ROAD TRIP DIARIES # 11 – A Visit at the Billabong Sanctuary and Castle Hill
Billabong is the aboriginal word for waterhole.
On our second and last day at Townsville, we visited the Billabong Sanctuary to have a hands on adventure with some Australian native animals including crocodiles, koalas, wombats, kangaroos and other marsupials. The sanctuary is set in 11 hectares of natural tropical North Queensland bush and claims to offer Australia’s best interactive wildlife sanctuary. The guests here are allowed to hold a koala, hug a wombat, hold a crocodile and wrap a python around their neck.
“Kangaroos feed at night on grass and other low growing plants.”
Kangaroos belong to a group of marsupials called “macrop0ds”, which means great footed animals
Another specie of kangaroo
Billabong Sanctuary is divided into different habitats of eucalypt forest, rainforest and wetlands simulating the natural environment of the wildlife. Many of the animals like the birds and friendly kangaroos are freely roaming around. It is common to see pacific ducks and purple swan hens foraging in the bush, birds hovering around or even tree snakes if you’re lucky. The experience was like walking through the real Australian bush.
Ray Charles
“Koala‘ comes from an Australian Aboriginal word meaning ‘no drink’.”
“They don’t drink often as they get moisture from eucalyptus leaves.”
The best part of our visit was the interaction with the animals – holding the animals and photographic opportunities with them were part of the entrance fee. The guided talks were informative and entertaining but it was fun exploring the bushland on our own as well. We enjoyed the talk about the koalas and their cousin the wombat the most but it was also the only animal that required an extra fee to get your picture taken in their improvised outdoor studio. I guess they knew people would pay for this cuddly mammal, but I sure won’t pay to wrap a python around my neck.
Thank you very much. Pass!
Another Australian marsupial – Wombat
Dingo – a primitive roaming dog unique to the country specifically in the Outback
The grip 
We spent some quality time with Ray Charles instead while the rest were busy lining up to get their pictures taken with the star koala for a fee. Ray Charles is blind but he was still as cuddly, cute and free to interact with. He was attacked by a dog before and was brought to the sanctuary. We then moved on to the crocodiles and dingo feeding before checking out the other animals on our own. It was my first time seeing a dingo, Australia’s wild dog, and I learned that it was actually considered a pest. It is found in all states except Tasmania but is not a native animal.
Curlew is a ground dwelling bird that specialises in hunting small grassland animals.
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo – native and very common to Australia
Whistling duck
After visiting the sanctuary, we went back to the city and drove up Castle Hill for the sunset. The sunset wasn’t anything special but the view of the city and Cleveland Bay was wonderful. There were lots of locals, dog-walkers, and health buffs huffing and puffing their way up the 300 meter hill. We only spent two days in the city but we couldn’t wait to get back to the real bush and on the beach. Our next stop was Magnetic Island where I first experience sunbathing on a nude beach.
Castle Hill
(This is part of our 6-week North Queensland Road Trip Series, which took place July- August 2010)
Australian Road Trip 101: A Vantastic Beginning
Road Trip Diaries # 1 – Misty Mountain: An Encounter with the Strangest Animal in the World
Road Trip Diaries # 2 – Eungella National Park: Of Strangler Figs, Leeches and Long Holidays
Road Trip Diaries # 3 - Exploring Finch Hatton Gorge
Road Trip Diaries # 4 – Cape Hillsborough: On Bush Walks Beach Strolls and Star Gazing
Road Trip Diaries # 5 – Cape Hillsborough: Sunrise and Wild Kangaroos
Road Trip Diaries # 6 – Airlie Beach: Beaches Babes and Backpackers
Road Trip Diaries # 7 – Ocean Rafting to the Whitsundays
Road Trip Diaries # 8 – Unexpected Encounters
Road Trip Diaries # 9 – Exploring Bowenwood
Road Trip Diaries # 10 – Townsville: Finding Nemo and the Sunken Pandora
Yun pala ibig sabihin ng billabong, hehe. Now I know. Natawa ako sa “Thank you very much, pass!” Pass din ako, lol! Another great post, Claire!
Thanks GQ, at least hindi lang ako ang takot sa ahas
claire, uwian moko isang kangaroo. pakibitbit nalang sa mar12 ^_^
hahaha, kung pwede lang, kangaroo jerky na lang, para matikman mo meat ng kangaroo
Ang cute ng wombat. Yan pala ang itsura nya. I had a trainor from Australia, ang pangbigay ng prize kapag nagpaparticipate kami sa discussion is a koala keychains. I want a bigger Koala.
