The ALIA Top End Symposium was on last weekend, and the following day I headed off to Alice Springs where I spent a week working at the campus library there. So I have heaps that I want to blog about, but I'm going to start with an unsual experience I had in Alice this week.

My colleague Leonie took me on a tour of the uni campus - she was a great guide and introduced me to lecturers and staff all over campus. One of the highlights of my campus tour, though, was meeting a staff member called Sue who is also a carer for rescued wildlife.

Sue had a little black-footed rock wallaby staying with her, and he was nestled very comfortably in a fleece beanie. While we were there, he decided it was time for a little afternoon exercise, so we had the great pleasure of watching him bounce around the office for a while :)

He was quite a curious little chap, so we each got our feet sniffed and examined. I took a few photos - he's a fast little mover, so they came out a bit fuzzy unfortunately. But he was so adorable, especially when having a dance/wrestle with the hem of Sue's skirt, that I had to share them!

Black-footed rock wallaby 1

Black-footed rock wallaby 2

Black-footed rock wallaby 3

When the rock wallaby is ready to look after himself, he'll join the colony at Heavitree Gap in Alice Springs. These wallabies are accustomed to human company, and hand feeding them is a popular tourist activity.

This was such an unexpected treat - thank you to Sue and Leonie for a wonderful opportunity to meet a beautiful little fellow :)