What would a visit to Australia be without seeing a can of XXXX, a kangaroo and at least one koala? The Gold Coast is home to two well-known wildlife reserves, namely The David Fleay Wildlife Reserve and the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary. We’ve been to both on previous visits and decided on a visit to Fleay‘s simply because it’s a lot smaller and requires less walking.
David Fleay was an Australian naturalist who pioneered the captive breeding of endangered species, and was the first person to breed platypus in captivity. The park provides a pleasant environment, replete with extensive boardwalks that provide a pathway among the various enclosures.
Arriving at Fleay‘s, the first sign I noticed was this rather prominent one:
It’s not my intent to discredit what I’m constantly being told about how safe and wonderful Australia is. Let’s face it: bad things happen everywhere. Australians do lock their homes, have alarms and ensure their cars aren’t vandalized at night by securing them in a lock-up garage or their driveway. When questioned about this behaviour, the most likely response is that petty theft is committed by drug addicts. Which leads me to another very interesting line of argument I’ll dispense with for now. Suffice to say that drug abuse in Australia is pretty much out of control. (Like it probably is anywhere else).
Fleay‘s has not been maintained well. It’s similar to the Johannesburg Zoo some years back. The number of visitors may be an indication that all is not well. Many enclosures are under repair and without inhabitants, while the number of weird and wonderful creatures is really low and not very impressive. From a previous visit, I remember enclosures being far less restrictive with regard to visitors having access to take photographs and a decent view of the animals. I fear that the ever-present litigous nature of Australia is forcing public attractions, like Fleay‘s, to be fearful of potential liabilities due to injuries and mishaps. It’s a pity, and no positive sign for the promotion of Australian nature reserves.
We did get to see some critters.
Should you have the need to check out some Australian wildlife on the Gold Coast, visit Currumbin. Hopefully, it’s in a better condition than Fleay‘s.
Finding a XXXX, luckily, presents no problem at all… Much easier to spot, too!
