COHUNU KOALA PARK

Cohunu Koala Park was a bit different. Enter at your own risk is what it says in the brochure. You really are close to Emus, Koalas, Dingoes, Eagles, etc. A bit disconcerting initially but once you get used to it it's ok. The Emus wander around and get really close but just ignore you. There's a jurassic park thing going on in the background as you'll see from the photos. Keeps you entertained. Kids loved it.

Hapless, stumpy armed Barney. Even Delia and Chloe got up close without being grabbed.

A Quokka. More common on Rottnest Island but many are kept in captivity on the mainland.

Kaitlyn, Chloe and Humpty Dumpty (from left to right).

Kailtyn was so pleased she was over 140cm and passed the criteria for getting her photo taken with a Koala.

Chloe has this photo on her Bebo and everybody says it looks like a cuddly toy. It's most definitely real but keep the wind-up going if you speak to her.

Michael, Delia, Chloe and Kaitlyn. Guess who's who?

She's not interested Mate. Don't waste your time.

Mum, hey Mum, do you think they can see me?

Really scary. This beast is 3ft tall and contained inside an excuse for a cage, which is 4ft tall and has no roof. Either its wings are clipped or it's just fed up plucking people's eyes out - but it never came near us (thankfully).

Mundaring Weir in the background. This is the main source of "surface" water for Perth.

Bush-tucker picnic site.

Perth City is only 30km away but looks to be more than a 25 min drive.

Sports Day

The warm up stages



Meditation prior to the starting whistle



2 x firsts a second and a third - SWEET

Canoe course

Michael and Chloe went on a canoe course on 16-09-07. Great fun and now looking for kayaks to paddle round the river.

SNAKE ATTACK

Called home from work to deal with an emergency situation!!!!

Snake has entered the premisesssss and is preventing anybody from entering the bathroom!!!

Brief examination and consultation with experts identified the snake as an eensy weensy baby legless lizard. Not even capable of scaring a field mouse.

Quickly removed from premises and all is well again.

National Park visits

On Saturday we went to Yanchep National Park. It was reasonably good but nothing like the brochure. The Koalas were very far away and it was difficult to see them, let alone photograph them. Saying that Kaitlyn loved it, particularly trying to spot the Koalas in the trees (but go to Caversham if you want to see them close up). There is a pond/lake at Yanchep and it may be better after September when there are boats for hire and the lake cruises start. We missed the cave tours, which are probably the main reason for coming here. Maybe next time.

Local plant-life at Yanchep

Delia loves these fuzzy haired fellows

Aboriginal experience. In the busier months there are shows; didgeridoo, talks, etc.

A local resident at Yanchep

Next 2 pics are from the cave. Shame we couldn't get in.

On Sunday we went to Avon Valley National Park and Walyunga National Park. Avon wasn't quite what we expected. Very outdoor and not the best if you have kids in tow.

Wilderness in winter. Greener than it is in summer.

Walyunga was great. Nice riverside walks with Kangaroos hopping around and parrots almost eating out of your hand. There are free public gas barbeques and picnic tables which I'm sure will be very popular in the warmer months.

Parrots are quite tame here

The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park

We went to Nambung National Park today. It's a 3 hour drive north of the city but worth it. You've probably seen it on Billy Connolly's World tour of Australia. The area we visited is named "The Pinnacles". If you want to find out a bit more about how the pinnacles were formed click on this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pinnacles_Desert

The scenery on the way was really nice given the time of year. Very green and in bloom. Very low fire risk as it is the start of Spring and the temperature was 24°C.

If you want to know what the wildlife is like check this out http://www.naturebase.net/component/option,com_hotproperty/task,view/id,61/Itemid,755/

Although the wildlife is more prevalent at dusk and dawn we did see a kangaroo and an emu. Unfortunately they were road kill and lying at the side of the road. We also saw a lizard crossing the road and plenty of parrots and cockatoos (which are as common as seagulls back home) but we didn't see the Gould's Lizard Michael was hoping to see. Maybe once it warms up a bit!

A familiar sight by the end of our road trip

Small pic but higher res than the rest if you click on it.

Delia reckons this rock looks like a really auld manny. Michael disagrees; he reckons it looks like his Dad.