OK, so we’ve talked about what to watch out for to avoid; now, let’s cover the things you might actually want to see! We have a strong emphasis on conservation and native flora and fauna at Willow’s Retreat, and the following animals are a large part of that. It’s also why we don’t allow pets (except horses, by prior arrangement); it doesn’t matter how good they are at home – they probably haven’t seen some of these things before, and they do look good to chase! Remember, these are all wild animals, and are not to be approached. We’ll start with the ones you’re almost guaranteed to see, and move onto the more secretive. You may well see more; let us know if you do! This is our top 5 animals you may spot at your country retreat:
Wallabies and kangaroos
One of the first things you’ll probably notice as you arrive are half a dozen or more of these beauties. We have a mix of eastern grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies and euros, may occasionally get some other macropods passing through. Do you know which one’s which? This guide can help.
Can you spot the joey in the photo? Depending on when you’re here, you may get lucky and see some young ones!
“Remember these are wild animals, and not to be approached.”
Wombats
OK, you might not see one every time you’re here – they do tend to sleep A LOT! However, you’ll definitely see evidence of them; both in their extensive excavations at their burrows, and the distinctive cube-shaped scats on the ground.
Possums
We like to encourage you guys to walk around at night, and provide torches for you to do so. If you hold the torch up by your face and shine it around the trees, you’re incredibly likely to see possums. Now most will be brush-tailed, but we also have a few of the smaller ringtails. What did you see?
Gilders
Whilst you’re out around the fire pit, you’re likely to hear ‘yipping’ from the trees. This is our sugar gliders, out and about after dark. We also have a few rarer species of glider – can you spot any of them? It’s easy to mistake them for possums at first, until you see them spread their gliding membranes and fly from tree to tree!
Koalas
Now, we’re not promising anything here, as these are notoriously hard to spot. The bushfires from 2019/20 also played havoc with their homes in Yengo National Park, just West of us, so we’re doing what we can to protect their habitat here. We’ll talk more about conservation in a future blog.
The iconic Australian Drop Bear is really hard to spot – but if you keep your eyes peeled when you’re walking around, you might get lucky. This girl was in the trees on the west hillside.
Now, your job is to see which ones you can tick off on your next visit to the country reatreat!
To help you spot them, keep your ears open too; Wild Ambience have some great recordings to help you. Have a listen, so you know what to expect!
