Wildlife, Canberra

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There is a great opportunity for visitors to Canberra to se over 500 Eastern Grey kangaroos within minutes of the Canberra City!

Just travel down Ginninderra Drive from the city and turn into Baldwin Drive, the driveway to the Belconnen Naval Transmitter Station is about 2km up the road on the left. You wont be allowed into the site but there are incredible views of these iconic native animals if you take a leisurely walk around the perimeter of the site.

You better be quick as these kangaroos will be going soon, the ACT Government has demanded they be killed rather than translocated to sites outside of the ACT.

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Watch out for swooping birds.
We walked near a patch of grass, in the evening at around 6pm.
And a bird swooped by a couple of times, probably trying to protect its nest in the grass or something.
Wear a hat...

Visitors from overseas, or from Australia's large cities, may find the sight of kangaroos on the roadside exciting. Yes, they are indeed to be found on Canberra's urban fringes, or in the rural parts of the ACT. But if you are driving be warned: they are totally unpredictable. A kangaroo can do extensive damage to a motor car, so if you see one on the edge of the road slow down and be ready to hit the brakes hard - do NOT swerve the car to avoid an accident, that can often result in an even worse outcome!

Canberra is quite unusual in that encounters with kangaroos on the main roads quite close to the city are very commonplace. Alot of the main roads in the metropolitan area will also be marked as "high accident zone" areas due to the number of crashes involving roos. Be especially careful near dawn and dusk as this is the roo's most active time. The main arterial roads connecting the satelite towns in the outer suburbs are also well known for roos and in some areas, wombats.

Another area to watch out for are the roads leading up to the various lookouts surrounding Canberra. Some of the winding roads are marked at 60kph and 80kph speed limit but you'd be well advised to go under this as the roos have a nasty habit of hopping out from between the bushes right next to the edge of the road.

Also for those not familiar with roos on the road, don't swerve when approaching them. Apart from the fact that it's illegal, the roos have a habit of changing direction on you without warning. The best thing to do is slow down in a straight line and when safe to do so, dip your headlights to give the roo some chance of seeing which direction to head to safety. Don't drive past the roo until it's off the road or else you may find it turning around and jumping into the side of your car.

Sorry, no photos - too busy trying to dodge the roos with both hands on the wheel!

Australia is home to some of the most poisonous snakes in the world... Here's what to do if you find a 6-foot long dead black snake:
1) tie fishing line around it's neck.
2) drag it through your kitchen to see if your mom thinks a real-live giant snake is chasing you.
3) get grounded.
4) get rid of snake carcass by placing on huge red ant pile.
5) re-evaluate sense of humor.