A Visit to Peel Zoo

April 23, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
6 Comments

KangarooOne of the most memorable parts of our family holiday last week was visiting Peel Zoo which is just an hour south of Perth in Pinjarra. We were staying at Fairbridge Village for the week so we were much closer.

Peel Zoo is located 10 minutes from Mandurah and 60 minutes from Perth Zoo. The zoo provides a hands on experience for its visitors. It is a privately funded zoo, focusing on education and conservation, and a wonderful place to spend a day. The zoo is constantly expanding, taking on more animals, and working with the community to protect and conserve local wildlife.

I must admit that I wasn’t totally convinced that the visit would be worthwhile. We’ve got a family membership to Perth Zoo which is a much bigger zoo with a far wider diversity of animals. There’s always so much to see at Perth Zoo that I felt I’d be disappointed by the very much smaller Peel Zoo. I needn’t have worried.

The big difference with Peel Zoo is the fact that you can get up close and personal with the lodgers. I can’t describe how wonderful it is to stroke a kangaroo. They really are the most beautiful animal and the roos at Peel Zoo are so incredibly tame. Their fur is so soft and I could sit around feeding them all day.

As well as patting kangaroos we got to feed and stroke an emu, some deer, and several other beasts.

While walking through the giant aviary I ended up with a bird on each shoulder. Neither of them were keen on going anywhere. They were quite content to use me as a perch for the rest of the day. Maybe they were hoping I’d just walk out so that they could escape.

At the end of our visit one of the zoo keepers very kindly introduced Emily, James and their cousins to one of the resident snakes. It was a delight to see how much she enjoyed sharing her friends with the children.

If you’re ever in the Pinjarra area I can heartily recommend a visit to the Peel Zoo. If you’re in the Perth area, make a day of it. Head down to the Pinjarra Bakery & Patisserie and enjoy some of their award winning goodies, then spend the afternoon meeting the locals at Peel Zoo.



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Ordinary or Extraordinary?

April 23, 2010
by Rodney Olsen
2 Comments

Do you ever have those moments when the ordinary becomes the extraordinary; where things that you encounter every day become brand new?

I cycle beside the river every morning on my way to work and it’s always enjoyable but on some days it just shouts out to be noticed.

As soon as I started crossing Shelley Bridge this morning I noticed how calm the river was. It was like a mirror, perfectly reflecting every building and tree along the foreshore.

I then took in the wider view and saw the clouds that looked like they’d exploded into the sky from the horizon, leaving feathery wisps of white across the city. The view changed as I continued the journey but remained remarkable all the way to South Perth where I had to turn away from the river to finish the ride to work.

I wonder how often we miss something spectacular because we’ve become too familiar with our routines.



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