I mentioned the Serendip Sanctuary in an earlier blog. The other afternoon I took my bike for a ride and went exploring inside the sanctuary's gates. It only took a couple hours to walk the prescribed trials, but it was an afternoon I'll remember.By far the best part were the walk-through enclosures. It was just you and the animals with no fences in between. I liked the kangaroos. They were all nervous looking young joeys and an older chill kangaroo (i.e. harmless). I was literally 2 feet away from them. I bent down to have a little chat with the joey, but the old fella snorted at me. I got the message and moved on.
Next was the Brolga enclosure with a territorial male who didn't seem to like me walking his perimeter. Again, I got the message and moved on. They should really tell people to go in groups on this thing - I would have felt less vulnerable in a pack. I went quicker through the next enclosures and only stopped to wonder at the amazing looking tawny frog mouth - who I have just at this moment realized was in defensive mode: see caption in the picture gallery.
See, this is exactly what I was thinking while I was walking around the sanctuary. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into and I'm walking around by myself. I suffered bull ants bites because I stopped to look at the map directly on top of an ant colony. When you walk over top they all come storming out to find the meaning of the disturbance and aren't afraid to show their displeasure. Within seconds my sneakers were covered in ants and they were heading up my legs. Lesson learned. From then on I looked down before standing still.
On the other hand, I was glad to interact with some of the natural scenery. The palm trees dotting Geelong are not native. The grass is imported from Mexico. The picturesque trees of Melbourne are native to England. The Victorian country side is covered with padlocks. A stranger would never know Victoria's natural habitat unless you know where to look. At home, I remind people about Mark Kurlandsky's comment in The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shell. Looking down from the highways around North Jersey and Manhattan you can glimpse the remains of New York's wetlands.
At the sanctuary, I was glad to have the same glimpse of untamed Geelong. The sanctuary seemed zoo-like with its animal enclosures, until I walked to a more remote area of the park. I saw a sacred ibis in full flight. How amazing. This is a bird I've seen before, but they are always grounded or stuffed. At Serendip, the birds and animals live naturally. I was 5ft away from a group of emus. I have no idea if this is too close for safety, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.
