Feral Feast

Australia is well known for its unique wildlife.  For example, the kangaroo and emu which appear on the Australian Coat of Arms, are found nowhere else on the planet.  There are plenty more like the koala and platypus, etc. that could be listed here but would take some time so I will not expand upon these any further.

The Kangaroo and Emu appear on the Australian Coat of Arms.
Neither of these critters can walk backwards so they are perfect to represent the ambition of a nation to always move forward!

While the native fauna are mostly still doing OK (I won't mention the extinct Tasmanian Tiger), there are several introduced species that have thrived since being released (accidently or on purpose) into the wild after the initial '...it seemed like a good idea at the time' reason for their introduction was no longer important.  Some of the worst examples of animals 'gone feral' include:

• Rabbits: Introduced to provide some 'sport' for the landed gentry.  Well, what a surprise when they proceeded to breed like rabbits and consume any vegetation that sheep, cattle and the native herbivores would typically eat thus creating exceedingly difficult grazing conditions in an already difficult farming environment
• Foxes:  Again, these were introduced for some 'sport' but also to combat the now out of control rabbits).  While they likely picked off a few of the millions of rabbits running amok out there, they also enjoyed feasting on many of the small native marsupials (Australia's furry warm blooded native species) that call Australia home
• Cane Toads:  Purposely introduced from Hawaii as a natural predator of the cane beetle that was damaging sugar cane crops in northern Queensland.  Having no natural predator themselves in Australia they have since spread across the entire tropical top end of the country decimating all sorts of water and land based species along the way
• Cats:  Domestic cats gone feral over the last 200 years are now deemed to be the single largest menace to native birds, furry creatures and lizards in the country.  Their natural hunting instinct means they catch and kill pretty much anything that moves that is in their weight division.

Less harmful but feral nonetheless, goats, donkeys and camels can also be found in abundance roaming the Australian outback unchecked.  We didn't see any donkeys or camels on this trip but we did see several herds of feral goats in the northern areas of the Flinders.

Did you know that Australia has the largest population of camels anywhere in the world?  If you didn't, now you do.

After this fairly long introduction I now come to the subject of this post - The Feral Feast!

ADVERTISING:  Roadside billboards as you approach the town of Parachilna advertising just some of the menu choices that are available to the discerning diner just a few kilometres up the road.

The meat while 'Feral' is fresh, i.e.: this is not a true 'Road-kill Grill'

LOCATION: The Prairie Hotel is a pub in a tiny town called Parachilna, located on the western flank of the Flinders Ranges.  One could mount a convincing argument that the town is so small that rather than describing the pub as being IN Parachilna, it is more appropriate to say that the pub IS Parachilna.

The Prairie Hotel is in Parachilna (or) The Prairie Hotel IS Parachilna 

This place has made quite a name for itself due to the items that appear on its regular menu.  The signature plate is called the 'Feral Mixed Grill' which is comprised of a Kangaroo Fillet Steak, an Emu Filet Mignon and Camel Sausages!  While the camel is the only actual feral animal on the plate in the Feral Mixed Grill, some poetic licence allows the kangaroo and emu, being untamed, to grace the same plate!  If you want to go truly 100% feral you can also select a plate featuring slow cooked goat meat.

HOUSE SPECIALTY:  I'll have the FMG or 'FERAL MIXED GRILL':  I chose to have the Feral Mixed Grill for lunch while we were there.  Heather, who has never been one for wild meats, went with the Chicken (for chickens).

Handy little road signs are provided to help you identify what you are eating

The meal was very tasty although I was not so sure how to feel about having just eaten the animals on my national Coat of Arms.  The Kangaroo Fillet Steak was great, the Camel Sausage was tasty but to tell you the truth (as I always do), the Emu Filet Mignon didn't do too much for me at all - I was glad to have an ice cold beer at the ready to chase it down with!

Well that's enough for today - I need to go and have a little lie down to let the belly settle.  WTF? - Where are The Farrows? will return in a day or so with a post about some of the Aboriginal cave paintings and rock engravings we visited during our Flinders Ranges tour.