 |
| View from Sydney Zoo |
I am not a Zoo fan. I really hate to see animals kept in small confined spaces. The only deviation from this is if the animals can not live out in the wild due to injury or if they were born in captivity. As far as zoos go...I really like the Sydney Zoo. They have keeper talks and in all of them they talk about the need for conservation activities for the animals native environment and ask for support for conservation efforts.
We really enjoyed ourselves. The first day we listened to the keeper talks and went to the shows. I was surprised that there was a decent amount of the zoo that we had not seen by the end of the day (zoo closes at 5pm). The tickets are not cheap but it includes an optional gondola ride up the hill and all of the talks an shows. The only thing not included is feeding/holding an animal. Animal Encounters (as they call them) cost extra but the pictures that I saw were well done.
My favorite show was the Free Flight Bird Show. I was impressed (we even caught the show again the next day). The show is complete with wedge eagle and an owl...it was impressive. The end is set to music and has different groups of birds sweeping past. I don't know how you could walk away from there and not love nature and be at peace. Be careful for the stroller parking area after the show...it is a dangerous area especially if you are still reveling in the tranquility of your thoughts. The seal show was also fun.
We spent time looking at the giraffes, Big Cats and the elephants. The giraffes were fun to watch while they were feeding because they have LONG purple tongues that are quite versatile. We caught the cats awake as it was feeding time. They are beautiful animals. It is amazing how many things I saw the tigers do that my kitty at home does. The zoo has three young (less than 3 years old) elephants which were a hoot to watch them interact with each other and their environment. It was nice to take our time as we has 2 full days with our pass.
The next day we spent time around the Australia animals including wombats, koala, emu, kangaroo, platapus and my favorite....the gliders.
We saw little feather-tail gliders that were smaller than mice but were a glider and scurried around flinging themselves from branch to branch and even ran across the glass. We spent 2 hours alone watching the gliders, potoroos, echidnas, and other nocturnal animals.
The reptile/amphibian section was small but good and there were tons of places to walk through and see birds. I did feel bad for the condor that did not have room to fly...I guess it would be hard with a bird so big. I hope they are happy.
The day ended with the most relaxing way to end of day. They have a walkway below the penguin area. We went down and leaned against a railing and watched fairy penguins swim over us. They are amazing to see but being able to watch from below was a rare treat. The pool extends along and the fiberglass allows you to see them up close. They really are a iridescent blue color (hence the name Blue Penguin). 
On the way to the ferry we also saw the Red Panda. The Red Panda has all of the best things from bears and raccoons. They are adorable!!
We enjoyed the Zoo...we took the ferry back to Circular Quay and watched the sunset. Pretty day.
No comments:
Post a Comment