Photo of the Week - Kangaroo

I have a dream.  I have had a dream for a long time.  I would like to go to Australia.  I am not sure of when the seed was planted.  It has followed me much of my life and though I have saved money several times specifically for this adventure, life has intervened. 

It sits on my to-do list and the more I experience the world, the more I think I need to go there.  Here's my reasons:

• No matter how many wines I have tried, my favourite is an Australian Shiraz.  Eaglehawk to be precise.  Perhaps you think that I haven't tried enough wines.  Perhaps you think that I haven't given BC wines enough of a try.  Last week when I was in Kelowna, I tried 17 types of wine.  And none matched the Shiraz.  If Kelowna's wine tours are grand, I think Australia's will be spectacular.
• There is an Australian Shiraz that shares my name - Rawson Retreat.  Looks like some of the ancestors have made it there already.  Which means if I go to Australia, I could see it as a family reunion.  I hope they aren't the branch of the family that had to leave town if you know what I mean.
• Australia has it all - beaches, cities, country, a most unusual rock - Uluru - and animals that we just don't see on this side of the globe.  That pretty much matches my style.

Which brings me to the photograph.  If you can't get to Australia, bring some of it here.  The kangaroo above  lives close to Kelowna.  The owner told me that it was really a wallaroo which is somewhere between the size of a kangaroo and a wallaby.  Apparently there are about 60 species of kangaroos, all residing on one island.  Clearly, I have much more to learn.

This fellow (could be a female) lives with about 10 others on Kangaroo Creek Farm. 

Last Sunday, I ambled alongside toddlers to the outer edges of the grassy area where the kangaroos were nibbling on grass.  Some of the children had branches of leaves that grabbed the kangaroos attention.  Focussed on their lunch, the kangaroos were nonchalant as we pet them.  I approached one and opened my hand so it could see I had no harmful intentions.  And then it decided that I looked edible and bit my finger. 

I was bit by a kangaroo.

How about that for a first?