I was recently at the Gold Coast for a conference. I’d planned to spend the Sunday with my friend before we caught our respective flights home. I wanted to go to Currumbin because I love birds and wanted to be surrounded by lorikeets. We arrived at 11 and left around 2. We missed both shows, and didn’t get to see the Birds of Prey show. Still, it was fun walking around a wildlife park that I hadn’t been to multiple times.
Normally, I find Koalas kinda boring. I mean, I’m Aussie. I go to a lot of wildlife sanctuaries. I bushwalk. I love koalas and they are fascinating, but they are a bit generic. All those thoughts go out the window when you see a Koala with it’s mum. The ones up here act differently to the ones in Victoria. They hang their legs off the branch, similar to what my cats do. It’s cute.
We also got to see this little guy. I fell in love with him. Apparently he (or she) is 8/9 months old. They stay in the pouch for 6 months so are pretty big by the time we see them. He was adorable. His ears kept on twitching. It was so different to see the younger ones up close
These lizards were everywhere! I know it’s no big deal but it’s always exciting when you see an animal you wouldn’t otherwise see. I’m not sure if there were multiple species of this lizard, or if this one just changed colour. Nonetheless, it was fun looking out for them.
I really enjoyed the area with the lizards. This water monitor was incredibly active. Seth, my five year old nephew, would have really loved this area. We spent a short while here and could have spent longer.
We saw these turtles above the pond, and got several photos of them in the water.
The birds
The birds were the real reason I was visiting. It doesn’t matter where I am, I have to check out what birds are at wildlife parks. I wasn’t disappointed, I got see many of my favourites as well as many new species. There were so many photography opportunities!
I screamed with excitement when I saw this guy. Red tailed black cockatoos are one of my favourite birds and I am in love with their call. This one was eating and it’s friend was hiding behind leaves but still. So majestic.
Fairly certain this guy is a common myna, which I don’t think I’ve seen before. It wasn’t caged so it definitely counts. Silver was telling me a lot of the bird names but my brain was both tired and full.
Bush Stone curlew. I saw a couple of these a few nights earlier, when Silver and I were talking on the beach. Beautiful birds, I need to learn more about them.
My new kingfisher friend was such a poser. I got some shows with beautiful bokeh.
I could have spend an hour photographing him from this angle but alas, we had a plane to catch.
I took several lorikeet shots to show my nephew. He is OBSESSED with them!
I now think Stilts are beautiful, too.
My review of Currumbin
We were there briefly and saw a lot of animals, but it was something of a let down. Many exhibits were being redone and so there were empty cages and blocked off areas. That’s fine, but it meant we backtracked a bit. It was hard to get around and find our way in. It was confusing in several respects and drove us nuts. I was stoked that we were able to store our bags while there before we went to the airport. The site said nothing about this, I had to phone up at 8am one morning before I left for the conference. I loved how I was able to see animals that I normally wouldn’t be able to see. It was great for photography. I think it is well worth visiting, provided you don’t have ginormous expectations. It’s flawed but still makes for a fun day out
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