Sunday, August 22, 2010

Canberra Botanic Gardens Twilight Adventures

For a couple of days during science fortnight in Canberra the Botanic Gardens opens its doors to visitors after dark. Guides escort a small number of visitors (you have to book in advance) round the gardens in the dark in the hope of spotting various native fauna and learn about the flora.

Me and Audrey went last year and enjoyed it so much that this year we encouraged our friends Duncan and Penny (aged 3) to come along too.

Our guide (Will) was fantastic and our group was lucky enough to spot a number of animals during our walk. Rabbits and Kangaroos were fairly easy to find (although they are 'discouraged' in the gardens as they both take a fancy to eating rare seedlings). More of a challenge was our spotting of a couple of possums (both bushtails). Half way round we also stumbled on a tawny frogmouth who was perched only a couple of feet from where we stood and then retreated onto a nearby branch. I've always thought they were owls (actually they're a closer relation to nightjars) but I was really chuffed to recognise it, despite never having seen one before.

Towards the end of our walk Will spotted a sugarglider in the distance and we rushed over to see it. They're only tiny creatures, so spotting it in the dark half way up a tree 50 feet away was a pretty decent achievement by our guide.

We headed back to a visitor centre where we ate biscuits and drank hot chocolate. Audrey loved the adventure, but fell asleep as soon as we reached home (3 hours after her usual bedtime).

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