Victoria Twead
Author and Walkabout-Partner
As Australia burned, Victoria’s grandchildren were learning how to choose what to pack if they had to leave their home. With the rest of Australia and the world, Victoria watched helplessly as Australia’s seemingly “normal” bushfires grew into unstoppable all-consuming “mega” fires. Then she heard on the news that Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary (that’s us) was evacuating. We were on a mission to move every one of our dependent animals, and as many of the wild ones as we could catch, to safety.
Victoria had visited Walkabout before the fires. She had met Happy Feet (the friendliest AND gentlest emu in the world, the complete opposite of the scary emu she met at ‘that other place‘) and his friends. She knew these animals personally. She has family photos of them with her children and grandchildren. Victoria followed us on Facebook as our nightmare unfolded.
Although she already knew our wildlife sanctuary, my first meeting with Victoria was in 2024 after she reached out to us to ask permission to tell her experience of our story in her soon to be published book “Two Old Fools Fair Dinkum”.
Being a ‘beta-reader’ of the chapter about Walkabout was indescribably hard, but hugely freeing and cathartic. Victoria’s words, and her choice of quotes from me, took me right back to those 5 weeks when our Walkabout team stood, with our community alongside us, facing down the fires to save our animals and protect their wild home.
Tassin Barnard, Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary
A “Thank You” offer just for you!
- Simply click the “Two Old Fools Fair Dinkum” button at the bottom of this page and find Joe and Vicky’s dog’s name. [Clue: It begins with L.]
- When you buy tickets on the Walkabout website, at the checkout, put in the dog’s name as your “discount code” to get 10% off your entry tickets.
- Or quote the discount code when you get to the Walkabout reception if you prefer to buy your tickets on entry.
This discount code and offer is valid now, but it will change from time to time!
So, if you try a code and it doesn’t work, come back to this page and refresh it to see if the code and offer have changed.
Getting to know Victoria
Victoria Twead is the New York Times bestselling author of Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools and the subsequent books in the Old Fools series.
After living in a remote mountain village in Spain for eleven years, and owning probably the most dangerous cockerel in Europe, Victoria and Joe retired to Australia to watch their new grandchildren thrive amongst kangaroos and koalas.
More joyous life-chapters are unwinding.
Her latest release, Book 7, Two Old Fools Fair Dinkum, describes the bushfire summer of 2019-20. Tassin, the owner of the Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary shared the stories of those terrifying days with Victoria.
A snippet from the chapter in Two Old Fools Fair Dinkum about Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary’s evacuation
My ears pricked up when the news presenter spoke, mentioning a name that was familiar to me.
“The Australian Walkabout Wildlife Sanctuary in Calga has sent out an urgent emergency call for bags, boxes, and containers of all sizes. Trailers, drivers, and volunteers are needed to help evacuate hundreds of animals from the path of the advancing fires.”
I was filled with horror. How on earth could the wonderful people at the sanctuary hope to evacuate all those animals? Koalas, kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, flying foxes, parrots, emus … Surely it was impossible?
It wasn’t until much later that I heard more of the story from Tassin, the sanctuary’s owner, and her sister, Sally.
“It all started with a phone call from the Rural Fire Service,” Tassin said. “They said that the Gospers Mountain fire was heading in our direction and would be on us within three to ten days. They said they couldn’t stop it. They said they didn’t know what we could do with that information; all they could do was tell us that the fires were coming.”
“Oh, no,” I whispered.
“We couldn’t wait, we had 250 animals depending on us. It would take days to move them all safely. We had to start evacuating immediately. I crawled into bed after midnight after hours of preparation. We couldn’t do it on our own. As I lay in the dark with my eyes wide open, I put out a Facebook post asking for help.”
“I remember that.”
Tassin took a deep breath. “The next morning,” she said in wonder, her eyes wide, “the cavalry arrived.”
She stopped, reliving that moment and I think all of us felt goosebumps. Tears welled in my eyes, and I wasn’t the only one.
“It was the most incredible surge of spontaneous response. People from the Central Coast to Newcastle came forward, not only giving us what we needed, but giving us what we didn’t even know we needed yet. They brought boxes, horse trailers, blankets… They brought tools, rope, water carriers. I remember one message from a lady who said, ‘I’m afraid of animals so I can’t help, and I run my own business and I can’t take time off. But I’m a caterer and I will help feed your team.’ Somebody else said she had a car, and the pair of them kept us fed.”
Life is good. The grandchildren are thriving despite swallowing magnets and sticking crayons up their noses. Joe and Vicky plan a road trip with their dog. However, after disturbing dingoes, entering zombie zones and breaking the law, they learn life on the road is rarely relaxing.
Meanwhile, farmers anxiously watch their fields turn brown as a terrible drought grips Australia. Even worse, bushfire season arrives early, and flames rage across the land.
Will love and laughter be enough to keep the Two Old Fools and their family safe from harm?
