Goblins and Toads
It’s hard to believe that it is exactly 5 years since the collapse of the Lehmann Brothers bank which ushered in the end of the financial world as we know it. Well sort of. A couple of minnows like Bernie Madoff got tossed on the frying pan while the sharks, giant squid and other big fishy goblins just continued with business as usual
In the interests of nostalgia, had every intention of visiting Kings Park, Hale House and the old astronomy tower on the hill like back in September 2008. Monday 15th September was a full moon that year and Kings Park was the perfect place for watching it while glued to the radio listening to the unfolding goblin drama over on Wall Street.
But Hale House has been converted to a new role as an Imperial residence for the State Premier. So its status as a serpent sacred site has been trashed as it is no longer accessible to the general public.
The other two locations are still as beautiful as ever but not when storms are brewing and it is pouring rain like it has been for much of today and most of the month so far. That makes two seriously wet Septembers in a row
These days you can plant seeds and they will drown rather than die of thirst which had been the usual fate at this time of year
So resorted to plan B - a visit to the zoo. That’s where the annual zoo pass comes in handy. At that stage it was not yet raining but it was well on the way. But that was actually an advantage. When you want to visit the nocturnal house, the less lurkers the better. As the posters outside proclaim “The quieter you are, the more you see”
So first stop was the reptile house of course. There’s some new critters on the block. There are now a couple of corn snakes which are native to north America. They are such stunningly pretty pythons but there’s now a problem of folks bringing them in illegally for the pet trade and then letting them loose in the wild. Their scales have red, yellow, white and black diamond patterns very much like what you see on Native American baskets and fabrics
The Pilbara death adder has been replaced by a more common variety which is much fatter and without the cute little white wriggling worm on the end of its tail to lure unsuspecting birds and lizards.
Next stop was the nocturnal house but it’s a long and winding path through the African Savannah to get there. It was a quiet but strange day. It’s exceedingly unusual to see the cheetah lounging about rather than hiding from the horrid humans. Even the hyenas were being more sociable than usual. Next door to them the long empty cave where the baby painted dogs used to live was now a home for yet another newbie - the Madagascan tree boa.
But it was the nocturnal house that was the highlight of the day. At first there was not a soul in the place at the time other than Izzie. Most of the animals there are from Australia and the majority are marsupials ranging in size from a thumb to a football. They are mainly grey and brown and rather ratty looking but lots cuter. The possums are especially adorable
There is something about critters with enormous eyes that makes them very endearing.
After the chuditch, the quoll, dibbler and assorted tiny hopping mice, something very strange was happening. Normally you have to watch for ages to see any little critter especially the really tiny or snoozy ones. But this particular day every single one of the animals was not only very active but often in locations where you could watch them very closely. Because most of them are quite small they are far more likely to be at home in their zoo territory than all those exotic megafauna like lions and elephants.
Without much effort at all, slowly went from one exhibit to another and saw the critters every single time. Some squealing kids came in but they got bored very quickly and moved on.
There was only one critter that remained completely elusive and that was the dreaded cane toad. But that was no great loss. Had a whole life time’s worth of two legged toads last year without going to the zoo to see them
Went on to watch the Slow Loris slinking about, bilbies bouncing and the odd quokka or two. There was a section devoted to little critters such as geckoes, scorpions, centipedes and big fat hairy scary tarantulas. There used to be giant cockroaches and a toilet bowl full of green tree frogs but they’ve been gone a couple of years now. One astonishing bit of trivia is that scorpions dead or alive glow in the dark in the presence of ultraviolet light and there was a little fluorescent purple strip just to prove it
It was a most magical hour or so in that den of darkness. There’s nothing like watching animals for bringing your senses to the present moment and remaining there. Or maybe it is only if you can do that you get to actually see them.
A very long time ago the ghost bats had babies and was watching them for ages but no other visit to the nocturnal house and there have been a few indeed over the years, no other visit has been so interesting. Seeing every single one of the animals (except one) is extremely rare indeed. Usually seeing even one third is considered a good day. The fact that for nearly all that time very few humans were there must have made all the difference. So little squealing, screaming and knocking on the glass scaring the hell out of all those very shy and timid creatures.
Will make a habit of leaving the nocturnal house for late on rainy days in future.
So all is not lost. The serpent’s sense of wonder is still there even if it does not seem as easily invoked as it used to be.
