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First aidAustralian Wildlife LbNA #74594

Owner:Gypsy gal
Plant date:May 15, 2020
Location: Coconino National Forest
City:Flagstaff
County:Coconino
State:Arizona
Boxes:6
Found by: Desert Flower (6)
Last found:Oct 2, 2023
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Jun 5, 2021
This series of boxes is my second letterbox planting. I travel full time and have spent nine
months in Australia, which is a beautiful country with wonderful people and interesting wildlife. I picked up these stamps in Australia several years ago and recently decided they would make
an interesting series of letterboxes. I hope you enjoy them. If you have a variety of colored markers, you may want to use them, to match the stamp. Note: each stamp is two-sided. They are no longer self-inked so you will have to ink them. I hope this series of stamps encourages you to visit Australia. The logbook is in the last box.

From Flagstaff, head towards the Grand Canyon. When on Highway 180 you will see a sign for Snowbowl Road, which is in seven miles. You will continue 7.9 miles past Snowbowl Road on Highway 180. Turn right on Forest Service Road 794. Pull into the parking area just off Hwy 180.

Clues to Box #1:
Echidna - Echidnas are sometimes know as spiny anteaters. They are an egg-laying mammal. The short-beaked echidna grows to 12-18 inches and almost eight pounds. The western long-beaked echidna grow to 18-30 inches and 20 pounds. Interestingly, the echidnas back feet are backwards.

Standing behind the Forest Service sign mentioning restricted area for motorized wheeled vehicles, take 130 steps at 65-70 degrees, passing a group of rocks, to a stump about three feet tall. The echidna is hiding at the foot of the stump.

Clues to Box #2:
Little Penguin - The little penguin is the smallest species of penguin. It grows to an average of 13 inches in height. It is found on the coastlines of southern Australia and New Zealand. The main place to see them in Australia is Phillips Island.

From Box # 1 walk 80 steps at 80 degrees to a downed log where you will find the little penguin. Walk to the trail, which is about 150 steps at 335 degrees and turn right onto the trail.

Clues to Box #3:
Kangaroo - The kangaroo is a marsupial. Kangaroos are indigenous to Australia. They grow to over nine feet and 100-150 pounds. They can easily be seen in the wild.

Continue to follow the trail straight until you reach a stump at the end of the trail, where the trail turns right. Stand behind the stump and walk 70 steps at 20 degrees up a slight rise and to the right of a group of rocks. Continue another 30 steps to the nearest downed log pinned between two trees. From the left end of the downed log, walk about three steps to your right, on the backside of the log, to find the kangaroo under the log, immediately behind a tree. Return the way you came back to the trail and turn left.

Clues to Box #4:
Koala - The koala is a herbivorous marsupial native to Australia. It’s closest relative is the wombat. It lives 13-18 years in the wild and is 9-33 pounds and 2-3 feet tall. Many people call the koala a bear, but it is not.

Continue on the trail. After a short ways you will come to a two foot stump on your left and five stumps on your right. From the stump on your left, walk 55 steps at 60 degrees to a two foot stump. You will find the cute, cuddly koala in the stump. Return to the trail which you can see from the stump and turn to your left.

Clues to Box #5:
Wombat - Wombats are short-legged, muscular marsupials that are native to Australia. They are about one yard in length with small, stubby tails and weigh between 44 and 77 pounds They can run 25 mph when threatened. Though I really like the koalas, the wombat is my favorite Australian marsupial.

Continue on the trail past a tree with blue numbers (D252) written on it (hopefully it is still there) to a standing dead tree/stump about eight feet tall, on the right side. From that tree walk 65 steps at 105 degrees to a two foot stump right next to a tree. The wombat is waiting for you there. Return to the trail and turn right.

Clues to Box #6:
Tasmanian Devil - The tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial. It was once native to mainland Australia but is now found in the wild only on the island state of Tasmania, including tiny east coast Maria Island where there is a conservation project with disease-free animals. This is the only animal of this group that I have not seen in the wild, though I have seen them in conservation parks.

As a bonus stamp, I have also included in this box a Kiwi stamp. The kiwi is a flightless bird native to New Zealand. They are the approximate size of the domestic chicken. The kiwi is recognized as an icon of New Zealand, and the association is so strong that the term Kiwi is used internationally as the colloquial term for New Zealanders.

Continue on the trail to a T intersection. Straight ahead there is a log about one foot high and four feet long. Walk straight back from the log 55 steps at 60 degrees to several downed logs and two stumps. Behind and and under the second large log is the tasmanian devil, the logbook and the kiwi. Return to the trail and retrace your steps on the trail for .5 of a mile back to the parking lot.

i hope you enjoyed the Australian wildlife stamps. Please double bag the stamp and logbook in box 6. Sorry if my compass readings are not exact...they are close, I think.

Happy boxing!




Hike length: 1-2 miles