The Day We Were Proud Parents for 10 Minutes - Alice Springs Roo Centre

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We spent the morning having a look around the town Alice Springs, and looking at the various Aboriginal craft shops. Then we made our way towards the amazing kangaroo Rescue Centre - where orphan Joey's have been rescued from their mother's pouches mainly from car accidents. If there has been a car accident and a kangaroo has been injured or died, it is important to check the mother's pouch in case she has any offspring that may have survived the incident. In summer a Joey can survive in the mother's pouch for a period of up to 3 days! The centre has rescued numerous breeds including the blue, red and rock kangaroos and also wallabies and is always looking out for volunteer fosterers. There is a huge need for these charity-funded organisations in Oz, as lots of kangaroo accidents take place. In addition rare eagles have also been injured/killed whilst feeding off dead kangaroos lying in the roads.

We were fortunate to hold Hannah an orphan Joey for a few minutes in a sack, whilst imitating the movement of a mother kangaroo! Some of the orphans were so comfortable that they fell asleep in people's arms! Apparently the Rock Wallaby can be a bit of a handful in the house as some sit on boiling kettles to keep warm. They are fed a diet of formulated milk and grass, then once old enough they are released back into the wild in groups to fend for themselves. It was an amazing experience to get so close to these wild adorable animals. Hannah tried to lick our faces - very affectionate!

Then in the afternoon we took our flight across to Cairns to stay in the very nice 'Bohemia Resort' - four bed dorms with a great pool. Weather very pleasant but lots of mosquitoes!

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Photos

Baby in a Bag
can we take one home with us?