Sunny Day at the Taronga Zoo!
Of course we had to begin the day with breakfast… but we were not able to go to our usual “Pancakes on the Rocks. The heavy winds and rains had knocked the power out of the entire building closing shops and restaurants. So we ventured out toward the ferry terminal… Four Frogs Creperie was fantastic! Four guys from France moved to Australia and loved everything about it… except they couldn’t find a good crepe. They decided to open this little gem.
Barry had a Galette… lots of cheese, perfectly cooked egg and thick strips of bacon hiding underneath all four sides framing the egg. It looked fantastic! I had a more traditional crepe. Stuffed with banana, the chocolate and strawberries on top were irresistible! I’m pretty sure we will return tomorrow!
Perfect day for a ferry ride across the Sydney Harbour. Headed for the Taronga Zoo and a little visit with the animals. Passing by the spectacular Sydney Opera House! Still quite cloudy but warm and wait… what’s that I see? It’s a couple patches of blue sky!!!
After getting off the short ferry ride, we headed up the steps to the cable car ride to the top entrance of the zoo. Not going to lie… I’m a bit afraid of heights, so this trip straight up the side of the hill got me a little spooked! It was a smooth ride but the higher we went, the more I couldn’t breathe!
I was pretty infatuated with the teeth on this little guy… Can you imagine the damage he would do if not for the window between us?!?! This crocodile was unusually active. He was hiding behind bushes when we arrived and immediately swam right up to the glass to visit :-)
Several spots offered great views of Sydney. This zoo has excellent environments for the beautiful animals. Knowledgeable employees shared insight into the personalities, traits and behaviors of their specific “guests”.
The chimpanzee is my FAVORITE! I could watch them all day long… their little personalities are fascinating. We sat for quite awhile, watching them interact. We learned that the zoo has twenty of them. Until recently, a very young eight year old was the alpha-male of the group. He was extremely nurturing. About three months ago, he died suddenly of a heart attack and no one has risen to the leader status. Apparently they are still a bit stunned and confused by the loss of their number one Chimp! If you look closely at the photo on the left, you can see the baby in mom’s lap. The middle is how the baby gets around now that she is getting a little older and on the right, the baby jumped off of mom. This was the first time we saw them separated… the baby was playing with a stick.
Sorry to many photos but I just LOVE all the wildlife we were able to see! I have to warn you… there’s more. This guy was quite a poser…
The other spot that held our attention for some time… the Mere Cats! As soon as we walked up, one of them, who had been sitting up on his hind legs, suddenly rolled over on his back and played dead. Another Mere Cat approached and began cleaning, rubbing and rolling over him. For about ten minutes, I was afraid he had died! Such a great actor! Then we visited the Red Kangaroos… pretty cute! Then into the snake area. I caught this one with his tongue out.
Talk about camouflage! This little frog blended in so closely to the color of the leaf, I didn’t see him at first! … and then there’s the peacock! Vibrant blues, greens and purples. Such a beauty. They roamed freely throughout the zoo.
Mr Giraffe and I had a moment… full eye contact. It was only for a short time, and then he went back to eating with the Mrs.
These two Koala Bears never woke up! I kept wishing the one on the right would turn around so I could get a good shot… but no.
On the way home from our long day at the Zoo, we popped into Fortune of War. Fun little bar we visited last time… Barry asked for “1000 lashes” which confused the bartender because it’s actually called “150 lashes”. The bar was full of characters… kind of loud and very drunk. We didn’t last too long!
Wandering around the Harbour, we decided to stop for an early dinner. I ordered an Ahi Poke Bowl. The server asked if I wanted tuna, chicken or salmon… Ummm… ahi? He said, “The Poke Bowl is like Champagne. It can only be called Champagne if it comes from the region. The Ahi Poke Bowl and only be tuna if it were made in the region of Hawaii”. Okay, that’s a first. And the above picture is what it looked like. It tasted pretty good but not what my mouth was watering for! Until tomorrow……………
