Animal whisperers

This being our third trip to Melbourne in the last 3 years, we wanted to find new things to do instead of visiting the same old attractions. Which is a good thing because we found this gem of a place called Moonlit Sanctuary.

It’s located near Mornington Peninsula, about an hour’s drive out from the city.

We were there on a Thursday morning and apart from a handful of other visitors, we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. It was so nice just standing leisurely by the lake eating our sandwiches.

Unlike the other zoos we’ve visited in Melbourne, there aren’t a lot of animals here but what’s special is that they allow visitors to get up close and personal with the animals. Like really up close. Apparently it’s one of the few rare place in Melbourne that allows you to feed wallabies by hand and cuddle a koala.

The first thing we did when we arrived was to buy 2 bags of wallaby feed before making our way down to the Wallaby Walk trail. Some of the wallabies were really shy and they hopped away before we could say hi but as we walked further along the trail, the friendlier wallabies came up to us and started eating the food right out of our hands. Some even allowed us to pat them while they ate.

Did you know that wallaby fur is ridiculously soft? It doesn’t look that soft but it is. And they’re really sweet, gentle animals. It was so, so adorable watching the kids make friends with the affectionate little wallabies and they kept asking “Can I bring this baby wallaby home? I promise I will take care of him, please please please…”

During this trip, we discovered that Truett is quite the animal whisperer. He’s got a way with them that’s so heartwarming to watch. He’d hug the wallabies, stroke their backs and talk to them like they’re his friends.

He even spent 10 minutes cradling a ginormous python that’s twice his height and as thick as his thigh. I’m not hot on snakes and I was a little nervy when the monstrosity was curled around his body but he patted it and whispered to it like Harry Potter while it slithered around like he was a tree branch. That was both terrifying and kind of cool at the same time.

And my favorite part? Koala cuddling.

Due to its endangered status, most places won’t allow you near a koala, much less cuddle it. In fact, a special license is required if you ever want to hold a koala like this lady right here.

The kids loved that they got to have a meet and greet with a super cuddly koala. He was awake one moment and then fell right asleep the moment the kids started patting him. We called him Mr Sleepy Snugglebums.

Kirsten was a little apprehensive as she reached out to pat the koala but Tru was all “you’re so full of cuddly awesomeness imma hug you and squeeeeeeeze you and love you and make you my new best friend…”

And here’s one more of me with my little koala.