Very informative entry. The best ang mga photos.
Thanks Rizaleno, meron din akong collection ng koala keychains from my students who had vacation in Oz before.
claire. ang higpit ng grip mo sa “lizard” ba yon or bayawak. Medyo parang takot ka ah! hehehe. Mahirap na baka makagat.
.:-).
Napansin ko nga din nung nag-eedit ako ng pictures. Small croc yan, kaka ko kasi huhulagpos kaya sobrang higpit ng hawak ko
OMG! Your koala photos are way better than mine! And hold on, did I just see you having a tight grip with that baby croc? Oh my, you should better be careful! The pictures are really stunning Claire! I love them all… And that Australian girl is just way too pretty and adorable for a pose with that kangaroo… Well done! You really had a wonderful time in Aussie..:)
Thanks Jorie, I had a great time taking snapshost of that cute little girl with the kangaroo but not much with the croc hahaha, it shows in the grip
OT: Have you watched Australia of (Kid+Jack) man? Despite rotten reviews, I find the movie appealing. Must be the location. That’s where I first heard the word “Billabong” used in geography. Not the Billabong clothing line.
Still waiting for Uluru post!
Yeah, I have seen it, I enjoyed it as well because of the location, I haven’t been to Australia when we watched it kasi
, some scenes of the movie were actually shot at Bowen, just 2-hour drive from Townsville.
P.S. We didn’t go to Uluru in this trip. We will go there prolly next year
Oh my oh my. This is just so beautiful. I wonder when I could go to this place, Billabong Sanctuary. So I assumed the apparel brand Billabong is named after this Sanctuary. Sana maka punta rin ako sa Australia.
Actually you will see lots of wildlife even by bushwalking only in many of their national parks. Lots of kangaroos everywhere and many beautiful species of birds, even in city parks. If you love wildlife, nature and beaches, you will enjoy it here so much
WOW! Na-excite tuloy ako makakita ng koala… Parang ang sarap isampay sa likod.
Nice set of pics Claire. Galing!
Thanks Bino, glad we still went to the sanctuary even though we have seen most of these animals in the wild later on. We missed spotting koalas during our bush walks so at least I was able to complete my list of the famous Australian animals.
Yap, I was hoping you could visit Uluru and share it with us. Kulit lang eh noh?
That’s one of my dream destination together with Yosemite Half Dome.
Same here, I really want to catch the sunset at Uluru. Charles scaled Yosemite already, 5-day climb
ang cute nung batang nag feed sa kangaroo. si dingo para lang askal ah. pwdeng i take home yung koala? hihihi. sa australia ba nagmula ang billabong brand? lol
Yep, Aussie ang Billabong brand, naging notorious ang dingo na yan nung meron bata nawala sa Outback and later na proved na kinain ng Dingo.
Looks as if you are squeezing that baby croc very tightly lol . Oh and claire , I’m one of those that believe the dingo was innocent
Yeah, I was afraid it might bite me
( You’re joking about the dingo right? Have you heard about that news with the baby in the Outback?)
hmmm … hindi ba si bantay lang si dingo! ;D
LOL parang askal nga lang di ba
koala lang sakin claire
the snake’s color looks deadly. if it were different, i might consider carrying it. hehe. naghahanap ba ng excuse.
btw, that’s a new header right? Nice
It’s another harmless specie of python but still I won’t dare as well unless there is a price or something ,
Yep, we just uploaded it last night, with a new footer too and other small tweaks.
got to see the note .. the grip =) … i think you killed the croc already!
The grip of nervousness
I want to get close to kangaroo and touch it like what you had… It’s one of a kind experience as I”m fascinated with this unique mammal of Australia as well as the Koala too. Katakot lang manipa…
Wombat is so cute and cuddly but Koala is cute too. Uy, parang sinasakal mu na yung crocs… hehe… Now I know what the famed Billabong means.
I think you can meet all the Australian fauna in one place without bushwalking if you visit any zoo here – at least most of them
Finally the cute Koala! =)
Uy bago na pala About the Author mo ah saka yung header, nice!
Thanks, just launched it yesterday
.. para lang stufftoy yung koala at wombat, cuddly looking creatures!
Correct ang sarap iuwi
When I first saw a dingo during our training for Optus (sa photo lang syempre), natawa ako. Naisip ko, ampogi ng mga askal sa Pinas ;p
LOL korek, medyo deadly nga lang sa mga kids and dingo, medyo opportunistic.
cute ng wombat…pengeng isa hehe