animals « WhereamIgoingto

Sydney,Australia…it is amazing being able to open the shades of my hotel room windows and look out at the iconic symbol of this city!

The weather is definitely unpredictable…sunny to cloudy to showers to clear and back to pouring rain all throughout the course of one day!

I ate lunch at the chic version of a food court at the Opera House and then it was ferry time to view some Australian wildlife!

It’s only a short ferry ride across the harbour to reach the Taronga Zoo. It was a rocky ride past the Harbour Bridge as the wind whipped intensely and the water was full of whitecaps!

I was anxious to visit the Koalas…besides the general entrance fee, the zoo offers a one on one experience with these famous outback animals for an additional charge! These cute creatures sleep ALOT and they don’t like to be awoken…I have had an almost disastrous run in with a Koala years ago at this same zoo when I accidentally got too close and woke him up! I was determined to have a better encounter today…

It was great! Besides the many sleeping Koalas curled up in the trees, one adorable girl had just finished eating and posed for me happily!

The zoo has a nice walkabout design so you feel close to the non dangerous animals…I was next to kangaroos, wallaby, and red kangaroo! I topped it off with a great guerilla as well as amazing sea lions swimming, obviously these two animals are viewed through glass!

The Taronga Zoo is an unforgettable experience and the view of the entirety of Sydney just adds to it’s immense appeal!

Cape Town, South Africa…I set out today to further explore on a day trip to Cape Point outside of Cape Town. Along the way, the day unexpectedly turned into a zoo of sorts!

I encountered some of the famous and adorable wildlife of South Africa! I started the day with a boat ride from Hout Bay to Duiker Island, better known as Seal Island…This island showcases a large colony of Cape Fur Seals! They are so cute to watch as they play and knock each other off the rocks into the sea and then warm themselves under the African sun.

A further drive out of town and I stopped at an Ostrich Farm…they look harmless but supposedly they can be dangerous! But they frolicked and posed for my camera. Later, I even spotted a wild Ostrich feeding along a beautiful stretch of coastline…

On the way to Cape Point, the van was besieged by aggressive Baboons looking for food! They crawled on cars and stubbornly stopped traffic by blocking the road. It’s hard to believe these clever yet funny looking creatures can really cause so much havoc!

I was startled at the Cape of Good Hope by a creature that was so effectively camouflaged to the rocks that he snuck up on me, almost causing me to tumble off into the sea in total shock! I still don’t know what this opossum looking animal is…

Finally, a stop at Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins! They are a unique breed of Penguins because they make a donkey like sound that has earned them the nickname “jackass penguins”. They mate for life and are monogamous, and they can usually be seen in pairs!

Nature is an incredible thing…both the beautiful vistas and unique species of all kinds that make up this wonderful world!