EnkleDooVery Korna

Friday, December 22, 2017

This afternoon after work and a bit of housework (we leave Waimate for good tomorrow morning for Kaikoura) we visited a wallaby sanctuary here in Waimate.

Gwen showing Gayle the ropes

The owner, Gwen Dempster-Schouten, has been hand-raising orphaned wallabies since 1977. Wallabies are not native to New Zealand. They were brought in for sport hunting, but have become a nuisance. So when the coppers get a call about a wallaby, they bring it to Gwen.

Wallabies interested in the cat more than the chow

Sorry for the extreme close-up, guy (or gal)

Lots of other critters at the sanctuary, including heirloom cooks (chickens) and birds.
Two peacocks were very vocal.

She has a clear love for these animals and has been observing their behavior for 40+ years. She knew heaps about their habits and breeding. She has a baby in a sewed-up sweatshirt sleeve pouch that hangs in her kitchen. It was brought to her as a tiny baby that had been attacked. So she is nursing it. She let us hold it, but we didn't get any pictures. Drat.

We really enjoyed the 60 or so wallabies that were in various enclosures on Gwen's property. She gave us some wallaby chow pellets that most the little guys couldn't get enough of. Gwen told us not too worry; they won't get fat. They are lean animals that only store any meat and fat in their hind legs. So we let them chow down. We were told they especially like being scratched at the base of the tail, so we scratched. Their front paws are quite hand-like and soft. I really liked it when they grabbed a finger to get at the chow. Their hind feet pads are like lizard skin. They make a growling noise when they are irritated and otherwise only make a wee squeaky noise. We easily spent 2 hours with the wallabies.