You know you’ve hit the jackpot when you wake up every day and your day is filled with koalas, kangaroos, wombats and more, as soon as you’ve finished breakfast. Here’s my list of favourite experiences at the Port Stephens Wildlife Sanctuary.
My most memorable experience was holding a baby wombat.
Often a forgotten ‘cute Australian animal’, the wombat was an absolute treasure to cuddle and something that I would not have gotten to interact with, had I just visited him in a zoo.
Casually hanging out with roos. Taking a selfie with a kangaroo is a must. We were practically buddies by the end of the project, as they hopped around us during the day, or lazily lay in our path as we swept the grounds.
Saying good morning to a baby koala.
It’s not unusual to give a koala a back rub during a visit to a koala sanctuary, what made this experience magical was that it was a baby koala. The ‘adorable radar’ hopped up a few notches as I stared in wonder at the furry creature.
Food prep for the animals. Part of the animal interaction involves feeding the animals, either by hand, offering food into their enclosure, or by changing leaves and branches for new ones. This meant that I spent a lot of time with the animals, either directly or close enough to give a pat to the ones that we were allowed to touch.
Being around super knowledgeable rangers. We got buddied up with rangers, which meant that we were always doing exactly what the park ranger would otherwise be doing and would also be able to pick their brains about all things wildlife and Australiana.
I really enjoyed my time at the park as I was able to interact with so many different animals, and also felt like I was contributing to the many initiatives that they have going on. I also liked being a bit further away from Sydney, exploring different parts of the country, that were a little less touristy.
