We only have a few more days in Australia, but today I want to tell you about our trip to the Taronga Zoo. The easiest way is to go by ferry and we made our way to Circular Quay once again.

As we are waiting for the ferry to leave, we spot a whole “herd” of jelly fish. They were all over. The white spots are jelly fish that are near the surface.

Since this is a weekend, we see families enjoying the harbor.

We get off the ferry and take a bus to the front gates where we see a real neat building that was built in 1906.

We have decided to take an Australian Wildlife VIP Tour, so while we wait for the tour to begin a visit to the gift shop is in order. The giraffe is great. I wish I had that in my house.

Then we spot an old weight machine. Later, we saw several of these scattered throughout the park.

We then have time to grab some lunch before the tour and spot several different birds around the outside eating area.

We also take a look at the map of the Zoo and spot something very strange. Can you spot it?

 The direction symbol shows the South direction as being up, not North. Is this because we are in the Southern hemisphere? I have no idea and didn’t really want to ask someone. I am sure my grandson will have the answer when we get home and I ask him.

It is time for the tour. We have purchased tickets that allow us to be guided around the Australian exhibits. We have been told that there will be no more than 24 in our group. Here is our guide, Daryl, who is the Head Keeper in the Australian part of the Zoo.

We are ready to start, and we find out that today we are the only people in his group. Wow!

As we start towards the Australian section, we stop by two tree kangaroos that Daryl tells us that they think the female is pregnant and therefore it is necessary to separate them until the birth. These animals climb trees like a squirrel. They also hop, but like climbing trees more.

As we stop at each enclosure, he tells us all about them and allows us to ask all the questions we want.

We then go into the nocturnal building and Daryl stops and describes everything about the various animals we see.

Next, he takes us into the food prep room and explains what each animal eats and we find out that he is going to let us feed some small marsupials (in all of the excitement, we forgot what they are… shame on us!). OK, we can do this.

Then he mentions that we will be in front of the public and to be on our best behavior. Hmmm… What is he talking about?

Then we realize as he takes us into one of the enclosures where the public is watching us and wondering how we got so lucky. He gives us a bowl of food that consisted of bananas, kiwi, corn, and leafy vegetables. He then gives us the bowl of food and places the animal on our shoulder. It sits there and eats out of the bowl.

I know the pictures are dark, but the building houses Australian Nightlife. Here is Rexie petting the animal as it eats.

Not to be outdone, I get one of my own to feed. It is tough to see, but the animal is eating the corn off of a slice of corn from the cob. When it has all the corn, it throws the cob on the ground and goes for something else to eat. This is pretty amazing. We are allowed to keep the animals on our shoulders for a long time until they finished the bowl of food. WOW!

As we go back to the food prep room, Daryl stops by an enclosure where we see this sign. As we stand there, the numbers change and continual get larger. Any ideas on what this is all about?

What we are looking at is a Plains Rat that is running on a wheel. This number shows how many meters (3.2 feet per meter) the Plains Rat has run today. Yes, I said today. They reset the wheel each morning and they just run and run. Interesting!

Next, Daryl takes us into a room where he takes an animal that is similar to a flying squirrel. However, it is so tiny that it fits in the palm of Rexie’s hand. As the animal wakes up, it vibrates like crazy as it gets it body ready to jump and fly. Before he gets too awake, Daryl puts the feed in the cages and puts the animals back.

Rexie really only had two must see items for our visit to the Zoo. The first requirement was a Koala. Not only do we get to see a Koala, but Daryl takes into complex full of Koala’s and specifically takes us into an enclosure where two Koala’s are sleeping. He is using keys to get us here. Today’s visitors are not going to be a part of what we are doing now. Do you think Rexie is happy?

We find out that both of the Koala’s have babies. Daryl gets a eucalyptus branch for the Koala. She wakes up and the baby moves to her back. Not only does Rexie get to see a Koala, she gets to pet one. She is on cloud nine.

The other doesn’t move even for the eucalyptus.

Next he takes us to see a mini anteater which is a cross between an ant eater and a porcupine. The quills are soft and they are for defensive purposes as opposed to offensive purposes. Rexie said the quills were very soft when she was allowed to pet it.

Next, Daryl takes us into an area where you can get up close to several Australian animals. The first thing Daryl stops us at is this animal here. My first thought was that it was dead. That is all we needed.

But, he pulls out the food and the animal gets up and we realize it is an Emu. Rexie feeds the Emu for a little bit and it tries to pull the plants out of her hand. It is strong, but very gentle.

Next, Daryl gets a Red Neck Wallaby to come over to eat. He has brought food for all the animals here. As Rexie is feeding the Wallaby raisins, people are stopping and watching as Daryl explains everything we need to know about the Wallaby.

Because Daryl is there, the Wallaby has no problem being petted.

Then a second Wallaby comes over for some of the food. This is amazing.

Then he takes us over to a Kangaroo. This kangaroo had been hit on the roadway and because of the injuries could not be placed back in the wild. Once it was patched up, Daryl raised the kangaroo like his own kid. He carried it in a pouch for months while he did everything and the kangaroo grew. What a story and it is obvious that the kangaroo and Daryl have a special bond.

On a sad note... On our way out of the park, we stop by the male elephant enclosure. Unfortunately, a few days earlier this elephant had pinned his female keeper to the wall. It was not angry and the zoo officials are not sure why this occurred. The keeper is in critical condition. They have decided not to put down the elephant because they feel it did nothing wrong as far as they can tell. It may have just been trying to exert some male dominance.

As we leave the wharf, a picture of the zoo shows just how hilly the zoo is. It reminded us of the Cincinnati Zoo.

Without a doubt, this tour was one of the best tours we have ever had. It is right up there with the “Home of the Brave” tour we took in Honolulu.

The Windjammer was out again as we got near Circular Quay.

To end a perfect day, tonight’s sunset was another for the record book.

We have some additional exploring to do but we have only one more major excursion planned before leaving Sydney and that is a trip to the Blue Mountains.

For now, good night.

I must be off!