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We have just had a wonderful experience watching a movie under the stars with possums rustling in the nearby gumtrees at the Deckchair Cinema.
Today we went to Crocodylus Park which is a zoo specialising in crocodiles. I was actually nervous on the walk in and the first crocodile I saw made my skin crawl. We saw young adults jumping out of the water to get bits of meat from a rope. Then the breeding pens where there are ~20yo adults - the largest male is 500kg and they are so big. They sit perfectly still most of the time, often with their mouth open. They don't look real but rather look like statues. But then they move, either slow and stealthily or suddenly if they're trying to reach food. Teeth and scales and osteoderms (the spines on their back and tail). They are just fair dinkum dinosaurs and that's the best explanation. Then they had pens of juveniles, dozens of them, crowded and lying on each other in the sun. These young guys are more active. Then the 'attack lagoon' where there are 500 young adults. After the tour, we got to hold a baby crocodile about 60cm long. It was soft - I expected it to be tough somehow. And he opened his eyes and looked right at me through slit pupils. We took the 'cruise' on a small boat around the man-made lake where the big adults live. It's a chance to see them in a more natural environment. Some were very big. We ate crocodile burgers for lunch in the café - the meat is white and soft with a strong flavour which is not like chicken - more like other wild meats like kangaroo or antelope. J ate it but C didn't like. They have a museum with lots of information about crocodiles.
The rest of the zoo animals included kangaroos and wallaroos (very impressive arm muscles), emus, big cats and monkeys. C wants a marmoset now. I have to admit, they were like real live soft cuddly toys. C's toe much better.
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