On Thursday, we decided to take an "easy" beach day up the coast at Kingscliff. We spent some time checking out the shops along the main street, before heading down to the beach. When we were looking around a bookstore, we got to chatting with the clerk and she suggested that we visit the Wildlife Sanctuary in Currumbin, another 15 minutes up the coast. After checking it out online, we decided to give it a go on Friday - turns out it was a very good decision.
The Sanctuary is staffed mostly by volunteers, so most of the monies collected at the gate go back into the operation. During the visit, we came across a lizard lounging on a bench (he was real), as well as a python that the girls had fun with (check out their pages!). One of the most interesting features of the parks/zoos we have visited in Australia (which those in Quebec would do well to copy!) was the interactive shows put on. In these presentations, staff introduce visitors to the animals in more detail. This type of "hands on" experience is great, as it gives visitors a much better grasp of an animal's abilities and role I their environment - we all loved these shows! Two examples on this page are the sheep shearing (accompanied by plenty of hokey humour, but where the girls finally got to see a sheep being sheared) and a presentation by local aboriginal dancers of their culture. The leader of the troupe provided the historical and cultural context of each song, dance and exhibition - guess who got "volunteered" to participate in the show's finale? This was definitely the highlight of our visit!!!!! Check out the videos below.
The Sanctuary is staffed mostly by volunteers, so most of the monies collected at the gate go back into the operation. During the visit, we came across a lizard lounging on a bench (he was real), as well as a python that the girls had fun with (check out their pages!). One of the most interesting features of the parks/zoos we have visited in Australia (which those in Quebec would do well to copy!) was the interactive shows put on. In these presentations, staff introduce visitors to the animals in more detail. This type of "hands on" experience is great, as it gives visitors a much better grasp of an animal's abilities and role I their environment - we all loved these shows! Two examples on this page are the sheep shearing (accompanied by plenty of hokey humour, but where the girls finally got to see a sheep being sheared) and a presentation by local aboriginal dancers of their culture. The leader of the troupe provided the historical and cultural context of each song, dance and exhibition - guess who got "volunteered" to participate in the show's finale? This was definitely the highlight of our visit!!!!! Check out the videos below.
Here is a short clip of the welcoming dance that that the troupe performed. Days later, we still have it in or heads, and the girls can sing a part of it.
Here is a short clip of a much longer piece in which the player demonstrated various techniques that are used to create different effects - very cool to finally see this in person so close!