Phillip Island
Many years ago, before I built my house at Ghin Ghin, Sue and I went on a holiday to Phillip Island in Victoria, Australia.
I must confess that this was a somewhat unusual experience for me, since I do not tend to take holidays.
With the exception of a number of visits to casinos in my younger days, I have not taken a holiday since I was a child!
Nonetheless, Sue and I went to Phillip Island, taking in the various sights - including a trip around the Island in a single-engine Cessna aircraft.
The pilot and the two of us, seeing the sights from the air, was a great deal of fun.
However, probably one of the happiest memories of that trip was when we visited a nature reserve.
Even back then Sue and I lived in rural Victoria, so we were somewhat used to seeing native creatures - kangaroos, wombats and so forth. But actually getting up close and personal with them, being able to hand-feed them, was a new experience - well, at least until Gangstar came into our lives.
The animals at the Reserve were obviously very accustomed to having human visitors - and being fed by them. You could even buy little bags of food to give to them.
Of course there were some restrictions, particularly as far as contact with the Tasmanian Devils and Dingoes were concerned!
The beasties with the teeth, and perhaps more of an inclination to use them, were kept safely fenced off from the visitors. You could look, but not touch.
As far as the rest of the creatures were concerned, which included kangaroos, wombats, echidnas and various birds, you could walk among them, feed them and even pet them.
[Actually, as I recall an Emu tried to get a little frisky with Sue - not dangerously so, just a little too familiar!]
The kangaroos and wombats were especially tame, and more than happy to associate with people and receive a little snack from them.
It was a really lovely experience to sit down amongst these creatures, creatures who did not, however unreasonably based on humanity's treatment of their wild kindred, fear us.
Some, like the Emu (and the Kangaroo who is certain Sue must have something else to eat left in that bag!), were a little more pushy than others, but it was still a lovely day's outing.
