[Each link in this posting is different....]

As part of a trip to South Australia, including the world-reknowned wine region of the Barossa Valley, Kristen and I took a trip out into the Murraylands region of the state.

Murraylands is named for the Murray River, which runs roughly 1600 miles, including forming much of the border between New South Wales and Victoria.

Here's a picture of the Murray River from somewhere north of Murray Bridge:

We drove through Murray Bridge (site of the first road bridge across the lower Murray River in 1879), then north to the small town of Sedan. From there, it's about 15 miles east-northeast to the Yookamurra Sanctuary. (See this map...sanctuary is roughly between Sedan and Swan Reach, a few miles of the road between them.)

The Yookamurra Sanctuary is enclosed by a nearly 9-mile long fence which keeps out foxes, feral cats, and other predators. This allows the Sanctuary to reintroduce endangered species such as the numbat, the brush-tailed bettong, and the bilby.

Yookamurra's web site is essentially non-existent, but HERE is a page from their 1999 annual report.

And HERE is someone else's page talking about the Sanctuary.

The land is typical, beautiful Australian outback, like this:

Yookamurra has some limited cabin and cooking facilities, but when we visited, we were the only guests there and we didn't stay overnight.

Along with the endangered animals, there are more common animals like wallabies and wombats, some of which have become used to people who have fed them since they were babies. Here are a couple examples:

A Friendly Wallaby

Kristen says G'day

Wilma the Wombat, built like a little tank

Since all the animals are nocturnal, the best viewing is done by leaving the main building just before sunset, walking some time, then walking back by moonlight and starlight, with occasional flashlight help if necessary.

Here is a wallaby checking us out at dusk:

And finally, since I didn't see a numbat or get a photo of a bettong, here's a bilby under a Sanctuary sign:

And a bit of a closeup:

All of Australia, including South Australia, is a great place to travel. If you do go down under, I recommend you venture out from just the cities, and if you are inclined to see mostly cities, Adelaide is worth a visit.