Kentucky Down Under – A piece of Australia in the heart of Kentucky

𝙄 have not been to Australia but one of the things I think of it is a kangaroo. Well, I mean desert  and kangaroos. I could travel 9,500 miles to Australia to see them, or just in Kentucky Down Under.

Well, there’s a chance that you’ve probably – probably never heard of it. For sure, it’s a true worthwhile experience you don’t want to miss. Without a doubt, I definitely will come back here. 

I would say Kentucky, one of the neighbor states from where we lived, has shown me so much of its full culture. It is officially named as the “The Bluegrass State”. Based on the fact that bluegrass is found in many lawns and pastures throughout the state.

One day, while chatting with a friend Liseth, also an outdoorsy person, she mentioned about her cave adventure and animal encounters a few  months back. When she was about to show the pictures. I was right away mesmerized. Telling her, “Say it again, Where else are you going to find Kangaroos, in Kentucky?”. As they lived in Australia and in New Guinea. That alone was super cool. Looking at the pictures then, it added so much excitement to me. We planned on going that very next weekend. We didn’t really check the weather, but spring season was at its peak. More than i could ever say, it was a beautiful day to go.

𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝐴𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑?

Might as well give you a brief overview of the place as far as I know. Bill and Judy, two enthusiastic travelers, opened and managed the place right after coming back from Australia. Bill’s grandfather purchased the place in the 1920’s. The couple, who are filled with interest in outdoors, made their bright idea for this place into reality. 

 American Bison were the first group of animals they had. The couple wanted to offer various aspects of the Australian culture to the public. The reason why the majority of the animals added were from Australia. There are also exotic animals in their care from around the globe including Africa, Europe and Asia.

Not long enough, they opened their 75-acre park showcasing a variety of exhibits and programs.

The Exotic Bird Garden features many species of parrots and other Australian birds.

You can walk into a large walk-in Aviary to hand-feed-colorful-birds found inside. I enjoyed the Lorikeets. You can get a small cup of nectar to feed the Rainbow Lorikeets.

Once we walked in with food, they flocked to our shoulders and head. You can watch and hear their tongue slurp it up.

Birds are super interesting.

Make sure you don’t miss the back side. There is an “outback walkabout” sign.  Take your time to stroll through an open field among kangaroos, ostrich and other wildlife. The animals are not really in cages and are free to roam. All of the animals I encountered looked well taken care of.

As any normal trip, I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. Have you ever met a kangaroo? And again, who knew there were kangaroos in Kentucky?  Well I felt enormously marvelous to have this real close encounter with kangaroos.

The captive-bred kangaroos are very friendly and you can get close enough to pet or feed a treat. Buy the big cup to feed from the guide. What’s in the cup is a part of their normal diet. The kangaroos will eat right out of your hand. There is something very relaxing about hanging out with kangaroos.

They are so much fun. It’s super cool to feed them. I mean, they like to have you pet them.  Sometimes they’ll make a group around you. So, watch out not to step on their tail.

Have you experienced that sometimes you don’t like going outside because it is too many people out there? You’d rather go to places and still meet sociable creatures like them.

Yes, kangaroos are very sociable, you’ll get comfortable with them easily. It’s like love at first sight. With so many other things in my life. I can say I wasn’t brave enough to do or try for the first time. But I was surprised with Kangaroos, they made me feel at ease right away. They are very eager to present themselves. Not just because they know you got food.

 I would say this is beyond true, researchers say they exhibit interspecies communication. I feel like I left my heart in there. Petting and feeding them was awesome. It’s a once and a lifetime experience for me. They are so gentle and comfortable around people.

Females have a permanent pouch for raising their young. The female kangaroo’s breast is  inside her pouch to nurse her young. Like an  incubator, pouch does the same by allowing the joey to fully develop. It is also a safe place to protect the joey from predators. Then the joey will leave its mother’s pouch for good after nine to eleven months.

The park is a quiet sanctuary. If I may, I liked to indulge myself with hours of peaceful reading time here. If the weather permits. If I were to live close to this site, I wanted to be here always. Get overly familiar with the path and never wanna be strayed far from it. By knowing the odds and having that healthy respect for potential danger outside.

𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘧 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘵

You can rent a golf cart. The entrance going to the attraction is a steep hill but easy to walk. You just need to set your mind up by stretching your body a little bit. In fact, do yourself a favor and walk.

It’s not a far walk unless there’s elderly people or young kids in your group. You may consider getting one. You can also pack lunch and eat at one of the many picnic tables or bleachers around. 

We made our way over to the donkey and camel.

Keep going, there’s more to see in the Discovery Area. Choose any exhibits that you want at this open walk landscape zoo. The place was a very well kept, clean park. The nature trail was an enjoyable walk.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳?

Make sure you aren’t wearing flip flops or slick shoes. Wear comfortable sturdy shoes. There are parts that are down steep. Slippery sections and stairs as well, so you have to walk slowly. The tour to walk through inside the cave takes 20-30 minutes. The path is a bit tricky at times and wet.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝘃𝗲

The leisurely cave tour features stalactites, stalagmites and other formations created by water and time to naturally design this incredibly beautiful underworld scene.

Mammoth Cave National Park is home to thousands of years of human history. It has a rich diversity of plant and animal life, earning it the title of UNESCO World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve.

I lived up appreciating nature so much being my field of work for a long time back in the Philippines. This is just like the good old days. Not to forget the precious times of the booming tourism industry before the pandemic.

Some parts, the cave narrows. A couple of tight spaces. There are sections you need to bend down low like moving your upper body forward close to the ground and then crawl. It is where the ceiling drops to just a few feet high.

Yes, as you may be thinking right now, it could be difficult. But you don’t have to be a hardcore adventurer to explore this amazing cave. It’s a guided tour and fairly easy to do. Even if it’s difficult, sometimes we don’t want to miss out on something that could be great just because it is. This is what adventure is.

There are light beams around to cascade majestically into the dark cavern. Without it the darkness is complete, zero visibility there is. Inside, you can’t use flash on your cameras.

This ‘twilight zone’ moment is remarkable. That sense of light and darkness meet ups. Where two different ways of life meet. Where light from the outside world still reaches. Rays of sunlight filtered through the natural holes in the cave’s ceiling. Like a sunlit cavern. A  beam of daylight, soft and elusive. It’s magical.

A cave is one of the most peaceful places you can go. It’s not a surprise why caves became Pilgrimage sites for devout Buddhist. You can focus on the small things that you usually never notice. Like the soft echo of your breath against the rocks. I tried to stay at the back of the group tour. 

Being in the cave, it’s so quiet, you may think it’s boring and lifeless. Well it’s not, it has a life of its own, if you hold quite still, you can feel it “breathing”.  A light whisper of air coming from many directions. It got hidden forces in it.

I personally would wish I had more time inside the cave. I realized the deeper we dive into nature, the deeper we realize that it is full of life. Which I believe makes us all united somehow. 

It’s a hidden gem. Impressive entrance chamber. When breathing in the damp air, you can smell the wet mossy limestone. Some say it looks the same as in other caves? For me, everything is unique, it’s unlike anything seen elsewhere. As well, caves have been a source of fascination.

Do they fascinate you? I will take that as a yes – they are museums of natural history. Being in this deep part of the earth gives you a sense that you are a very small part of a very large universe. There is so much that we can really grasp.

𝐂𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐐𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬

These are two of the most inspiring cave adventure quotes that i love; 

“A cave has two great things to teach you: Light is sacred; silence is to integrate with integrity. by Mehmet Murat Ildan

Libraries are like caves. They are places of transformation. There are secrets hidden within those walls. By Suzie Davies

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍..

They built a wood terrain for the waterfall to fall in steps. It still looks so natural. The music coming from it made me hypnotized for minutes. It’s one of the wow factors here.

The high elevation of the place receives a considerable volume of rain from the forest. It has a rich diversity of plant and animal life. This water flows to waterfalls. Standing in close proximity to the rushing waters makes all the caving and trekking all worth it. 

There is a sense of energy coming from this force of water. Just wanna say, life is like a waterfall, keep it moving and flowing.

My personal take away from this is that the world is our playground, live with it with open eyes and soul. There is so much life in this one place adventure. An opportunity to truly experience a piece of Australia here.

For this adventure, I am convinced that I am  with the absolute best the place there is. 

See more @… Kentucky Down Under (Cave Adventure and Animal Encounters).

Thanks for reading.