Day 7b - Wild Life Afternoon (Mon, Feb 26)

Because we can get in with our attractions card, after lunch we headed over to the Wild Life Sydney Zoo.  Originally, we were going to visit the aquarium at the same location, but there were many people milling around, and I asked the guy at the desk where everyone was going.  When he said the aquarium, I immediately asked him to change our ticket to the zoo.  When I visited the aquarium in London, I learned just how much a structure filled with glass walls can magnify the sound of screaming children.

It's not the Taronga (which is the second largest zoo in the world, with San Diego being the largest), but it is still a pretty good showcase of animals, conveniently located in Darling Harbour, and admission is covered by our pass.  Perfect way to spend some time!

Instead of monologuing, I will just show you the pictures.


WINGS:

	Gouldian Finch
Cassowary
Kookaburra	Budgie aka Parakeet
Australian King Parrot	Bower Bird decorating his bower
AND THINGS...
Wallaby with a Bower Bird nest in background	Ring-tailed Wallabies
Green Tree Frog	Sticky feet!
Wallaby	Happy frogs
Koala	Quolla
Petting a Kangaroo	Hallway with stairs through "night" exhibits

The Bower Bird is interesting.  The male bird builds a circular hallway, then decorates it with blue items, hoping to attract a mate with his awesome construction and decorating skills.  Our guy in the photos above has used blue straws, buttons and bottlecaps, and is busy rearranging them.  This guy is just getting going: Google "bower bird nests" and you'll see some amazing decorating skills.

And yes, we did manage to pet that kangaroo.  The zoo keepers bring them food over where people are sitting outside the enclosures; the kangaroos will happily chow down next to the hordes of people wanting to pet them.  So that was definitely worth the trip.

After that, JQ became fatigued from her busy day of avoiding short-person ships and petting kangaroos, and so she headed home.

Since JQ has returned to her larval cocooning stage, I decided to go for a walk on my own.  The other day I'd caught sight of a cliff side path that looked interesting, but said path contained JQ's nemesis of "hills", so we'd gone another way.  Now, I decided to go in search of it.  I had a general idea where it was, but was just enjoying looking at the different trees they have here, and the exotic plants they can grow in their front yards and windowboxes (including very large cactuses!).

Eventually, I ended up by the harbour-side park called Pirrama, with a view of the Anzac Bridge.  Nice quiet spot, with joggers going by, people sitting by the water, a few people fishing.  At the edge of the park, you can see the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the other direction.

And there's one of my cliff side paths - a set of stairs climbing a rock face to paths up above.  Up I go, to find myself at Giba Park, which has a great set of views due to its higher vantage point.  From there, I wander past Jones Bay Wharf, then decide to get a closer look at the Anzac Bridge.

On the approach to the next cliffside walk, there is a little park with three large stones in it.  A plaque says that the cliffs in this area were quarried for sandstone that was used to construct many of the 19th century buildings.  The Saunders family (quarrymen) named their three quarries Purgatory, Paradise and Hellhole - and there are three large stones engraved with those names sitting here.


Up on top of the cliffs I go, where I find another arty-arrangement of three circles on the ground, one metal circle, then a stone one, then poles set in a circular.  I wonder if this is some indigenous art display?  Nope!  The metal circle on the ground has words on it: Two liquids from sugarcane, one clear and sharp filtered through black charcoal, the other viscous, luscious and dark brown once soared in large tanks atop Distillery Hill.  It seems like a rather mournful epitaph, doesn't it?  I think the artist would like to have Distillery Hill back! 😄

So, what was Distillery Hill, way back in the day, is now situated in a park next to what must be incredibly expensive condominiums, with a great view of the harbour and the Anzac Bridge.  One of the buildings has walls that are pretty much all window, so I can see how the rich people decorate their homes.  (A lot of them, with art by the window-wall.)  No one has their curtains closed, so the A/C must be running.

ANZAC Bridge

Well, I have wandered far and wide for a while now; time to find my way back.  I have a general idea where I am, so I head back in the general direction I want to go, but I do veer off a few times to explore more parks, and to take the cliffside paths.  They wind along, and can be pretty high up.  On one path, I count the floors of the building across the street from me, and find that I am level with the 9th floor.  Wow!  Needless to say, there are many stairs involved in this kind of wandering.

I discover an IGA grocery store in a nearby neighbourhood, so I slip in to explore the prices, but I don't think I need to stock up on anything, so off I go again.  Eventually, I meet up with good old Harris Street, and head on home.

Supper is my leftover tuna roll/avocado sushi from Woolworths.  I'm a high-classy lassy!  Time to relax. Hmm, but we're also getting close to our New Zealand leg of the trip.  Probably time to book a hotel room in Auckland for those first two days. 😓  I should do that!