It was the last night before Wayne and Vicky left us so last
night’s dinner needed to be on the mark … and thankfully it was. The euchre
that followed also made it into the hall of fame as one team after the other
would take the lead, fighting it out neck and neck. Ultimately, I think we won
one game each which, of course, put the team of Kev, Vicky and Maz at the head
of the leader board. Wayne, Gaz and I were valiant in defeat and actually claim
that the tournament is not yet finished and will be resumed next time the six
of us are together again. After farewelling Wayne and Vicky, I had hoped that I’d
get an early night, but of course I read in bed ‘til almost midnight … oh well.
The other excitement occurred when a cold change arrived at about 7pm,
resulting in rain, wind and a temperature drop of about 15 degrees.
It was an early start for Maz and I who were leaving at 7:50am
to travel to Darlington Point, a small town about 35 minutes from Griffith,
where there is a zoo, or indeed a wildlife park – Altina Wildlife Park. The
shorts and singlet tops were abandoned in favour of jeans and multiple layers –
it was freezing – a lot colder than we expected with an icy wind and cloudy
conditions. The zoo (sorry, I’m calling it a zoo), is structured around group
tours. You can’t just turn up at a random time, there are set times for tours,
well, two set times – 9am and 1pm. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, we chose he 9am
option.
The way it works is when they open at 9, you can walk
through the mini-zoo and check out the exhibits there – think Meerkats, Tasmanian
Devils, Lemurs, Monkeys and so on. There is also an educational inside exhibit
with some stuffed animals with info etc. You basically have half an hour to
wander around and check this out (which we certainly did successfully) before
you gather for the ‘wilder’ part of the tour.
Travelling on horse drawn carts, with the driver acting as
guide, you then spend a couple of hours touring the rest of the park – think Giraffe,
Rhino, Lions, Hyena, various goats, bison, deer, wild dogs etc. It was
fabulous! Our guide, Bec, and horse, Audrey, were exceptional. Audrey, at only
four years of age, is apparently still on L plates so she was carrying less
passengers as she’s still building up her muscles. That meant we had tons of
room on our cart and lots of opportunity to ask questions. Even though she’s a
novice, Audrey was admirable in the face of an aggressive run from a lion,
albeit on the other side of a fence, and an equally passionate run from the Clydesdale
stallion in a nearby paddock. She’s a star.
Bec was an impressive guide who is clearly very experienced
in relation to the animals on display. She did say, after determining none of
us had been there before, or were vets, that she could say anything and we
would have to believe her, and I suppose that was true. If she was telling
porkies, they were convincing! We heard a lot about their breeding program,
managing the animals, the tourist side of things, and the history of the park.
At the end of the tour, everyone was invited inside for a
cuppa and a bickie and we grabbed a couple of souvenirs. I would thoroughly
recommend this place – I think it may be the best ‘zoo’ I have ever experienced
– being guided around and not having to walk miles is a massive bonus. The cost
was pretty good too – an adult ticket was $38 which I thought was very
reasonable considering the level of engagement. Get along and visit if you are
nearby – just remember to ring and book first.
It was then back to the caravan park where Gaz & Kev had
apparently had a pretty quiet time of it, except they had, of course, gone into
town for coffee. They were booked for golf in the afternoon so it was the girls
turn to put in some quiet time – I finished one book, started another, went
through the 180 photos I took this morning and managed to cull them to 154 (OK,
that wasn’t so successful), and also caught the last of the Knights win when I
realised I could watch it on my phone using mobile data. That could come in
handy for the Jets tomorrow!
Once again, Gaz had one job to do at golf … take a photo! I’m
starting to think they don’t really go to golf… It’s leftovers for dinner
tonight and then our last day in Griffith tomorrow.
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