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| We became very popular when the grain bucket was passed to us! |
| Erin's South Australia Journal 12-08-02 Part 2 Next we went to an aviary where Paul had a large selection of parrots and other colorful birds, as well as an echidna (rare egg-laying mammal) and another rare ferret-looking animal. Many of Australia's indigenous species are dying out at the hands of introduced species like foxes and cats, so these won't likely be seen much longer in the wild. We also got to check out some other birds before walking up the drive to the sheep-shearing shed. There we watched Paul shear a ram. All the kids sat in a semi-circle nearby, and when Paul started off he did the animal's privates and rear first to get the yucky stuff off. The kids 'icked' and 'eeeuuwed' as he did this, then screamed when he laughingly tossed these dirty bits of wool amongst them! The parents around us seemed kinda shocked too, and one muttered 'may we have our penicillin shots now please?' But all in good fun. He finished the shearing and let the poor beast go, bleeding from some nicks in various areas. Glenn reminded me that it's just like shaving ourselves, except wool is a bit tougher to get through with a razor. Then Paul had some fun with the kids, setting a few on the spinning table to get them dizzy, then tossing them into a big pile of sheared wool. Paul's girlfriend groaned as he did this, knowing he will be complaining about his back tonight! She later confided that he is 45 and not as spry as he still thinks he is! For the final exhibition, we trekked back to the original paddock to hear a kookaburra named 'Giggles' do her distinctive laugh for us, then hold a python and a possum (not at the same time). All this in 2 1/2 hours, and a bargain at $8.50 AUD each. We both enjoyed the day, and were filthy to prove it! We washed off on the way out, then ate lunch as we drove back toward the highway. The weather was getting cold and starting to look like rain, so we headed back to the campervan to close up the roof vents - if we thought last night was cold, then a wet bed would change our religion! But when we arrived, I was really sleepy and we ended up napping rather than going to see a local fisherman feeding pelicans as we had planned. By the time I woke up 2 hours later, we just headed into Kingscote for dinner and brought it back to eat in the van, then I wrote journals till I got caught up - finally! |