Milestone #1

This is the very first Milestone post! Basically, in this post, I will give you updates on what's going on with WeForWildlife, as well as notifications about upcoming posts. I will also ask you to give me feedback on your feelings and "constructive criticism" on how well I did (only if you want to!)

Hooray! We have finished the very first WeForWildlife theme, the Australian Outback. I think it's time for a mini celebration, don't you think?

Peer Review
Since this was my very first theme, I'm sure not everything was perfect and there definitely are places I could improve on. I know a few of them myself (getting some of my posts up in time, for example!), but you, as my audience, could find even more than I can! That is why I'm asking you, if you don't mind, to do me a small favor. If you would like to, it would be wonderful if you could leave a comment below suggesting anything you want me to change, or your comments and feedback on how well I did for the first theme. Thank you for being supportive!

Updates/Notifications
As I said, I will try my best to post more often during the summer, since I have more time now. Hopefully that will get better as the summer progresses.

• My family & I will be on vacation from 7/1~7/13. Since we'll be gone so long, I will take my computer with me to continue blogging while we're away. However, since I'll be on a train most of the time, the poor internet connection quality will probably affect my blogging (so I may have to split the posts into parts again...and hopefully that doesn't mean delays!)
• I will stand by my promise and try to upload one animal post per week. In addition, though, I may post "Travel Specials"where I'll share photos and videos of endangered or cool animals I see on my trip. Be sure to check those out as well!

Acknowledgements & Last Words
There are so many people I want to thank since this blog first started! My first post received 0 views until I finally shared it with some friends and family. Since then the visits to this blog have risen up so much, and I'm glad I'm telling more people about the significance of animals on this planet!

I'd first like to thank everyone who has viewed this blog--you guys are an amazing audience. Don't think I'm a stalker, but I know how truly dedicated you guys are. I occasionally check the number of views my blog gets on certain days, and the page views always spike on Wednesdays, when my posts are supposed to be finally published. It makes me feel so good to know that there are people who actually follow and take interest in my blog, especially since the world we live in now has so many people who think so lowly of animals. Thank you, and I encourage you to keep reading, because my posts will only get better as my experience builds!

Next, I'd like to thank the people who have chosen to "join" my blog and become members. I know you don't get candy or cookies for joining, but I still am extremely grateful for your support and not giving up on me when some of my posts are published a bit late.

Third, I would like to thank and honor my amazing and fantastic friend from more than 400 miles away who helped me set this whole blog up and gave it its name! (Her name shall remain anonymous until I receive her permission). We were originally supposed to work on this blog together, but since her school year has been extremely busy, I did not want to place more stress on her and let her focus on her schoolwork for the past year. If her school life is not as busy next year and she would still like to collaborate, she might help me edit posts, and even write a couple posts of her own as well!

Finally, I would like my parents. They have been such wonderful supporters and helped me manage my time when I was fighting between the busy school days, extracurriculars and finding time to blog. They were the first ones to read my first post, and always give me helpful resources and comments for my posts. I fully understand that since they've been so busy with work, it is rare for them to continue reading my blog, but I thank them for the support they've shown me since the beginning and even now! (only just behind the scenes)
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Sorry the next milestone post will not have such a long acknowledgements (I probably won't need one at all!) Have a great rest of the day, and since I was told some viewers love videos in my posts:

Video taken from Youtube, BBC

Hot Spots in Australia- PART 2

Welcome to "Hot Spots in Australia--Part 2!!" This post will be continuing from Wednesday's post. (I feel bad I wasn't able to finish by Friday.....Sorry!)

On the last post I mentioned a great place to view many of the outback's animals, and that is the Dyandra Woodland. I covered the trails, tours, animals, and gave a summary of the lodging. Like I said in the previous post, I will now be introducing to you one more great place to see the animals I covered in the past months and more!

Cape Le Grande National Park

 

When was the last time you saw kangaroos sunbathing on the beach? Probably never! If you would like to, Cape Le Grande National Park is the place for you. (Sadly, your very presence on the beach would probably scare the shy kangaroos away).

You're also probably thinking: A beach in the Australian Outback?? If you remember all the way back to the very first Outback post, I posted a map that marked the Outback regions. Here it is again if you forgot:

Guess what? The Outback reaches the Southern Coast of Australia too! There are three main big bays in Cape Le Grande: Hellfire Bay, Lucky, Bay, and Thistle Cove. The picture above is a photo of the beautiful Lucky Bay in Cape Le Grande, which is where many tourists and travelers have spotted kangaroos hanging around at the beach! Here are a couple of videos that show kangaroos having fun at Lucky Bay: (source is linked below the video)

Video originally recorded by reisewut, Youtube

Video from VideoBlocks (please comment below if the video doesn't work)

Video originally recorded by Em KD, Youtube

In addition to "kangaroo-watching," you could also fish, swim, snorkel, and camp at Lucky Bay! Occasionally, you might see a glimpse of a migrating whale as well. Also, if you choose to camp at Lucky Bay (or anywhere in Cape Le Grande), the park offers picnic places, bathrooms, kitchens, barbecues, and solar-heated showers (yep, that's a thing!) There are also caravan areas for parking. Campsites include Lucky Bay Campground and Cape Le Grand Campground.

However, according to the Department of Parks and Wildlife, Lucky Bay Day and Camping Area (including the beaches and coastal trails) will be closed from June 2nd to October 31 (2015). Reason unknown as of now.

