Feb 22nd, 2023 Day 50 of 128

Fremantle, Australia Day 2

Good morning from Fremantle Day 2. Today was an early start for us. Alarm went off at 6:30 am so we could be ready to be off the ship by 7:30am. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the Lido and then we were off the ship among very few passengers this morning. We grabbed an Uber and ventured to Perth, Australia, about an hour away to the Caversham Wildlife Park. This was our last opportunity to get to hold a Koala before we departed Australia and I was going to do everything in my abilities to make it happen. The park opened at 9:00am so I made sure we were there by 8:30am. They sell the Koala holding experience tickets first come first served, no reservations available. Needless to say Megan and I were the first two people into the park this morning and purchase our tickets, #1 and #2. The holding was at 12:00 noon so we had a few hours to enjoy the park. We spent an hour in the kangaroo enclosure feeding and bonding with the different breeds of kangaroo they had there. It was still cool and they were hungry early in the morning so it was a fantastic experience. We saw several Kangaroos with their Joey’s still in their pouches with various body parts hanging it. It was a little like an alien movie. We got to attend the “Farm Show” where we watched a sheep get sheered and Megan had the opportunity to bottle feed a baby lamb. Then, we got to go and have an up close meeting with Cali the Wombat and Lilah (happy nana moment) the baby Quokka, and we also got to hold an Olive Python. Then we walked through the reptile area before heading to the Koala photo session. Every guest of the park gets to have their photo taken with a Koala and pet it with the back of your hand. There we met Sunshine the Koala. By then it was noon and it was time, drumrolls, nervous excitement and overwhelming feelings of appreciation washed over me. They called our numbers and we were given a fleece vest to put on over our clothes and the employee brought us Fred the Koala to hold and cuddle and take hundreds of photos with. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget it. The port of Fremantle now holds an especially traumatic and an amazingly wonderful memory for me!! We grabbed something to eat at the cafe and hydrated before we went to the gift shop for some souvenirs before getting an Uber to take us back to the ship. What a wonderful blessing it was to be able to fulfill that lifelong dream of holding a Koala. I collected stuffed Koala’s when I was a little girl and they have always held a special place in my heart as long as I can remember. When we got back to the ship it was time to relax a bit before heading out to the sail away party. A therapeutic ending and some closure that I didn’t even realize I needed. So I bid Fremantle adieu and put some new wonderful experiences into my memory banks. We also say goodbye to Australia. As we now head south toward Mauritius. We will be at sea for a week before we get to touch land again. Time to catch up on some rest, have a few more treatments, catch up with friends and hear about their adventures the last couple of days, and hopefully slowly return to the gym and my exercise routine. I am about 75% back to normal and am happy to say I can mostly bend over without winching anymore. Thank you all for taking the time to read and enjoy our adventures along with us. There is quite a few photos to see from today and one “Where’s Waldo” (Megan) photo to enjoy. It’s time to hit the showers cause despite the cuteness factor of a Koala, they are also equally as stinky. Good night and Hugs from abroad.