Wartook Valley to the Emu Holiday Park

After the pool party, we headed off to the Wartook Valley to spend the night at the Emu Holiday Park. Friends, Al and Vicki, own this lovely piece of paradise located about ½ hour west of us. They also run a wildlife shelter at the same location.

We arrived shortly after 8 pm. After having a nap, Aiden was well rested when we arrived and ready to check out the baby wallabies. We sat around visiting for a couple of hours with Vicki and Al, enjoying their hospitality and the young wallabies. Aiden was allowed to hold a young wallaby that was brought in a few weeks ago. One of the reasons we headed out to Vicki and Al’s was so Sean could get a look at this wallaby. Al and Vicki had been unable to identify it and Sean was curious to have a look at it. Since it hadn’t been named yet, Vicki let us name it. The only restrictions were we could not name it Joey (Aiden’s first suggestion), Skippy or Lucky (isn’t it “lucky” to have survived). We decided on the name “Whatzit”.

Aiden was quite taken by him. It was a thrill for him to hold the baby wallaby and wasn’t even too concerned when Whatzit tried to kiss him. He liked the way Whatzit nuzzled in under his arm. He thought it would be a great idea to learn how to care for wallabies so we could care for a young one. We all agreed that they would make wonderful pets but decided that it was best if they were raised so they learned the skills they would need to survive on their own.

Aiden was also allowed to feed a slightly older wallaby, Jake. Jake is a swamp wallaby and about 8 months old. He was brought in to Alan on Sean’s first morning at work, so their first task that day was to transport young hairless Jake to the shelter. At this stage he still sleeps in a pillow case in the house but during the day is free to wander around as he pleases. He comes back to the house every 4 –5 hours looking for a bottle. Unfortunately it was too dark to get the pictures I wanted but I guess that just means we will have to visit again.

Here Aiden is with Peg, a 18 month-old kangaroo. Peg is old enough to be out on her own but suffered a set back when another kangaroo she was raised with died from disease.


Saturday morning was a treat for me. Sean got up with Aiden and left the cabin allowing me to sleep in. I have been fighting off a cold so it was most welcome. Aiden and Sean spent an hour exploring the place. Wallabies just outside the cabin greeted them. They fed the chooks, checked out an old fire truck, and explored one of the dried up dugouts.

After a quick breakfast it was up to Al and Vicki’s house to say good-bye and thanks for their great hospitality. Vicki was busy painting the terradome, accommodation they have that is built into the side of a hill. It doubles as a fire shelter in the event of wildfire.

From there it was off to Horsham to see about buying Aiden a bike. Several inquires around town and a few garage sale stops had not yet yielded a bike so we figured it was time to bite the bullet and buy a new one. So off to the handy Kmart we went. Not only did we find a bike for Aiden but Sean ended up purchasing one as well. He has been using one that was left at the house from when Jeff and Teresa were here. It has been great for commuting to and from work but Sean has also been using it at work to save himself the walk back to the ute when he is doing transects. This was taking its toll on the bike and in protest, Sean ended up with a flat tire on Friday. Kmart had a good deal on bikes so we came home with two and a number of parts to fix up the other one.

Saturday night found us out at Rod, Jill, Henry and Eugene’s place for a BBQ. Both Rod and Jill work for Parks Vic. Henry is a year older then Aiden and Eugene is three months younger. The boys had a blast playing together and Aiden was thrilled to have company and play with some new toys.