Nearby is also Frenchman's Peak and Mount Le Grand, where you can rock-climb with your family and friends (a fairly popular activity around the area). If rock-climbing is too hard-core for you, then consider going on a hike or bushwalk and enjoy the colorful wildflowers that bloom during the spring season. 

It just wouldn't make sense if I told you all this and didn't tell you how to get to Cape Le Grande. You could choose to drive your personally vehicle into the park, or take a conventional vehicle offered by the city. Very close to the Cape Le Grande National Park is a city/town called Esperance (distance 40 miles). If you take a bus or vehicle that specifically gives rides straight into the park, you could get to Cape Le Grande in about 30-45 minutes! This option does not come with any additional costs except for the money you pay for the bus tickets. If you choose to drive your own vehicle into the park, they charge $12 for each vehicle (up to 12 people per vehicle). 

There are a couple of hazards that Cape Le Grande pose:

• Bees. Bees tend to be a problem in the Cape Le Grande park, so be sure to stay away from active hives and be especially cautious if you are allergic.
• Rock fishing. If you choose to go rock fishing, or just fishing at all, be careful and knowledgeable of the tides and fishing seasons. There have been many accidents where people have been pulled off the rock from the force of the tug at the end of their line, and they end of drowning or hurting themselves against the rocks. Be careful!

There you go! That is the very last post of the Australian theme. Hopefully I can get the very first post of the next theme up by next Wednesday (it's the beginning of the month too, yay!) For any questions on Cape Le Grande you can ask me in the comments below or visit their official website: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/cape-le-grand

Speaking of next month, do you remember our next theme? I will be focusing on the Great African Migration!!!!! If you absolutely love elephants, zebras, and the tons of other animals that take part in this great annual movement, make sure to stick around--I'll always try to have my post up by Wednesday! (Sadly Time does not love me and I tend to fall behind schedule, as you can see from some previous posts.....but I shall still try!)

With that said, See you next time!

~Cheri (WeForWildlife)

Hot Spots in Australia- PART 1

Ooops....this post is three days late...

Since this post is turned out to be pretty long, I've decided to split it into two parts. Here's the first part, and I'll put out the second part as soon as possible. However, it is my birthday tomorrow, so Part 2 is not likely going to be out by then. My goal is to finish writing it by Friday, Friday, Friday!!! (But please don't lose hope if it isn't out by then) :) My posts will (almost) always be published by Wednesday!!!

As the last post of the Australian theme, I have decided to list some great places to view nature and some animals I've covered in the past few weeks. Hopefully you'll enjoy some of these sights and parks!

Dryandra Woodland

Dryandra Woodland, located in Wheatbelt, is a wonderful place for sighting many of the animals I've covered. (Wheatbelt is in Western Australia by the way, a little farther down the Outback).

In the Dryandra, you can find many subspecies of wallabies and kangaroos, as well as (animals which I haven't covered) possums and another endangered species, like the Western Barred Bandicoots (shame I didn't get to it!)

It is important that you follow this park's "Leave No Trace" rules to ensure a 100% natural and clean habitat for the animals. Click on the following link for a more detailed explanation of the Leave No Trace policy (this is a widely accepted series of rules for campgrounds and reserves). [Leave No Trace]

By looking at the map above, in addition to the tons of other branches of trails, Dryandra has 2 main "popular" trails for you to choose from: a "bushwalking trail" for looking at the natural bushes and wildflowers as well as some birds, and a nocturnal walk at night (guided by a ranger) that will teach you all about many endangered species (mainly marsupials).

There are also campsites such as Congelin Campground that you can choose to stay a few nights in with your family. Follow the link below for more information. If you don't feel so comfortable camping in the wilderness, you can try the Lions Village where they offer cottage accommodations, or a few "farm-stays" in the local area.

If you want a full tour of the park, you can choose from two self-driven tours that follow two different trails. The Audio Drive Trail, which is 25 kilometers, has a linked radio that gives a narration about each site as you drive along. The channel that broadcasts this is 100FM. There are a total of 6 sites, and all of them have their own unique background story. The channel will briefly cover our relationship (as humans) with the land and how it affected this environment and its natives.

The second self-driven tour trail is Darwinia Trail, 23 kilometers long. (It's awesome how the website says 23-kilometres) Rather than using a radio broadcast system to educate, this trail has several open places to pull over, where information on the site will be provided for you. The Darwinia route will take you into the very center of the woodland forests of Dryandra, and there are also some lunchtables for a nice family picnic, if you pre-packed lunch. (There is also no question to who this trail was named after...)

Go the the official Dryandra Woodland website for more information: http://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/dryandra-woodland

The next post will be (I think) one more park with great Outback sights and wildlife. Again, hopefully Part 2 will be out by Friday! Until then, enjoy some nice pictures of animals in the Dryandra:

Burrowing Bettong

Echidna

Numbat

Numbat

View Part 2: http://weforwildlife.blogspot.com/2015/06/hot-spots-in-australia-part-2.html

WeForWildlife Continuing Starting Now!

Yay! With only a few more days of school left, I finally can squeeze in some time for blogging. I have officially started on the final Australian Outback themed post, and hopefully it will be out by this weekend.

Happy Summer to All!

(By the way, I will continue to post during the summer)