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Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: JoJo Our Baby Joey Is Growing Up

Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: JoJo Our Baby Joey Is Growing Up: "Our little baby kangaroo is finally growing up. Jojo is finally gaining some weight and getting a little bit taller too. She weighs about 3 ..."

JoJo Our Baby Joey Is Growing Up

Our little baby kangaroo is finally growing up. Jojo is finally gaining some weight and getting a little bit taller too. She weighs about 3 kg now and is about 55 cms tall. We are still feeding her milk, but she started eating grass, which is a big step for a little baby joey and a really good sign.

She is jumping higher and faster now and if you don’t pay attention for a second she’ll be gone!

Jojo is very curious and interested in everything and everyone.  She even gets her head out of the pouch just to observe. Jojo starts biting on everything and she is really cheeky. As soon as she gets out of her pouch, she stands up and starts scratching herself like humans do! It looks so funny! First Jojo leans back and scratches her back and then she has to scratch her tummy!

One morning at about 5 am she jumped out of her pouch, which was hanging next to the window and made a loud noise, so we would wake up and take care of her! She definitely knows what she wants and how to get it!

Interview With Our Tourist Mel

Hi Mel, could you tell us a little bit about you and what took you to Australia this year?

My Name is Melanie Pahnke and I am from Germany. I am 19 years old and just got my Abitur this year. This year some of my biggest dreams came true while travelling the world in 31 days with my boyfriend. One destination was Australia.

How did you find Out The Back Australia?

We didn’t want to plan the whole trip from Germany, we went to Sydney first to see where our journey would take us. We stayed in Sydney for 2 days and it was raining the whole time. So we went to a travel agency on the second day, to see how we could spend the following 5 days in Australia.

We definitely wanted to travel a bit more, get a lot of experiences and have a great adventure. But we had to keep in mind that we only had 5 more days in Australia and our wallet should not be empty after those 5 days.

After a long time of talking and calculating, the travel agent told us, that a Globetrotter just told her about an Outback Tour she made and how amazed she was about the experiences and the kindness of the people.

What adventures did you experience?

We went kajaking and made a stop on a sandy island, where we had barbecue on an open fire. We went shooting with pumpguns and slept in swags under the star filled sky and we visited to Rocky Station.

What was your best experience?

There were a lot of adventures on the Outback Tour we could experience. My favourite experience was camping in swags under the star filled sky. I did not sleep much that night, because I could not let go of the thought missing out on something when I closed my eyes.

There are so many noises that I never heard before: the rasping sound of the birds, which makes you feel like you got back in time to the stone age. The cracking noise of the campfire. The grashoppers and all the other little crawling animals of which you don’t know where they are just at that moment.

And the stars. It’s like lying under canopy of bright glowing shining dots. Not sleeping was definitely the right decision, because I would have missed out on so much. I experienced something great that night, behind all the trees and bushes the night seemed to turn into day and I thought it was the sun rising. But it was the moon.

What impressions did you have of Cunnamulla and the locals?

I am from a big city and I have to say that it is a huge differnence to go on an adventure trip to Cunnamulla. To me Cunnamulla is a little town and not a city, where everyone knows everyone and that is excatly what makes this place so special. The people are so nice and friendly.

What was it like to travel to the Outback?

This experience was overwhelming. The contrast to the our common live is so huge. You get to know how to use simple things and tools instead of going the easy way if you have to. Through this experience I learned how to take a closer look to my environment.

Would you recommend this tour to other backpackers?

I would recommend this tour to everyone. I don’t think people who never made this tour will understand what we’ve experienced unless they go on this tour and experienced it.

Do you think the tour was well priced?

The price compared to the effort you get is really fine. And the tour starts from Brisbane and Sydney!

What is your conclusion from the tour with Out The Back Australia?

It might sound really cheesy, but this tour is so wonderful and well organised with a lot of heart!

Thank you so much Mel!

Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!

Out the Back Australia in Cunnamulla: Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!: "It’s a girl and her name is Jojo, she has no mommy anymore, so we are happy to take the responsibility of raising her. She is about 7 months..."

Guess What – We Have A Baby Kangaroo!

It’s a girl and her name is Jojo, she has no mommy anymore, so we are happy to take the responsibility of raising her. She is about 7 months old and 30 cm tall. Did you know that they are only about 2 cm long and weigh less than a gram when they are born? It is unbelievable, right? Baby Kangaroos are called “Joey”.  She stays in a little pouch, which is a pillowcase we put in a bag and we keep hanging her next to the window.  Jojo has pretty dark blue eyes, little hands and long hind legs. When we got her she could barely stand and now she just started jumping the other day. We’re really proud of her! We have to clean her and feed her with milk every  couple of hours. When we feed her with the bottle, she grabs your finger while drinking. That is so cute and makes you feel like you have a real baby in your arms. You would get attached to her right away! Jojo gets curious more and more, so we let her out of her pouch to practice hopping on the grass. She is so fun to watch, you would love it!

Most Australians probably have never seen a baby kangaroo before and never touched one. So it is a real unique opportunity and experience for us to take care of her. So if you book a tour and come around here in about the next 6 months you will have the unique chance to feed Jojo and have unforgettable moments with a Joey! You should not miss out on that!

We will keep you updated, so follow Jojo!

Please give us feedback if you like and we will be very happy to answer any questions you have!

Charlotte Plains

After we left Rocky Station on Sunday we were heading to Charlotte Plains. I was really excited about the farm stay, because I only heard the best of it. Robyn and Reid, the station owners, showed us places where a huge variety of wild flowers grow. We stopped at a bore for lunch surrounded by emus and a great scenery. Their property is huge and really magnificent. They have sheep, cattle, horses and lots of other wildlife.

When we arrived at their homestead two german girls, Louisa and Simone, were  already expecting us. Five puppies were running into us and wanted to be cuddled non-stop. But we also had to take care of two little lambs, Maggie and Rose, which the girls have to feed until they are grown up. I forgot to mention Matilda, “the house sheep”.  The puppies are chasing her most of the time. It is really funny to watch. Poor Matilda.

We took a dip in the pool and got ready for dinner. After dinner we went to our accommodation and had a camp fire with some stickbread under the star filled sky including a couple of shooting stars.

The next morning after breakfast we went to the shearing shed and Jack’s Hut and Robyn told us a lot about the history of Charlotte Plains, which was originally called Turnworth.  On our way we saw a lot of kangaroos, emus and camels.  

Yeah, camels. If I hadn’t seen them myself, I would not believe it. But the camels are really living on their property. A guy named Willie, who stayed in Jack’s Hut, was famous all over Australia because of his camel tours he used to make.

 I couldn’t wait to get to the Natural Artesian Spa. The bore head is really hot, but once you are in the water, you get used to it very quickly. It was really relaxing and calm. I should get an weekly appointment.

Back at the homestead, Robyn showed us the house where she used to live in when she was a child. The house is filled with historical stuff like beautiful black and white photographs, pretty dresses, dolls, a gramophone and antique suitcases. Just to mention a few things. It was like a flashback to the past.

I can’t wait to come back to Charlotte Plains to learn more about the history and get a nice treatment in the bore again!