Zoo Time
On the Tuesday after arriving in Dubbo, a very kind support worker of K’s who has known her since she was a child, took the time to take us all Taranga Western Plains zoo. I thought it’d be like a British zoo where you could hear and even smell the place but far from it. It was more like a safari park, so Lisa told me. What I found astounding was that no animal made noise of any sort. There was no animal smells either and if I hadn’t known better I’d have thought all of them were stuffed exhibits but they weren’t of course and those with sight could see them. I didn’t find much to which to relate if I’m honest and am ashamed to say that most of what Anne told us I have now forgotten but K hasn’t. What I do recall is the endless getting in and out of the car as everything is so widely spaced apart and probably it would have been a big ask to get people to walk everywhere. I also recall the mine of information that Anne is and her kindness in offering to take us and no doubt she would be appalled and somewhat disappointed that I recall so little. It was the day after all that travelling and the arrival of the two of us but still to recall so little is sad.
As I said, the weather was really spring like so I would not like to be in the throes of a Dubbo summer. The animals were behind a fence so nobody could touch them but as I say it was the absolute silence of the animals I found a bit disappointing as from a blind person’s point of view, unless you have an encyclopaedic knowledge of facts and for them, there was little to be gained except the exercise and fresh air. Anne’s kindness in offering to help was something I do remember and her amazing knowledge of the facts re the zoo. I am sure she or K said she has organised trips to the zoo before so it was like having our own private tour guide so it’s sad I can’t do justice to her wealth of knowledge and kindness by recalling more of what she said.
