Day 314 Snakes Down Under

Thursday 10 November


Catch up time! We've had a busy few days. so, going back...it's Thursday.....I fancied seeing the snake and reptile park that Gaz and Vicky had visited a few weeks ago so we set off for the hours drive timed for the venomous snake show at 12.30.  The park itself is quite small & called Snakes Down Under.   The three staff are very helpful and informative.  The owners family hail from Pontadawe although he is Australian.  The snake demonstration was amazing.  The five most venomous snakes in Australia were individually displayed and handled.  They had all been hand reared but it was unnerving watching them slide up the owner, Ian Jenkins' arm. 

We then saw the crocodile feeding. Mack the big male was incredibly fast when he went for the food or the big yellow plastic toy they had for him. That was scary too.  Finally after a picnic lunch we handled one of the baby crocs and admired its very soft skin and then wandered around the pens holding various reptiles and some tree frogs.

Tree Frog

Next stop was a huge, 2 acre, walk through aviary a few miles up the road.  That was less dramatic but really you needed to spend time sitting and watching as there were lots of birds hidden up in the trees in there. It was very hot so we just walked the path.  The star of the show was Birdie, a lorikeet who clambered over to us as we were looking at a macaw in a cage and the climbed onto my wrist and started licking me.  we reckoned he was after salt.  He also loved having his neck scratched!

By the time we got home I was shattered! Ian had slept in the car and Gaz when we got home but I didn't.  We'd planned a bbq on the seafront but I was too tired to enjoy it.  I let the others do the work.  There are free public gaz bbq's all along the front. It was fun so we'll do it again next week, hopefully when I'm less tired.  I was in bed and asleep by 8 o'clock!

Food!

Cleaning Up