King’s Park is another source of such magic especially in the middle of wild flower season or for watching the full moon rising. But of course such activities are very dependent on decent weather
It’s going to be raining all week. So looks like munching moon cakes in Kings Park will not be on the agenda after all.
In the interests of nostalgia, had every intention of visiting Kings Park, Hale House and the old astronomy tower on the hill like back in September 2008. Monday 15th September was a full moon that year and Kings Park was the perfect place for watching it while glued to the radio listening to the unfolding goblin drama over on Wall Street.
But Hale House has been converted to a new role as an Imperial residence for the State Premier. So its status as a serpent sacred site has been trashed as it is no longer accessible to the general public.
The other two locations are still as beautiful as ever but not when storms are brewing and it is pouring rain like it has been for much of today and most of the month so far. That makes two seriously wet Septembers in a row
These days you can plant seeds and they will drown rather than die of thirst which had been the usual fate at this time of year
So resorted to plan B - a visit to the zoo. That’s where the annual zoo pass comes in handy. At that stage it was not yet raining but it was well on the way. But that was actually an advantage. When you want to visit the nocturnal house, the less lurkers the better. As the posters outside proclaim “The quieter you are, the more you see”
So first stop was the reptile house of course. There’s some new critters on the block. There are now a couple of corn snakes which are native to north America. They are such stunningly pretty pythons but there’s now a problem of folks bringing them in illegally for the pet trade and then letting them loose in the wild. Their scales have red, yellow, white and black diamond patterns very much like what you see on Native American baskets and fabrics
The Pilbara death adder has been replaced by a more common variety which is much fatter and without the cute little white wriggling worm on the end of its tail to lure unsuspecting birds and lizards.
Next stop was the nocturnal house but it’s a long and winding path through the African Savannah to get there. It was a quiet but strange day. It’s exceedingly unusual to see the cheetah lounging about rather than hiding from the horrid humans. Even the hyenas were being more sociable than usual. Next door to them the long empty cave where the baby painted dogs used to live was now a home for yet another newbie - the Madagascan tree boa.
But it was the nocturnal house that was the highlight of the day. At first there was not a soul in the place at the time other than Izzie. Most of the animals there are from Australia and the majority are marsupials ranging in size from a thumb to a football. They are mainly grey and brown and rather ratty looking but lots cuter. The possums are especially adorable
There is something about critters with enormous eyes that makes them very endearing.
After the chuditch, the quoll, dibbler and assorted tiny hopping mice, something very strange was happening. Normally you have to watch for ages to see any little critter especially the really tiny or snoozy ones. But this particular day every single one of the animals was not only very active but often in locations where you could watch them very closely. Because most of them are quite small they are far more likely to be at home in their zoo territory than all those exotic megafauna like lions and elephants.
Without much effort at all, slowly went from one exhibit to another and saw the critters every single time. Some squealing kids came in but they got bored very quickly and moved on.
There was only one critter that remained completely elusive and that was the dreaded cane toad. But that was no great loss. Had a whole life time’s worth of two legged toads last year without going to the zoo to see them
Went on to watch the Slow Loris slinking about, bilbies bouncing and the odd quokka or two. There was a section devoted to little critters such as geckoes, scorpions, centipedes and big fat hairy scary tarantulas. There used to be giant cockroaches and a toilet bowl full of green tree frogs but they’ve been gone a couple of years now. One astonishing bit of trivia is that scorpions dead or alive glow in the dark in the presence of ultraviolet light and there was a little fluorescent purple strip just to prove it
It was a most magical hour or so in that den of darkness. There’s nothing like watching animals for bringing your senses to the present moment and remaining there. Or maybe it is only if you can do that you get to actually see them.
A very long time ago the ghost bats had babies and was watching them for ages but no other visit to the nocturnal house and there have been a few indeed over the years, no other visit has been so interesting. Seeing every single one of the animals (except one) is extremely rare indeed. Usually seeing even one third is considered a good day. The fact that for nearly all that time very few humans were there must have made all the difference. So little squealing, screaming and knocking on the glass scaring the hell out of all those very shy and timid creatures.
Will make a habit of leaving the nocturnal house for late on rainy days in future.
So all is not lost. The serpent’s sense of wonder is still there even if it does not seem as easily invoked as it used to be.
King’s Park is another source of such magic especially in the middle of wild flower season or for watching the full moon rising. But of course such activities are very dependent on decent weather
It’s going to be raining all week. So looks like munching moon cakes in Kings Park will not be on the agenda after all.