Cleland Wildlife Park is one of the most friendly, trusting, caring, clean, awesome park/zoo I have ever experienced. They are widely known for their koalas, but Cleland is also home to over 130 species of native South Australian animals, many that are endangered, like the Tasmanian Devil. 
What separates Cleland from other animals parks is the   rare opportunity for the visitors to get up close and personal with the animals. By up close, I mean, you and the animals are one with each other. There are some animals behind fences, like the Dingo, Tasmanian Devil, Wombat and a few other smaller and endangered species, but the animals that we've come to know and love about Australia, like the Kangaroo, are all around the park just waiting for a scratch on the belly or a handful of food (that they sell upon arrival). 

Kangaroos and Wallabies welcomed a friendly touch and snack from all visitors and didn't seemed phased by the many kids running around. Oh, did I mention that this is their Spring Break? The park was crawling with families and this is a good opportunity to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the display of restraint and manners from kids of all ages. They weren't chasing or terrorizing the animals or screaming or even taunting them. These kids were respecting the animals! Having volunteered at the National Zoo for years, I can honestly say, that the word respect doesn't come to mind when dealing with children at our National Zoo, or many of the American zoo's and parks. 
The park puts a lot of trust in the visitors and from what I saw, I can see why. 
Along with kangaroos, visitors are also afforded the chance to get close with a koala. 

Getting a chance to see a koala was in itself a great opportunity, but to pet one??? That was the icing on the cake! If you've never touched a koala you are in for a surprise. Their fur is so dense and thick, much like you'd expect on the back of a sheep. Their eyes are itty bitty and that nose!!! Put them all together and you've got an animal that is quite unique. Koalas are all over, in fact in some places of the U.S. we have signs that warn us of deer crossing, or even duck crossing. Along the highways here, they are warned about koala crossing. Roger, our host of the B&B we are staying, said he hoped our first siting of a koala wasn't going to be on the road...as in .....road kill. 
In addition to the four legged critters, there are also a variety of birds. Most are free to come and go while others are located in an aviary which gives you a chance to finally see some of the birds that I've been wanting to see appear at our feeders here at the Amble B&B. I wouldn't expect a duck to waddle up, but you never know, ducks seem to be everywhere around here! 

Getting to the park was a bit hair raising for me. I'm still trying to get used to the car being driven on the left side of the road. Richard, my husband, has been great about taking the wheel and doing a pretty good job, (yes, there have been some 'oops' moments, but he's getting this whole thing down). As for me? Well, driving to the park is up a 'Hill' aka, smallish mountain. The roads are quite narrow and windy. I, of course am sitting on the left side with the mountain side thinking that we are going to scrape the sides. It looks like we are driving so close to the left side, but in reality, we aren't as close as I think we are. It really unnerves me. Coming down it appears we will plummet to our death right over the edge, because again, it's that whole left side hugging the edge thing. I don't like it, not one little bit. I digress, the park is in the mountains with a natural setting and each animal has a habitat that resembles their own. It's not free, but then, many things in life are not free and they do have to feed these guys. The fee is $22 per adult but well worth it, where else will you be able to see the likes of an endangered Tasmanian Devil, Dingo ,Echidna, nursing Kangaroos or Wombat?
It was a memorable day!

Hello from Adelaide! I'm here to present at the  26th Australian Computers in Education Conference (ACEC). I've never been here but have always dreamed of a day that I'd get to be one with the kangaroos, and as you can see by the picture, I can check this off my bucket list!
The trip from Washington DC is not a walk in the park. Without boring you about details, here are the highlights:
DC to LAX, about six hours. Pretty uneventful, left around 6:30 pm so much of the trip we were just ahead of the sunset though by the time we were over LA, it was dark. I have never been to Southern California and here about the traffic and I have to say, I was still surprised when I saw from the air, every highway in my view had cars bumper to bumper and this was at 11pm ! I wish I had more time to go through the airport, but no sooner had we landed we were off to catch the Qantas flight to Aussie. From what little I did see of the LAX, it was like going to an upscale shopping center! I've never seen so many wonderful stores in one place! Loved it, so I guess it was a good thing that we didn't have time to stay and shop. 
The Qantas plane was huge, an Airbus 380. It was a double decker bus with wings. That being said, my space was small and cramped. I had a window seat and felt squished! My husband in the center and a super fellow, George, was on the aisle. George made the trip interesting because he was from Melbourne and was a delight to talk to. He is an artist by trade and travels around the world restoring paintings. We spent a lot of time talking and soon the lights were out and we were supposed to sleep, but I couldn't. I had just come down with a cold so my nose was stuffy and I was feeling pretty lousy. Eventually (17 hours later), we got to Melbourne where we barely caught the connecting flight to Adelaide. It had been thirty hours since we left Manassas and we were ready to toss in the towel and head to our room. Between all the time changes (even from Melbourne to Adelaide) we had no clue what time it was, we just knew we were hungry, tired and excited to finally be on Aussie soil. 
We left D.C. on Thursday at 6:30 pm and arrived in our room, Amble at Hahndorf, on Saturday around noon. I was in bed by 7:30 pm that night and slept until 6 am on Sunday morning, which is today. Our host, and owner of Amble, Roger, spent the day giving us a personalized tour of the hills of Adelaide. We visited many beautiful wineries, beaches, and just drove the country side. One of the wineries included a sanctuary for kangaroos. It was there that I got to feed some of their long tailed - hopping residents. 

Things I've learned about Australia since my arrival.

• Aussies like Vegemite. It's a yeasty spread in a tube and they put it on toast.
  
• Peanut Butter is called Peanut Paste
• Coffee is pressed not brewed
• The lowest money denomination is a 5 cent piece/nickel. They don't have pennies, nor do they have a 1 dollar bill. They use 1 dollar coins and they have 2 dollar coin. The smallest paper bill is a 5. 
• Yes, the water does drain counter clock wise

• Yield signs are called "Give Way"
• Cookies are called biscuits though the word cookie is trending and catching on, making some native Aussies upset with the change.
• Daylight savings time is opposite of the U.S. We spring forward and fall back, where they spring back (next weekend, in fact) and fall forward. Next weekend the sun will rise at 4:30 a.m. so their daylight savings is at the front of their day, not the end. 
• Adelaide is home to the first nude beach in Australia, Maslin Beach. 
• Aussies don't tip. They pay their folks enough so tipping is not needed so they don't. We had lunch and dinner..no tips. Weird, but I'm good with that!

Stay tuned for more pictures and fun.