Sydney Zoo

Wednesday we woke up to clear skies, despite the forecast.  Correy brought me back Starbucks and then we went to McDonald’s – or “Mackers” as the locals call it, for breakfast.  Where else?!?  The egg McMuffins are different (they have avocado as an add-on), and I would have to say much tastier.  Coffee bars are quite popular here, to the point that McCafe is its own separate restaurant. 

Ferry Ride

From breakfast, we made our way back to the Circular Quay to grab the 12 minute ferry to Toronga Zoo.  Although the phone told us it was raining, it certainly wasn’t!  It was a beautiful ride that passed near the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge as well as several cliff-side homes.  We met a mother and daughter who had the day together in Sydney – the daughter flew over from New York and the mother from Russia by way of China.  We’d like to be adopted by that family.

Zoo Front

At the zoo harbor, we jumped on a bus up to the zoo itself.  We traveled along the trails to visit all of the exhibits (well, okay, we skipped the birds).  We stopped at the Café Harbourview for lunch.  LUNCH BIRD ATTACK

Some of our favorites were:

-       Alligators – we showed up at the perfect time!  The handlers brought out a bucket of fish and tempted the female and male alligators over for a bite.  They were careful to work on a buddy system to keep an eye on the younger and quicker female at all times.

-       Chimpanzees – but only because one of the baby chimps was carrying around a lifeless bird.  When I pointed it out, Correy said, “Oh, I’m sure it’s just a stuffed animal.”  Um, no; it isn’t.

-       Australian Walkabout  - we were able to walk through an enclosure with wallabies, kangaroos and emus!  They were right there in front of us, with no fences!!

-       Koala Encounter – we paid $20 to have a one-on-one visit with 3 sleeping, baby koalas.  We got a special zoo photo of us with the little ones.  I kept asking if I could touch them.

-       Tasmanian Devils – maybe not our favorite, but I about started crying when they showed the facial tumors the Devils are prone to.  When Simon Baker asked for donations I started reaching into my bag until I saw Correy watching me.

-       Elephants – we missed the keeper talk, but got to watch the adults and little ones eat.  Evidently they really like cardboard.

-       Seal show – in a smaller version of Sea World, we watched 3 different kinds of seals perform.  They were pretty darn awesome!

-       Lions – 2 females and 1 male were directly in front of me.  If it weren’t for the plexi glass I would have jumped in to pet them.  We were practically face-to-face, and the male practically posed for everyone’s cameras.

-       Snow leopards – they were also showing off for the cameras and antsy for their mid-day snack.  Correy got some great pictures.

-       Sky Safari – it wasn’t open when we arrived because of the wind, but by the time we were ready to leave the zoo we were able to ride it right down to the harbor to meet the boat.

During the 15 minute wait for the next ferry, I took a little nature walk in search of a tiny spot of empty, isolated beach.  It was always just around another corner!  Although I jogged most of the way, I didn’t quite make it there before I had to jog back to make the ferry on time.

At Circular Quay we stopped for gelato and listened to a man playing the digerido (sp?).  We grabbed a couple of local bottles of “Calabria” wine on the way back to the hotel.  The rain finally started once we arrived, so we drank some wine in our room and went next door to a little Japanese restaurant called Goshu Ramen Tei.  It was great!  I got beef yakisoba and Correy ordered a mixed bowl of chicken strips, rice and salmon sashimi.

The rain poured overnight – a record 116 cm – and completely drenched the city.  It was beautiful to hear it pounding against the windows.