Franny Gets Frocked: Currumbin Sanctuary

Finally sharing all of the blissful photographs of a winter's day spent exploring Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on Queensland's sunny Gold Coast with my mother & father. After a little over an hour in the car, we arrived at our destination, paid $10 for off-street parking & showed our RACQ admission vouchers (members get a percentage off ticket prices), entering the National Trust of Australia owned sanctuary which has been conserving native & non-native wildlife for over 70 years, educating & entertaining families & tourists from all over the globe after humble beginnings as a bird sanctuary created by bee-keeper & passionate flower-grower Dr Alex Griffiths as a way to protect his prized blooms from local rainbow lorikeets in 1947.

Set across 27 hectares of natural, eucalyptus-rich bushland & rainforest, the sanctuary is home to native mammals, reptiles, bird life & amphibians as well as various exotic species & comprises of specially-built habitats, a free-flight aviary, Lost Valley enclosure featuring non-native species including lemurs & capybaras as well as fibreglass dinosaurs from the Jurassic period, kangaroo feeding & wallaby encounter, daily lorikeet feeding, koala cuddling, full-equipped & accredited animal hospital, tree top high ropes course for the adventurous, original small-gauge railway that loops around the 4 main stations, cafe offering everything from coffee & cake to gourmet meals, Blinky Bill's Treehouse & the newest addition: a Gruffalo trail based on the best-selling books by Julia Donaldson.

Scroll down to see how it all unfolded & find out details about what I wore...

Dress: Gorman cotton

Cardigan: Taking Shape mesh

Ankle Boots: Renee Loves Frances leather

Tights: Razzamatazz 40 denier nylon

Bag: Nautica nylon, vinyl with silver hardware

Hinged Bangle: Wallace Bishop silver

Bracelet: Thousand Island Dressing wood beads, silver charms

For this particular trip, I couldn't miss the chance to wear the amazing "Lemur Parade" cotton smock dress from Aussie label Gorman with its vibrant orange background & stylised pictures of Madagascar's most famous monochrome primates, a black mesh longline cardigan from Taking Shape, comfortable-yet-stylish black leather ankle boots with silver zippers from Renee Loves Frances in Bulimba that only seem to get better & softer & more malleable with age & wear, matte black 40 denier nylon tights from Razzamatazz to keep my legs warm (stylist tip: wear a size or two larger than your usual size to ensure that the tights remain opaque rather than "stretched out" & last much longer, particularly if washed by hand... they will also feel much more comfortable in Queensland's tropical climate) & a black vinyl & nylon crossbody bag with silver hardware from Nautica to carry all the essentials while leaving my hands free to experience all that the sanctuary has to offer. When it came to jewellery, less was definitely more - a silver hinged bangle from Wallace Bishop on one wrist & a black wooden beaded bracelet with silver charms from Thousand Island Dressing at Paddington on the other.

Feeling a bit like Mowgli being mesmerised by Kaa in The Jungle Book...

Blink & you'll miss the Spinifex Hopping Mouse!

The stuff that Aussie children's dreams are made of!

Heading up the stairs to Blinky Bill's treehouse...

Intrepid Companions

Forgoing the slide behind me in deference to my clothing choice but still enjoying the view from the treetops...

But first, coffee...

Relaxing with a piping hot Chai Latte

There are three koalas in this picture...

Can you spot them all?

Selfies on the Small (Narrow) Gauge Railway...

Across the wooden bridge at the Wallaby Encounter...

Iguana

Camoflaged Chameleon

Capybaras sunning themselves...

Tamarind Monkeys

Can't stop myself from twirling around in such a beautiful setting...

Tree Kangaroo

Literally THE ONLY lemur that I had the chance to see ALL DAY at Currumbin Sanctuary! Despite having the dress for it, the lemurs were having NONE OF IT, staying up on top of the bird aviary to sun themselves in the cold weather. Oh well, better luck next time...

#neverworkwithanimalsorchildren #showusyourgorman

Roo-topia

Spot the Blue Train...

More selfies on the Small Gauge Railway...

Cape Barren Geese

Bee-Keeping

A nod to founder Dr Alex Griffiths, Currumbin Sanctuary is working hard to help save the precious native bee population of Australia, a cause dear to my own heart. It's great to get tips on how to attract more Native Stingless Bees to my own back garden...