ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL By Melissa Walsh
By Melissa Walsh Photos Gary Sissons
E
ver since Founder and Director of Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, Michael Johnson, dreamed of opening a wildlife park, it has been a safe haven for thousands of animals. It opened in September 2001 and, seventeen years later, Michael is still kicking goals. He recently won the 2018 RACV Victorian Tourism awards with two gold wins including the highly coveted Tourist Attraction category as well as Ecotourism.
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30 | PENINSULA
“I wanted a place where people could experience the rare and unusual animals that roam the Australian bush, especially those that no longer do locally, and to help save endangered species by giving them a safe place to be,” said Michael from the café on the Moonlit Sanctuary. As a child, Michael collected small creatures in his suburban Melbourne backyard, with his school yearbook even quoting his future ambitions as "wanting to help animals." continued next page...
January 2019