Koala

Crocodiles just hangin' out.  They were keen on cuddling with me but I was not in the mood

The heat and humidity of Cairns came to an end.   It is the rainy season in Cairns and we have seen very little rain.   Apparently, according to the locals, the rainforest requires rain.   Isn’t science amazing that they could figure that out?  The rainy season is about six weeks late and people are getting worried. 

Worry no more!  

The humidity finally went over the threshold and became rain.  We figured that since it was raining the temperature would drop and we would no longer stick to everything we touched.  Do you remember me telling you about how warm the ocean is around Cairns?  Well, so is the rain.  It is like taking a warm shower – all that is required is the shampoo.  At home, when it rains, you know that you will get cold and wet and that it is going to be miserable for days or even weeks.   In Cairns it rains buckets until the streets are all underwater – you will get wet, but not cold and in forty-five minutes it is all over.  Ten minutes later the streets are dry and you are sticking to things again.

There is a town near Cairns called Kuranda and it is heavily promoted as a place to go when visiting this area.  It calls itself “Village in the Rainforest” which really describes its location rather than what its about.  There are multiple excursions marketed here that have you go to Kuranda on the scenic train there and return on the Skyrail – which is like a ski lift gondola that takes you over the rainforest.  These excursions all cost a major body part or two.  When I asked some of the locals what there is there they all seemed pretty vague and said things like, “It used to be a hippie place once…” Sounds like Saltspring.

Koalas just hangin' out doing what Koalas do best -just hang out.

Telen found out that they have Koalas.

We caught the bus to Kuranda the next day.  Telen figured out that if we caught the bus there and back it would only cost about $10.00 each.  It actually turned out to be $8.00 each.  This shows that she is the brains of the outfit and I am just along for the heavy lifting. 

The term “tourist trap” barely scratches the surface.   Imagine paying a vast sum of money to take a train to somewhere for the privilege of shopping in a hundred little souvenir shops all selling the same souvenirs.  They sold T-shirts with sketchy sayings on them that you would never, ever wear again, they sold fake Crocodile Dundee hats, they sold Didgeridoos that no one would ever fit in their luggage and all manner of cheap brightly coloured unidentifiable items.

But they had Koalas.

 Koala just being cute.

We went to see the Koalas.  Koalas have an interesting evolutionary development.  Since they live exclusively on eucalyptus leaves that have very poor nutritional value they have to conserve energy.  They do this by sleeping a lot and by cutting down on the use of one of the most energy expensive organs in the body.  The brain.  Over the millennia they have reduced the size of their brain to about the size of a walnut.  But they are cute.  It brings to mind some girls I know…

Like those girls, they stress easily.  The Koala handler assured us that the Koalas you could handle were used to people and actually enjoyed being cuddled.  So Telen wanted to hold one and get her photo taken while doing so.  No problem.  A little money please and Bob’s your uncle.

Unfortunately they did not take into consideration the family in front of us.  They were either Korean or Chinese and they really, really wanted their son to have his photo taken with the Koala.  I am not sure he wanted the photo as much as his parents did – in fact, I am sure of it.  He was standing up there against the photo backdrop and his parents and his brother were all giving him advice in the way that Koreans and Chinese do.  Yelling it all at the same time.  I was getting stressed.   The photographer and the handler got him to stand in a certain pose and tried to get him to hold the Koala.   As soon as he touched the Koala he jumped back and nearly dropped the poor little creature. 

Now everyone was stressed.  The volume from the family increased and they started waving their hands around.  The handler was stressed about the Koala.  The boy was stressed about having to hold the Koala.  The photographer was stressed because she had other people waiting.  We were stressed because the situation was coming off the rails and the noise level was well above the WCB safe level.  The Koala?  Did you know that when Koalas are stressed they cry like a baby?  Part of the walnut brain thingy.  This poor Koala was crying and rolling her head back and forth just like a human baby.  The seething handler quickly took the crying Koala back into her enclosure and we did not see either of them again.

Telen and Tam.  Both being very cute.  Tam is 4 years old and smells like Eucalyptus.  

Another handler came out with another Koala who seemed calm and alert and really responded positively to Telen stroking her back.  She cuddled right into Telen and they had an instant bond.  The problem came when the handler wanted to put the Koala back into her enclosure.   Neither Telen nor the Koala was willing to co-operate.   I had to threaten to bring back the Korean family.  That was probably the fastest either of them ever moved.  Even the photographer broke out into a cold sweat.   I told them I was only kidding but the Koala glared at me as I slunk away anyway.

Kangaroos.  We did see some wild ones but could not get close enough to get a good photo.  Really, we did!