The Aquarium and the Zoo

We awoke to the sound of pouring rain this morning. Charlie left right after breakfast to buy ferry/subway passes for everyone. We need to ride the ferry to the Taronga Zoo, but we could also use the passes to take the subway to the Sydney Aquarium. The rain was such that the group walking with Charlie decided we could make it to the aquarium on foot. I am the caboose on these walks, a term suggested by one of our students.

I know I will forget at least one of the exhibitions at the aquarium. This is what I can remember: platypus, Murray and Darling River aquatic life, the Coral Reef, small penguins. There were two circular tanks, one displaying sharks and the other containing the dugongs, rays, and reef fish. As we walked through, the creatures were on our right, on our left, and above us. An even more extensive display of the Coral Reef and its fish filled the center of maybe half a dozen rooms. Seats were provided in several of these rooms so that a person just could sit and watch.

We took a ferry from the aquarium to Circular Quay and then a ferry to the Taronga Zoo. The students were required to attend the kangaroo/wallaby exhibit and the bird show. A group of four students showed us wonderful photos of their interactions with the kangaroos. I hope they post them to the blog. Nearly all the kangaroos had their backs to us when Charlie and I walked through, as if they were annoyed with us. I did see one hop around a bit, but the kangaroo didn’t hop long enough for me to see how that works. I think the kangaroo placed its front legs onto the ground and pushed off the back legs. I should have more opportunities to watch a kangaroo in motion at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary in Brisbane.

The bird show was too short! Charlie was buzzed by an owl, and at the end of the show I “fed” a coin to a bird that promptly dropped it into a donation box. There was some tension when a wedge-tailed eagle took its time returning to the trainer. The show was opened by a bird who unfurled the banner by plucking a string; it was incredibly charming. For the second day in a row, our “guide” was American.

Charlie and I visited the exhibit featuring the nocturnal animals. The lighting is dim, and so the animals are more or less visible as they forage and frolic. The lighting will gradually get brighter after the zoo closes, and so the animals, thinking it is day, will go off and sleep.

Last year Charlie saw a cassowary in the wild. We saw two at the zoo. If cassowaries go extinct, there are plants and trees that will also cease to exist as the germination of their seeds can’t happen until the seeds pass through the digestive system of a cassowary.

The cost of eating is much higher than I expected. Charlie took me to two grocery stores last night, and I was stunned by the milk and fresh fruit prices. Tonight we returned and purchased bread, peanut butter, and jelly along with some items for tonight’s and tomorrow’s dinners. At least half of our students are doing the same. The hotel has a small kitchen with a microwave, and so we have some options beyond eating out each night. Our continental breakfast at the hotel is free.

Tomorrow we leave early for the Blue Mountains.