By Esther
Kali grinned and shouted a big “Woohoo!” as she opened the gift from her Aunt Mia and Aunt Siena, her mother’s younger sisters. “Thank you!” She stood and gave each of them a big hug.
“I can’t wait to go to the wildlife park.” She turned the voucher over and gasped. “I’m even getting a photo with a koala?”
Her aunts laughed. “Yes!” Aunt Mia said. “You’ve been talking about getting a photo with a koala for two whole years, so we asked your mum, and she said it was fine.”
Kali squealed and hugged them again. “Also…” Aunt Siena smiled. “We’re taking you this Sunday.”
Kali clapped and cheered as she spun around the room. “Oh, wait. Is Ella coming too?”
“Definitely!” Aunt Siena exclaimed. “We can’t take one niece and leave the other behind, can we?”
Kali shook her head.
Ella, who had been watching from the corner of the room, grinned and ran to hug her aunts. “Thank you,” she whispered.
That week, the sisters talked about nothing but the trip to the wildlife park. Kali had been wanting to go, and since her parents didn’t have the funds for it, her aunts had kindly given her this birthday surprise. Sunday couldn’t come soon enough.
The morning of the trip was hectic. The girls bolted out of bed, did their morning worship with their parents, packed a bag with snacks, water, and their lunch, and just made it in time to kiss their parents’ goodbye and get into their aunts’ car.
Kali and Ella loved their aunts, and they spent a lot of time with them. It was always so fun.
After praying for traveling mercies, they put their seatbelts on and were on their way.
“Thank you again for my surprise!” Kali said.
“And for bringing me too,” Ella piped up.
“We love you girls so much.” Aunt Mia turned in her seat and grinned at the girls, her brown eyes sparkling.
“God blesses us, and we bless you.” Aunt Siena added.
The one-hour trip went by quickly, and soon they were entering the gates of the animal park. With a map in hand, Aunt Siena guided them to different shows.
They watched the raptor show, where impressive birds danced and paraded in the sky, flying low or high depending on their skills. Oohs and aahs filled the area as the audience watched with bated breath.
“This is the best day ever!” Ella whispered to her sister.
Kali grinned. “I know. I love it too!”
After the bird show, they headed to feed the farm animals. Baby lambs drank from bottles, sheep licked their hands as they fed them, and they gently stroked the baby chicks.
“Girls, did you enjoy the bird show?” Aunt Mia took a drink from her water bottle.
“Yes!” they cried in unison.
“The eagle was my favourite!” Aunt Siena said. “So majestic!”
“I found the barking owl very interesting!” Aunt Mia said.
“Did you know that the wedge-tailed eagle is Australia’s biggest bird of prey and one of the largest eagles in the entire world?” Ella exclaimed.
Aunt Siena frowned. “No, I didn’t know that fact. How wonderful is God’s creation?”
“And…” Ella continued, “the barking owl is about 45 cm tall and can be found in the northern and southern parts of Western Australia, as well as in most eastern states. They like to hunt in open areas, eating medium-sized mammals, small birds, and insects. These owls got their name because their call sounds a lot like a small dog barking!”
Kali and their aunts gasped.
“How do you know so much about birds?” Kali asked.
Ella shrugged. “I just read a lot of animal books.”
“I didn’t know that.” Aunt Siena shook her head.
“Me either. How wonderful!” Aunt Mia smiled and gave Ella’s shoulder a squeeze. “Keep enjoying God’s special creation.”
Ella nodded and ran off with Kali to see more of the barn animals.
“This is the best day ever!” Ella sighed as she stroked the fur of a guinea pig.
Kali nodded. “Yeah, you said that before, and I completely agree.”
“But I love it here. I want to stay forever!” Ella placed the guinea pig back in its enclosure, her big green eyes dancing with joy.
Kali tilted her head to one side. Her sister looked so happy seeing all the animals.
“Okay, girls, let’s head off to the crocodile feeding,” Aunt Siena said, turning the map. “I think it’s that way.” She pointed to their left, and they went on their way.
After the show, they finally went to eat lunch. They laughed, ate, and Kali watched her sister talk non-stop about all the animal facts.
“Ella, why didn’t you ever say you loved animals so much?” Kali asked, curious.
Ella shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I never thought it was important.”
“But if it’s important to you, then it’s important to God,” Aunt Mia said.
Ella took a big breath. “Well, being here has made me realise what I want to do when I grow up!”
All eyes turned to Ella. “What?” everyone said in unison.
“A zookeeper!” Ella grinned and wiped the corner of her mouth.
“Wow, that’s awesome, sis!” Kali leaned over and gave her sister a hug. “You would be really good at it, too.”
The aunts echoed the same opinion, and Ella laughed joyously.
Kali smiled as she watched her sister, so full of joy in loving all of God’s amazing creation.
“Hey Ella, do you think you could give us some koala facts? Since that’s my favourite animal?” Kali asked.
Ella clapped her hands. “Yes! And I can be your tour guide for the rest of the day, so I get to see what it feels like to be a real zookeeper.”
“Sounds like an awesome plan!” Aunt Siena grinned.
“Okay, let’s get going. You need to get a photo with a koala!” Ella stood, and everyone followed, packed their bags, and threw away the rubbish.
“And as we walk, you tell us about the koalas.” Kali smiled, linking arms with her sister.
“Sure!” Ella gave a little hop.
Kali loved seeing everyone so happy, especially Ella. This was the best birthday gift she could have ever asked for.
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Koala facts
- Koalas are often called “koala bears,” but they are not bears at all! They are marsupials, which means they carry their babies in a pouch, just like kangaroos.
- Koalas eats almost nothing but eucalyptus leaves. They can munch on up to one kilogram (about 2.2 pounds) of leaves each day! These leaves are tough and not very nutritious, so koalas need to sleep a lot to conserve energy.
- Speaking of sleep, koalas are one of the sleepiest animals in the world. They can snooze for up to 18-22 hours a day! This is because their eucalyptus diet provides very little energy, so they need a lot of rest.
- Scientists have found that koala fingerprints are so similar to ours that they could be mistaken for human ones.
- When a baby koala, called a joey, is born, it is about the size of a jellybean and doesn’t have any fur. The joey crawls into its mother’s pouch, where it stays for about six months, growing and developing before it explores the outside world.
PICTURE CREDIT- Canva AI
