pheasant totally mesmerised me.
Everyone else seemed to be having their afternoon siestas, and we needed that too, so after a thorough rummage through the gift shop we said goodbye to Caversham and drove away. This was one of my favourite days of our trip so far and two big things ticked off my lifetime bucket list. Wombats and koalas, you have my heart forever!