January 30, 2008
First encounters with animals in the wild are one of the great joys of travel, especially when travel involves getting out of the cities and into the parks and reserves. Australia has provided more than its share of beasts, like gray kangaroos, echidnas and koalas, just to name a few. Here is a very brief example of such an episode.
On the first day in Port Fairy we decided to stroll around the nearby Griffith's Island. There was a slight drizzle, which left us nearly alone on the track. A few minutes into the walk, the trail bent inland and it was here that we met a new (to us) animal.
It saw us and made a weak attempt to hide behind some convenient shrubbery:
Then, it pretended we weren't there and casually (read: awkwardly) reached backwards to graze:
Since this didn't work, it took on a serious look:
Then, after consenting to have several more pictures taken, it hopped off the trail.
It was a wallaby--a sort of small kangaroo, I learned later from the tourist information office. I returned to the island the next day and saw a few more. And, took this picture, which I have instructed Leah to show me if I'm ever feeling down:
The end.
