No, there is no city or place in Australia called Permagrin.

Or at least not that I know of…

Some definitions of permagrin:

• A state of being. Appearing to be in a permanent state of grinning or smiling, despite your circumstances or state of mind. {Source}
• A smile that lasts for a long time, despite any negative occurrences. {Source}
• A word we use to define a long lasting, blissful grin. {Lost my source.}

Warning:

This post was going to be choc full of photos and videos of one or our favorite days in Australia, thanks to Barb & Tony! Then I realized I had too many ‘roo photos to share. So this post is dedicated entirely to them. {Don’t worry, you’ll see plenty of koalas, crocs, a wombat and even a Tasmanian devil in upoming posts!}

You just might adopt a permagrin, too, after reading this post and. If not, you be the judge if these photos captured my utter state of bliss!

~

When Barb and Tony said we’d be going to a Ballarat for the day with a stop at the Wildlife Park, Rob and I were looking forward to seeing the kangaroos and koalas. But what happened next was not what I expected…

As we were paying our way at the entrance…

Barb: “Carrie, you and Rob will need at least four bags of kangaroo feed.”

“What?! We get to feed the kangaroos?” I thought to myself.

Me (to the cashier): “Two adult tickets and four bags of kangaroo feed, please.”

We opened the door to the entrance, went through the gift shop, and into the park.

And the kangaroos were right there… right outside the door.

My jaw dropped and I thought to myself again…

“Is this real life?”

Yes, the moment I stepped out of the gift shop into the wildlife park, the kangaroos were waiting for me. (Okay, not just for me. But they were… right there!)

It’s almost like they were mythical creatures until I had the opportunity to touch them.

 

Here’s a video of my first feeding! {We fed many that day.} I apologize for the amateur video. We’re new to the whole video-on-the-phone thing and Rob was just as surprised and excited as I was. He tried to figure it out as fast as he could to get some footage.

Check out the joey in the pouch, too!

Squeee! Again, this is not what I was expecting. I thought the ‘roos would be behind some fence or gated in somehow. But they were lounging all throughout the park!

If they get tired or didn’t want to be bothered, there is a designated resting area where they can go to avoid visitors:

Keep in mind, these are small, tamed wildlife park kangaroos. You wouldn’t go up to a kangaroo in the wild and try to feed nor interact with it. Not a good idea. They can be vicious. Their tails are so strong that they can lean back and balance on it before using its hind legs to tear you up.

The kangaroos in this park are somewhat spoiled. I didn’t see much hopping. Most people just come to them with feed. Or they’d use their front legs along with the back ones to move around. And those lazy Joeys don’t always stick their heads out first like this one…

They crawl right down in those pouches to keep warm and sometimes you see just feet, sometimes feet and ears!

Just look at the way they use their paws… hands? to grab my hand and eat out of it.

We don’t look happy at all, do we?

Ask me six months before we left if I thought I’d be feeding kangaroos. Nope. Never would have crossed my mind. I wouldn’t have even known we’d be going to Australia! {It was only in April that I realized we’d have enough miles for free flights by May.}

And Rob’s feeding:
{another amateur video}

Is it silly to say that this may have been one of the happiest days of my life?

Don’t tell me if you can do this in any zoo back in The States. Frankly, I don’t care. I was in Australia. It was my first time seeing ‘roos and I got to feed them – for as long as I wanted. It was the perfect day. And I definitely had a permagrin.

Other than your wedding day or the day your child was born, what was one of the happiest days of your life?

~

I’ll post about more wildlife from our beautiful day at Ballarat Wildlife Park… Stay tuned!

Other posts on our Australia trip:

• The One Thing I Didn’t Need to Bring to Australia
• The Wattle and Bush Tucker
• Scenes from Sydney
• A Morning at Bond-Eye
• The Blue Mountains
• Sydney Eats
• Sydney Dinners: His & Hers Picks
• An Afternoon in Melbourne
• Meet our Aussie Mum & Dad
• Is This Real Life {Penguin Parade}

Cheers~
Carrie