The Wong Couple :: Sydney Photographers

It really makes me mad when people feed wild animals, although I’ll admit that it was really fun to be able to walk right up to these Wallabies and pet them! (OK, maybe we shouldn’t have pet them, but it was clearly way too late to reverse any damage done to these wallabies through human contact, and plus, how can you resist?) They are all over the beaches, constantly grazing on the grass, in Murramarang National Park; this photo was taken at Pebbly Beach. After presumably daily feedings of half-loaves of raisin bread (we should have said something) and other processed carbohydrates (and some hand-picked leaves from small children… at least it’s their own food) these wallabies are so tame they act like you’re invisible. You can approach them, sit down next to them, pet them, pat their backs, hug them, and they don’t even bat an eye. Though they did look a bit inquisitive when Jeff hopped toward them Kanga-style. Murramarang was also filled with several species of gorgeous colorful parrots that also didn’t mind being approached much. We also had our first encounter with a few adorable Possums (considerably cuter than their American counterparts, Opossums). It’s a good thing they are nocturnal and don’t seem to have yet had a taste of human delicacies because they are very shy– the reason that we don’t have any photosBut click on the picture above or below to see more from our trip. Pebbly Beach is where we camped on our way back (along the South Coast) from Kosciuszko National Park.

On one of the last days of our trip, we visited the Thredbo River near dusk, in an attempt to see the “abundance of platypus” dwelling there according to our park guide from the visitor center. We sat by the side of the river with some books until we heard a decently loud splash directly in front of us on the opposite side of the river. We looked up to see a slithery form move amongst the branches of a low bush. “That was a snake!” we both said simultaneously. We continued to watch as several more of these serpent-like creatures (or maybe the same creature) partially surfaced, bobbing up and down for a few seconds before arching its back and diving back into the water. Well, we came to see platypus, but we get to see a strange Australian water snake… (Erin shudders). But, after some closer inspection (and, OK, the joyous cries of some preschool children) these deadly snakes turned out to be just a few cuddly platypoda coming up for air. Apologies for the crappy photo above.

After consulting Wikipedia to determine the correct plural for the cute creatures, we learned that in fact “The male platypus has venomous ankle spurs which produce a cocktail of venom…” Hmm. I guess in Australia, even the cutest and most innocuous-looking creatures can pump you full of venom. Good thing we didn’t try to pet them.

Fortunately, creepy crawly snakes weren’t the only creatures we saw at Kosciuszko. We were greeted Christmas morning with a brief sighting of some timid Wallabies on our way to the Yarrangobilly caves. They seemed quite timid and kept their distance for some time, but then the largest of the three suddenly hopped up a hill toward us and the others followed. At first we thought it was an act of aggression– maybe they were being territorial? But then it hit us that it was probably the granola bars we had just unwrapped. Once they got closer we realized the big guy was actually quite little. How cute! We ran into a few more throughout the park.

The photo above is not a photo we plagiarised off the internet. On the contrary, it is an actual photo taken with my pocket digital camera, which, mind you, does not have an extraordinary zoom range. We encountered this harmless-looking snake (okay, Erin and I were not in agreement on whether or not it looked harmless) after setting up our tent at a campsite in Kosciuszko National Park. The campsite, by the way, was one of the best we’ve ever had– an open area (no numbered campsites) surrounded on three sides by water, within screaming distance of only two other campers, completely isolated and “one” with nature. After a few minutes of sunbathing, the snake slithered it’s way over toward our tent, where it disappeared into a tree. Excited about my first encounter with Australia’s wildlife, I snapped a few photos and, just to be on the safe side (and to satisfy my morbid curiosity), showed the photos to a ranger so he could identify it. Without alarm, he easily identified it as the common (or eastern) brown snake and just “one of the world’s most venemous snakes.” Indeed, this snake species is responsible for the most snakebite deaths in Australia. Apparently they are very fast and aggressive, and easily startled. Their venom, even a juvenile’s, can kill a human within an hour. Fortunately, despite camping there for three days, that was our last encounter with our scaly friend.

With time off for Christmas, Boxing Day, and Canon Day (27th Dec this year) for me (Erin had two weeks off) we decided to take a trip to the top of Australia in Kosciuszko National Park– about 5-6 hour’s drive southwest of Sydney. It was here where we had our first encounters with some of the deadly and cuddly creatures of this island continent. But the highlight of the park is Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak. With no prior training, no ropes or harnesses, we are proud to say we have scaled this monstrous hill. Sure, it not as big as the world’s (and Asia’s) tallest mountain, Mt Everest, at 8850 meters. Nor is it as high as the highest in South America, Mt Aconcagua (6960 m), or the highest in North America, Mt McKinley (6194 m). Okay, it’s shorter than Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa, at 5895 meters. It’s even shorter than Europe’s highest, Mt Elbrus (5642 m). Yep, it’s not quite as high as Mt Vinson Massif in Antartica either (4897 m). Alright alright, Mt Kosciuszko comes in at a measly 2228 meters (and we did take a chairlift part of the way) but we have to start somewhere, okay? The national park is also home to the Yarrangobilly caves, which are quite spectacular. Click on for photos…