A 21st birthday celebration. Even though 21 isn't an exciting birthday for Australians (since their drinking age is 18), the park held a celebration this weekend for it being open for 21 years. The celebration included half price admission, which was the incentive for me to visit this weekend. Kaye and Roger's son's friend Darren went along with me. The park is known for its crocodiles, as crocodiles are huge in Darwin, but they also had a bit of a mini zoo exhibit as well, which housed other animals. For the celebrations, we lucked out in arriving just in time for croc feeding. Each croc has its own little area with water and land. It seemed very very small for the large creature. To feed the croc, the worker dangles a piece of meat on what looks like a fishing pole made of wood and string, and then the croc jumps to get the meat. It's actually very fascinating, and when they jump you can tell just how massive the creatures actually are. While this was happening, the workers were giving out information tidbits and answering questions. One woman asked if encountering a croc like this in an outdoor setting would it be best to run or walk. The worker explained that getting away as fast as possible is crucial, and to run straight in front of the croc rather than in a zigzag motion. This is because their neck muscles are so strong that they are more likely to get you if you are off to the side a bit. Moving on from the croc feeding, we encountered many other animals including an ostrich who was right up along the fence, a lion that was actually roaring, a dingo that was injured and had to wear the cone of shame, and a baboon that was trying to attack a child (though there was glass between them) when the child was sticking his hand near the glass. He opened his mouth aggressively, swung at the glass, and everything. Good thing the glass was there. Of course there were also kangaroos, which I thought was strange since I've seen them so prevalent in the wild here. Caging them seems cruel and unnecessary. At the end, we visited where the baby crocs are kept, and the indoor (air-conditioned!) museum and snake, amphibian exhibit. The whole time I thought of how Chris and Morgan would "rate" this "zoo." Then as we stopped for a beer on our way home, the bartender asked me if I wanted ice with it. And when I declined and laughed for a good five minutes, no one else in the pub found it funny.
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