Featherdale Wildlife Park

When we visited New Zealand in 2015, we rented a car at the Auckland Airport and were soon on the open highway. That strategy worked very well for a couple of nervous foreigners who were driving on the other side of the road for the first time in their lives so we applied the same strategy in Australia. We lugged our suitcases back to the Sydney Airport where we picked up a rental car and headed for Blue Mountains National Park.

What we didn't realize at the time is that Sydney is much, much larger than Auckland, and unlike Auckland, Sydney traffic doesn't thin out at the city limits. After leaving the airport, we were thrust into a long tunnel with narrow lanes surrounded by lots of other cars and big trucks. It was terrifying even after we emerged from the tunnel miles later, and the busy traffic continued almost all the way to Katoomba about 70 miles away.

It was a relief to pull off the highway for a visit to Featherdale Wildlife Park. The small park specializes in Australian animals and reptiles. Although the park does not have the sort of spacious environments that characterize more modern zoos, it does have a staff of friendly keepers who seem to be committed to doing their best.

One of the first birds we saw when we entered was this sweet Laughing Kookaburra in the picture on the left below. The birds in the picture on the right are owls.

The animal below that looks like it is deep in contemplation is a wombat.

Koalas are perhaps the stars at Featherdale. The young man who was looking after several that day told us that they usually stay high in the trees to avoid predators and that they sleep most of the time. It is against the law to hold a koala in much of Australia, but at Featherdale you can pose for pictures with a koala who is sitting on a branch in a small tree if you are willing to pay for the privilege. A keeper stands close by to supervise, and you can touch but not hug the creature. There are quite a few koalas so no animal stays in the picture-taking area very long.

A number of kangaroos roam about more or less free. If you feed them, they will adore you for as long as the food lasts.

The curious-looking animal on the left below is a short-beaked echidna. It is the only egg-laying mammal in the world besides the platypus. The animal on the right is a Tasmanian Devil. Its temperament seemed completely opposite to the koala. It was constantly in motion and looked like it could easily become agitated.

When I first heard about these flightless birds, I thought someone was making up stories. They are called Southern Cassowaries. Adult females, which are larger than males, are generally 5-6 feet tall and weigh about 130 pounds. Although the bird is generally reclusive, it could easily kill or cause great damage to a human with its sharp claws if provoked.

The little penguins on the left below live on the coast of Southern Australia. The rodent of unusual size is called a Quokka.

There were a lot of colorful birds at Featherdale.

These good-looking canines are dingos.

We spent a pleasant couple of hours wandering around the park. Then we gritted our teeth, returned to the highway, and traveled the rest of the way to Katoomba. It felt wonderful to relax over drinks in the reception area of our hotel that evening