Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Alice Springs Desert Park

Nestled at the foot of the West MacDonnell range is Alice Springs Desert Park, a fantastic little zoo dedicated to the wildlife found in the center of Australia. The park is divided into three areas: one for the Red Centre, one for desert rivers, and one for the woodland areas. This last blends nicely into the West MacDonnell National Park, and the zoo had several native animals wandering around visiting the area in addition to the ones in cages.
They have quite a variety. This was the first time I'd heard of a numbat, let alone seen one.

The Red Centre area is somewhat different from what we saw on the way up, mainly due to the fact that they maintain it so that it looks like it would after a rainstorm had come through. This means that all the grasses and flowers are blooming, which is quite a sight.
They also have an excellent bird show, showing off the local hawks and the tool using birds getting into emu eggs. They also have several aviaries. Any zoo with desert creatures has to have a nocturnal house to show off the small mammals like this Bilby that only come out at night.

After the park, it was time to say goodbye to the center of Australia and head back to the northeast. Next stop, Cairns!

1 comment:

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