Brindle Creek Sanctuary

My next adventure in native wildlife caring and rehabilitation was at Brindle Creek Sanctuary run by Darryl and Halina in Mareeba, Queensland. Brindle Creek is another pre-release/soft-release site that takes in all types of animals in need. While I was there, we primarily cared for agile wallabies and I was given the delightful task of raising one orphaned eastern grey joey.

Similar to Jowajilla Wildlife Refuge, Brindle Creek is ideally situated away from heaps of development, traffic and people. A national forest, banana farms and vacant paddocks surrounded the large property. It is many kilometers from the main highway and there are few residents in the area. Located about 20 to 30 minutes from town, it is close enough to civilization to fulfill your needs but easily feels like the Australian bush. This situation is perfect for reintroducing hand-raised macropods to the wild.

Adding to the bush feel is the donga accommodation in which I lived. A donga is a simple dwelling that reminded me of a kitted-out shipping container. Powered by solar panels during the day, at sundown electricity is run off a generator. The living situation was quite basic but enjoyable. The donga had a landline, satellite tv and internet, but our mobile phones were useless as there was no signal reception.

Brindle Creek felt like a peaceful escape from reality. While I was here, my job was to help out with morning bottles so that Darryl and Halina could get to work at a decent time. I also took care of the older wallabies by giving them sweet potato and macropod pellets as well as mucking out their pen. During the day, I bottle fed the little ones as needed and just spent a lot of time with them.

After work, Darryl and Halina would return home for the dinner feed and I’d update them on how the wallies spent their day. I loved sitting outside in the afternoon and watching the wallabies eat and interact with one another. Brindle Creek Sanctuary is an incredible place and I was happy to help out in whatever way I could.

Jowajilla Wildlife Refuge

Jowajilla Wildlife Refuge is a 150-acre pre-release/soft-release site in Mareeba, Queensland that cares for eastern grey kangaroos, wallaroos and rock wallabies. I spent a week with Jen learning what it’s like to work with these animals and see them successfully released into the wild.

Jen has been a carer for many years and has raised all kinds of orphaned and injured wildlife. While I was visiting, most of the animals in care were old enough to be outside all the time. Only one stayed inside the house in her pouch. The others, who were older, spent the night in the wild and would rock up early in the morning for a bottle.

Jowajilla is many kilometers away from major roads and cars making it the perfect site to reintroduce animals into the wild. The area around the main house is natural with a creek and rolling hills in the distance. There are mobs of wild wallabies and kangaroos in the area that welcome the newbies with open arms.

Life here appears to be perfect for the young kangaroos. They have the freedom to come and go as they slowly move toward independence. But, they also have the support and love from Jen when they need it. Also, not many people are allowed at the sanctuary as the roos slowly detach themselves from humans and step closer toward being completely wild.

It’s obvious that Jen is passionate about her mission to help macropods. Her nurturing builds confidence in these orphans, which allows them to become stronger and increase the likelihood of survival in the wild. She is patient and persistent when they are scared. She showers them with affection and provides them with safety during an uncertain time.

Jowajilla Wildlife Refuge is just one of many wildlife sanctuaries throughout Australia that are working hard to save native wildlife. Like many of these shelters, it receives no funding or support from the Australian government (state or national) and is run entirely by volunteers. The work of carer’s like Jen is important and should be more fully supported by everyone.

A Year Down Under

Having decided to spend the next year Down Under in Australia, it was easy to reminisce about the first time I left home and headed for those distant shores. It seemed like yesterday and déjà vu struck me as I waited at my gate to leave. This time I had a bit more experience under my belt and was more excited than nervous about what the future held.

With a yearlong visa in hand, my general plan was to visit Western Australia, Tasmania and Melbourne as these were the areas I missed the last time I visited. I also wanted to focus on working with native animals at an animal sanctuary where they rehabilitated orphaned or injured animals.

So before leaving home I contacted friends seeking advice on whether they knew of any opportunities and emailed a few places I found online. I got a hit with Peta, one of the owners at Absolute Backpackers in Mission Beach, Queensland. She put me in touch with Tanya, who ran Cassowary Coast Wildlife Shelter in South Mission Beach. After emailing Tanya to explain what type of experience I was looking for, she said to text her when I arrived in Australia and we’d work something out.

With this in mind, my only tasks on arrival in Sydney were to check into my hostel and pick up a SIM card so I could contact Tanya. I could figure the rest of my life out when I got there.