Petting a Koala at the Cairns Night Zoo

            Australia is more than kangaroos and koalas. The wildlife on land and in the sea is as diverse as anywhere else on earth. And at the same time, it’s downright prehistoric.

            Australia was a part of a super continent, (called Gondwanaland) which included Antarctica, South America and much of Asia. When Australia separated, the marsupials (pouched mammals) happened to have little competition, and continued to thrive – to this day. Of course, crocodiles lived side by side with dinosaurs, as did much of the primitive plant species – such as ferns – still found in abundance in Australia. Also, the land Down Under boasts the most numerous venomous snake and spider species, including a spider capable of eating small birds.

            People think of Australia and they may think of the great expanse in the center and northwestern part of the country often called the outback. But in the northeast, there is jungle. It’s just as real as any jungle on the planet – but the wildlife is generally unique to Australia.

            “The wet tropics have the highest biodiversity in Australia,” says Jeremy Little, tour guide and biologist with Wait-A-While Tours.

Cassowary

            “Some people are amazed at what we can possibly see in the rain forest if we are very, very lucky,” he says. ‘There’s the southern Cassowary (a large and brightly colored flightless bird, reminiscent of the velociraptor dinosaur seen in Jurassic Park), and the Lumholtz tree kangaroo. “It sounds ridiculous, but we have two species of tree kangaroo in Australia, they’ve actually adapted to life in the trees. Another animal we may see is the missing link in the evolution of mammals; the egg laying mammals, the platypus and echidnas. When the first specimens of the odd looking creature called the platypus were sent to Europe, the scientists there didn’t believe it – they thought it was a practical joke.” The water going platypus is found in fast moving streams, and resembles an animal put together by committee, part duck, part beaver.

A Platypus

            No wonder, tourist most often come away with an impression Little simply says is “wow.” “People don’t realize that some of these creatures even exist, and now they’re seeing them in the wild.”

            If you prefer a tamer way to see the wildlife, you can simply visit the Cairns Night Zoo. Here, some koalas and wallaby’s (a relative of the kangaroo) are habituated to people, and can be petted. Organize a visit in advance, and it can include dinner as well as the night zoo tours, combined with Australian folk music.

            The Great Barrier Reef is found off the northeast coast of the continent, and like all reef’s in the world, it’s prone to planet changes, over-fishing and pollution. An inch of coral may take decades to grow; reefs are slow at regenerating once damaged. The good news is that the Great Barrier Reef – compared to most reefs in the world – is holding its own through its sheer size as well as well as oversight from the government. The Great Barrier Reef, which is about as large as the state of Texas in all, is really comprised of about 2,500 individual reefs. When one area in the system is damaged the government closes it down for many years, as long as is needed to recover. 

            Still, Glenn Docherty, a marine biologist and a trip director on Coral Princess Cruises says that the reef is not immune to the stresses of over-fishing and pollution.

            Docherty takes snorkeling and diving tourists into the reef. “The reef offers a different adventure every time,” he says, an advantage to a multi-day trip. Lots of brightly colored small fish including butterfly, angel and parrot fish, are guaranteed to be seen as are an array of brightly colored coral.

            Docherty says tourists are concerned about sharks and even more so about sting rays, since Steve Irwin was killed by one. “The shark species we’re most likely to encounter in the reef aren’t aggressive to people,” he says. ‘And sting rays only sting when they feel threatened. While I was a big fan of Steve Irwin’s, he must have put the sting ray in a position where it felt the need to defend itself, a freak accident.”

            If tourists are very lucky they may see various water mammals, such as dugongs (an Eastern hemisphere version of the manatee), whales or dolphins. Sometimes barracudas, eels and large grouper are also seen – none endanger divers or snorkelers.

             “People are amazed by the diversity and colors of the Barrier Reef,” says Docherty. “We had one lady who has wanted to come here for 40 years, and said, it was so much better than she expected. With our small boats, Coral Princess can get into places where larger vessels can’t.”

            Learn more about Coral Princess tours at www.coralprincess.com.au; Wait-A-While rainforest tours at www.waitawhile.com.au, and the Cairns Night Zoo at www.cairnsnightzoo.com/home.htm.