Day 3: The Taronga Zoo

Location , location, location!
Some of the best real estate in Sydney, with the most spectacular views of the harbor and city skyline, is the Toranga Zoo .

I imagine that the giraffes and elephants must by amused by looking at the man-made zoo we call a city.
As for Taronga itself, it's a wonderful zoo--one of the best I have ever seen. And I was able to see most of the animals that informed Darwin’s evolutionary theory. Many of them, like the bilby , the ring-tailed opossum and the Tasmanian devil are nocturnal—so I couldn’t photos of them—but some of my favorites photos are of the platypus and the wombat:










The wombat is a sleepy little guy really gets into his nap time! Then there is the Duckbilled platypus!



The zoo prides itself on its number of “interactive” opportunities—The Koalas , kangaroos and wallabies were kept in walkabout areas. Though enclosed and separated from the rest of the zoo, there were walkabout areas with paths that allowed the people to walk among the animals . I have never been so close a zoo animal before,as when I watched a momma kangaroo feeding her baby just 2 feet from me and my camera.



And then the Koalas—these cute, cuddly animals spend most of their time sleeping—giving rise to the myth that the eucalyptus leaves drug them. Not true, I am told. They just get so little nutrition from the eucalyptus leaves that they sleep most of the time. HMMMMM—a strange evolutionary quirk.

Here we are, my new friend and guide, Trish O'Connor and a sleepy koala.

Remember to click the photo to get a larger view and to zoom in on the baby Koala.

The Taranga zoo—one of the best days I had in Australia!