Shrimps and “Barbies”

          Well, here we are in Australia.

                             We were supposed to be in Sydney first, but because of Miss Gabrielle, we tanked those last three New Zealand ports and booked it to Melbourne first.

                             This would av been fine ‘cept Mick Dundee (aka ‘Crocodile’) promised me he’d meet us wen we got heah so he needed ta get in the bloody truck ‘n drive all the bloody way down heah. Fair dinkum mate!

                             We did not get to “Throw another shrimp on the barbie” as neither of us was home. That will come later, after we get out of the bush and finished our walkabout.

                             What we did do was drag him to the Zoo!

                             Yes, we came all the way down here and went to the bloody Zoo. We teamed up with our new mates, Darla and Sandra, and forayed into the wilds of the Melbourne transit system….. so far, the most daring thing that we have done on this trip.

                             No Princess Excursion.

                             No “Guaranteed” return if we had issues.

                             And Absolutely Zero problems with any of our connections, stops, returns, or …….. anything! The day went very smoothly, you see, it’s really hard to get lost or have any kind of problem when Everyone is willing and eager to help you. Random strangers could not have been nicer. We made friends everywhere we went, especially sitting on the Tram with them.

                             Our goal was to see those wonderfully endemic Australian species as close to their homes as possible. We were mildly successful in that department, as forces beyond our control kept a few of them tucked away for various reasons. The Platypus, for example, was hidden behind closed doors with a sign proclaiming Animal Not Available At This Time.

                             Rats! (not the critters, the expression of dismay)

                             All the way here and these guys decide to take a nap!

          The rest of the fine zoological specimens that are here were fairly obliging, except….

                                      Have you ever heard the expression, “Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun”? Well, we arrived mid-morning on the hottest day of the year so far. 35 degrees! (double that and add 30, it’s Celsius mate!) The locals kept apologizing to us as if they had some kind of mystical power to control of the weather. All we said was “It’s ok, it’s the real 35 back home and cold and icy!” and went about our way.

                             The Melbourne Zoo is celebrating 160 years of existence, having opened in 1863. The Bronx Zoo, by comparison opened in 1899, and most of the European zoos had their genesis in the early 1800’s. But, hey, let’s give these guys a break! They only arrived here in 1788, as a boatload of British convicts and their Marine guards.

                             More cool Aussie history in a later post!

                             Back to the Zoo….

                             The place is quite well done with each section nestled in its own area of the park. It is not large in size, just well planned and executed. Kind of like California’s Disneyland which is relatively tiny in size by todays standards, but when you visit, you’d never know that Tomorrowland is right next door to Adventureland. They do that good a job of encapsulating each section so as not to ruin the illusion.

                             Same here. The paths, winding through giant groves of bamboo and other tropical plants eventually lead you to viewpoints carefully tucked into the habitats of the animals that are here for us to see.

                                      Our issue was that bloody heat!

                                      These critters do not live in air-conditioned environs, so they take matters into their own paws and beat it to the shade.  

                                      And hide.

                                      Very effectively.

                             So, we got all of our steps in for the day (and more!)

          We saw some nice fauna amidst the flora, had some ice cream, and got to have an adventure in Melbourne!

                             Mr. Dundee kept muttering something about being able to get us into the bush and showing us some “croc’s in the billabong” or something like that.

                             All we want are those shrimps on the barbie!