When we lived on the edge of town in a neighbourhood called Granville adjacent to Maryborough, Queensland it was not uncommon to see kangaroos on the footpath in front of our house as we sipped our morning coffee. In fact, one breezy sunny morning as I was busy hanging laundry in our back yard on the Hill’s Hoist, I turned to dip into my basket of damp towels and underthings to come face to face with a large female who seemed as surprised to see me as I was to see her. All I could think to say was “G’Day!” She had clearly come up our drive before I had come out the back door and found herself trapped by our back fence behind the pool.
She likely did not expect to see a human on her way back out to the street and the bush beyond. I loved living so close to them. There were no houses across the road from us. The gum trees and scrub made for a wonderful hiding place for them on scorching hot days and our green, grassy turf in the wetter seasons made a perfect spot for them to graze early in the morning or late in the evenings. It was like living in a wildlife refuge without any of the maintenance. We were serenaded by laughing Kookaburras at the crack of dawn and the same group (or “riot” of them) would mark the end of each day with their cackling chorus. It wasn’t long before I came to realize that our close association with all things wild and wonderful in Australia was not a daily experience for the majority of the population that lived in the large coastal cities like Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin and Perth. A trip to Melbourne in 2015 was an eyeopener in this regard. I took a holiday with my son who was visiting at the time and we did a few typically touristy things. We booked a tour to Phillip Island to see the fairy penguins in their natural habitat. These adorable creatures return from the sea after dark each night to return to their hillside burrows and we had the great privilege to watch them from a distance on our outing. But that’s not what opened my eyes. As we journeyed on the bus with the tour group, the very informative bus driver pointed out various landmarks and was happy to answer questions. One passenger inquired if we would be seeing any kangaroos along the way, aside from the ones we were scheduled to see in a wildlife park along the way. We were going to be hand-feeding them and also getting to pose with sleepy Koalas. I personally am not a fan of animals in captivity so this was not going to be the highlight of this tour for me, but I reconciled that it might be a memorable activity for my son and it was included in the price of the “Fairy Penguin Adventure”. I listened carefully to this bus driver who had a bit of a “know it all” air about him. He laughed at the question and said, “Oh no, you won’t be seeing any roos in the wild. That is a bit of a myth.” It took all my reserve to not call him out on this. What the hell could he possibly mean by this? I nearly stood up from my seat and corrected him, but then I stopped myself. He had not personally ever seen any in the wild so he assumed it wasn’t possible. Perhaps the furthest he had ever travelled was between Melbourne and the road to Phillip Island. It was doubtful he had ever been to rural Queensland. I best not embarrass the poor uninformed man. It did sadden me a bit to think that this bus load of tourists from around the world now had their hopes dashed of seeing Skippy and his mates hopping about outside the confines of a zoo, when I knew the exact opposite to be true. This leads me to the whole point of this story. Since we have arrived in Victoria, I have yet to see a kangaroo (other than 2 dead ones along the roadside) in the wild. I thought perhaps we might see some on the train from Melbourne to Ballarat as we were leaving the big city heading through rural areas to a smaller place. But Ballarat is 4-5 times the size of our beloved Maryborough/Granville for starters. We would have to venture further I reckoned to reconnect with Kanga and Roo. After three weeks in our home away from home and several countryside road trips, we still haven’t found our elusive symbols of this great land down under. I do believe we are getting closer and closer (2 dead ones after all), but to date, nothing. It got me to thinking. Isn’t life curious? For the nearly eight years we lived amongst these fascinating creatures, I took them for granted. They were part of my daily experience. I took hundreds and hundreds of photos of them. I talked to them. I drove carefully after dark through my neighbourhood for fear of hitting one with my car. I avoided stepping in Roo Poo on my daily walks. I was thrilled to be able to show visitors our mobs of kangaroos-many with adorable joeys peeking out of their mother’s pouches. This is what Australia was like for me. But it is not what this country is like for most Australians. And now, we experience deer on our property in Canada in the same way. They are a part of our life just as the roos were in Queensland. It is not to be taken for granted. I realize this now. It is not common. The majority of the world’s population may never know what it is like to share space with wild animals. It is a perk of living in small towns and/or rural areas. A priceless perk. Last evening we enjoyed a Pond to Plate event at a farm about 30 minutes drive from where we are staying in Ballarat. I asked one of the farm hands if there were many kangaroos around the 1500 acre property and he said no. Another surprise. Then I mentioned I had yet to hear or see any Kookaburras since arriving in Victoria and did they have any around the farm? Again he shrugged his shoulders and said no, but we might see some roos when we drove through a place called Creswick on our way home later. I was suddenly excited by the prospect of finally seeing my old mates on the drive at dusk. Surely the timing would be perfect. As we approached Creswick, I wiggled a bit sideways in my car seat and rolled the window down. I was so determined after my three week roo drought to catch a glimpse that I didn’t let the strangling seat belt annoy me too much. I asked Mick to drive slower. With no one behind us, that was possible. I scanned the roadside as though spotting a Kangaroo would win me a sheep station. A few odd shaped stumps and the odd shadowy shrub jump started my cortisol levels from time to time, but alas, as we left Creswick and the 5KM warning signs for possible kangaroo crossings in our dust, I had to placate myself with one (in the words of Elmer Fudd) “wascily wabbit” siting, a few magpies, some screechy long-billed corellas and some common crows sitting on fence posts. Hmmff. And so, my search for Skippy’s in Victoria will go on. I remain hopeful.
3 Comments
Paul Causie
1/7/2023 07:31:03 pm
Another stereotype down the drain.
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Deb
1/7/2023 11:02:53 pm
Yup, just like not everyone in California has a beach house in Malibu. 😉
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Carla Bethlenfalvy
3/29/2023 08:55:02 pm
Another post that I missed! So interesting! I recall a visitor from Italy many years ago being excited to see squirrels. Critters we certainly take for granted in Ontario...
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DEBunked.I see nature as a metaphor for life. Please join me on this journey down the garden path as I explore life through story - a shovel in one hand and a camera in the other. Archives
May 2023
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