Baby Ella meets her perfect match

By Melissa Donchi
HEALESVILLE Sanctuary’s school holiday action began over the weekend with a series of sand sculpting workshops depicting Australian wildlife.
Sculptor Leo Vamvalis kicked off proceedings by creating a koala, impressing visitors and even real koalas with its life-like features.
Baby koala Ella took a liking to the sculpture and tried to swipe the sand koala’s head.
One-year-old Ella has been hand-raised by sanctuary staff since her mother was run over by a car. A favourite with the crowds, the baby koala nestled on her keeper’s shoulder taking peeks at kids and their families.
Despite his grand creations, Mr Vamvalis is modest about his part-time sculpting efforts, claiming he fell into the business by accident.
“I was just playing on the beach one day and it all grew from there, “ he said.
Mr Vamvalis has created sculptures for projects as diverse as the Bambi and Bug’s Life movies as well as a giant chessboard complete with pieces just to name a few.
Although he is relatively new to the art of sculpting, starting out in 2000, he was the runner up in the 2005 Australian Championships and was awarded the title of 2006 Australian Champion.
Wildlife sand-sculpting workshops will be run three times daily at 10.30am, 12.30pm and 3pm and feature a different Australian animal theme every day.
Workshops are limited to 30 children and run for approximately 45 minutes.
Children need to register on arrival to take part in the workshops, with places offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.
A sand area will also be operating daily from 10am to 4pm. A lunch area with beach umbrellas is available from 11am to 3pm.
Other activities include keeper presentations where children can hear how their favourite Australian animals keep cool.
Kids under 16 can keep cool with one free icy pole between 13 and 16 January as they watch animals such as kangaroos, emus and dingos being fed their icy treats.