ove up into the Yarra Valley which is wine country and gorgeous. We stopped by Yering Station which is Victoria's oldest winery. There was a sculpture exhibition taking place all over the grounds. There were little wooden men/ monstrous creatures that I liked. I should have written down the artist's name and the title because I can't remember for sure but I think it was called "The Damned" and then had something about Hieronymus Bosch. How is that for remembering the details??We headed 
on up to Healsville and the first thing we saw when we got there was a BIG koala (cheesy tourist photo YAY!) I did learn alot more about my favorite Australians. I have been corrected many, many times for calling a koala a bear. I know, I know! They are marsupials, not bears. Their closest actual relative is the wombat. Both wombats and koalas have hard cartilage plates in the backsides. The wombat u
ses hers for defense against predators. With her plated behind the wombat can squish any predator that tries to enter her burrow. The koala's is for comfort. The plate makes it much easier to sit on small branches for long periods of time. The other popular misconception is that eucalyptus makes koalas drunk. It is not true. Eucalyptus doesn't contain a whole lot of nourishment. Koalas appear drunk or lazy because they have developed a low energy lifestyle to compensate for their extremely low energy diet. Hamish the koala was out and about and doing some bellowing (or the koala mating call). It sounds like loud, grunty burping but I hear the lady koalas love it.
on up to Healsville and the first thing we saw when we got there was a BIG koala (cheesy tourist photo YAY!) I did learn alot more about my favorite Australians. I have been corrected many, many times for calling a koala a bear. I know, I know! They are marsupials, not bears. Their closest actual relative is the wombat. Both wombats and koalas have hard cartilage plates in the backsides. The wombat u
ses hers for defense against predators. With her plated behind the wombat can squish any predator that tries to enter her burrow. The koala's is for comfort. The plate makes it much easier to sit on small branches for long periods of time. The other popular misconception is that eucalyptus makes koalas drunk. It is not true. Eucalyptus doesn't contain a whole lot of nourishment. Koalas appear drunk or lazy because they have developed a low energy lifestyle to compensate for their extremely low energy diet. Hamish the koala was out and about and doing some bellowing (or the koala mating call). It sounds like loud, grunty burping but I hear the lady koalas love it. Heale
sville Sanctuary has been around since the 1930's and cares for over 1500 injured or orphaned wild animals every year. They have done a lot of work with the platypus including building special platypusaries which are integral for breeding. On November 5, 1943, "Corrie" the platypus was born. Although other scientists and sanctuaries have tried to breed platypus in captivity, no one has bred and reared a platypus until 1999 when Healesville Sanctuary had success again.
sville Sanctuary has been around since the 1930's and cares for over 1500 injured or orphaned wild animals every year. They have done a lot of work with the platypus including building special platypusaries which are integral for breeding. On November 5, 1943, "Corrie" the platypus was born. Although other scientists and sanctuaries have tried to breed platypus in captivity, no one has bred and reared a platypus until 1999 when Healesville Sanctuary had success again. The best part of the visit to the 
sanctuary was the Birds of Prey show (and it takes something pretty special to beat the koalas). The show focuses on Australian raptors which are birds that catch prey with their claws. I thought Bernice, the Black Breasted Buzzard would be the show stealer. Bernice did a little demonstration showing how she uses a rock to break open an egg and get some food. Emu eggs are a favorite of Black Breasted Buzzards in the wild. I was sure Bernice would be my favorite but no. Out came the Wedge-tailed Eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in the world. She was massive (the girl wedge-tails are bigger than the boys). So, she's flying around and I am taking pictures when Woohoo she
is coming right towards us. Whoosh and wack! She flew right over our heads hitting the side of my face with her wing. It was really cool if not a little scary. She was beautiful. All of the birds were trained to return to there homes when the audience clapped. After the birdshow we went searching for the Lyrebird but even in an enclosed space I couldn't see one. I don't know if I will ever see a Lyrebird in real life but hopefully someday.
sanctuary was the Birds of Prey show (and it takes something pretty special to beat the koalas). The show focuses on Australian raptors which are birds that catch prey with their claws. I thought Bernice, the Black Breasted Buzzard would be the show stealer. Bernice did a little demonstration showing how she uses a rock to break open an egg and get some food. Emu eggs are a favorite of Black Breasted Buzzards in the wild. I was sure Bernice would be my favorite but no. Out came the Wedge-tailed Eagle, one of the largest birds of prey in the world. She was massive (the girl wedge-tails are bigger than the boys). So, she's flying around and I am taking pictures when Woohoo she
is coming right towards us. Whoosh and wack! She flew right over our heads hitting the side of my face with her wing. It was really cool if not a little scary. She was beautiful. All of the birds were trained to return to there homes when the audience clapped. After the birdshow we went searching for the Lyrebird but even in an enclosed space I couldn't see one. I don't know if I will ever see a Lyrebird in real life but hopefully someday.
