Dingos and Roos

To Port Campbell, Australia

With a misty and wet morning and no big goals for the day, we were quite content to sleep late, not rolling out until almost 11:00. Our first stop was a wildlife park we’d read about in one of our Great Ocean Road pamphlets. It was a surprisingly small place with a tiny dirt parking lot, just big enough for a half dozen vehicles. The man inside gave us the details and explained that this was not a zoo and, in fact, was still a work in progress. For a few extra dollars we could go into the dingo enclosure for some up close and personal time, which we happily signed up for.

The ubiquitos pink and grey Galah

I admit, I'm not entirely sure what the distinction was between an animal park and a zoo, but we enjoyed our time there very much. There were llamas, peacocks, emus, and wallabies in the first area. We also saw the back of a sleeping wombat -- much larger than I imagined, perhaps like a large beaver -- plus some impressive red deer and your common farmyard animals: sheep, horses donkeys, and chickens.

Evil eye from an emu

Our private viewing of the dingos turned out to be good fun. Dingos apparently have a very poor reputation in Australia likely influenced by an unfortunate and well publicized event in the eighties where a 3 month old baby was abducted and killed by a wild dingo, or so the story goes. Joseph, or guide, made sure we understood that the animals we were about to meet were 100% dingo and not dogs. We should, therefore, let them come to us and not the other way around. If they were to escape, according to Joseph, they were fully capable and would certainly hunt to survive. Finally, they are incredibly perceptive and unlike dogs will give you space if they sense fear as opposed to attacking. Any questions?

Luana and Negeeree

Of course it was all fine. These dingos were nothing if not dog like. The male, Negeeree, came and gave us a good sniff and a few licks. When we sat ourselves on a nearby log, he quickly jumped up and put his front paws on Dex’s lap. I myself received plenty of kisses. The female, Luana, was much more stand-offish and stayed mostly a few meters away.

Apparently, dingos are not native to Australia as the original land mammals are exclusively marsupials -- kangaroos, koalas, possums, wombats -- or monotremes, egg laying mammals -- platypus and echidnas. According to cave art, dingos have been around for at least 3,000 years and likely came from Southeast Asia -- presumably with early mariners from Indonesia.

We also learned that unlike wolves or other dogs, dingos are not pack animals but live in pairs. Another pair of dingos at the park had given birth a while back and after six months, one of the litter was still with them. Fortunately, the remaining “pup” was female so was able to stay in the same enclosure with the parents. If it were a male, the father and son would apparently have fought to the death.

We did a bit more driving for the rest of the day. Along with a hundred other camera wielding tourists, we stopped to see the well known "Twelve Apostles" rock formations along the rugged coast line. Up to this point, we'd had a relatively quiet excursions. A half hour later, we were in Port Campbell and found ourselves a powered sight in the Top Campground.

The Twelve Apostles

Meg found a TV in the common room for tennis viewing, when we heard of the unfortunate news that some deranged man had mowed down dozens of people in downtown Melbourne. The TV footage was in fact of the very streets and intersections we had been on just a few days ago. We had eaten lunch in the exact area of Bourke Street where he drove onto the side walk intentionally hitting 29 people. Incredibly horrible and sad. It was sobering to realize that it was only a matter of luck, or the grace of God, that some avoided the tragedy, while others ended up in his path.