Summer in January? Well, yes and no. When we got here Saturday we arrived to a muggy rain, but Sunday was bright and clear. We all slept at least 12 hours, trying to recover from the overnight flight and time changes, so we were ready to go.
We are just a 20 minute walk from Darling Harbour. It is a tourist mecca, with all kinds of boat tours and restaurants and some shops. We decided to go to the Sydney Aquarium. One of the most interesting exhibits is the platypus. A swimming mammal that has fur, and nurses its young but lays eggs. The kind of animal that science teachers love to ask you to characterize on a test. (It's a mammal by the way) They also have lots of sharks there. There are two col underwater tubes you can walk through while things swim around you. One is the seal chamber and the other has fish and sharks and rays and turtles. I can now tell the difference between a New Zealand fur seal and an Australian one (the NZ is almost black while the AU is whitish.)
I also learned something about alligators and crocodiles. To my surprise, the shape of the snout is not a reliable way to tell them apart, as I had thought. The difference is in the teeth when they close their mouths. An alligator's teeth only show from the upper jaw while you can see a crocs from both upper and lower jaw. Who knew?
I also learned that when a seal raises his flipper in the air he isn't waiving, but regulating body temperature. And that a male platypus has a venomous spur on its hind legs, one of few poisonous mammals.
Today we went to the Sydney zoo - one that a proud Aussie told me is ranked second in the world. (San Diego is first). The zoo has a piece of prime real estate across the harbor from where we are, so we took the zoo cruise. It's a great way to go since you get to cruise around the harbor. We went underneath the Harbour Bridge, which is fairly impressive. There are tours each day of people climbing across it. think of that - spending hundreds of dollars to be up so high, risking your life to climb across a bridge that you could pay $3 to cross! Needless to sat, I chose not to do that! I tried to get some photos of the bridge and lunatics crossing it.
We also saw Fort Denison, a small fort on a rock island in the middle of the harbor. It was constructed in the 1850's to defend the city against the Russians during the Crimean War. Apparently it was never used because it wasn't finished until the war was over, but how often does a reference to the Crimean War come up? I mean - you just have to go with it when you have the opportunity.
Anyway, we were able to commune with kangaroos and koalas as well as other zoo offerings. The koalas really are just too cute - they look like you should take care of them. They don't do much, though, as they have the slowest metabolism of any mammal and sleep 20 hours a day. We were in a pen with a kangaroo with a joey in its pouch. I guess I hadn't thought through the dynamics of a pouch, because I was surprised to see the feet and tail peeking out. I guess you can't really back into the thing, but I had somehow pictures the baby kangaroo's face peeking out. Too much "Roo" from Winnie the Pooh, I suppose.
It started raining today and got quite cold for my understanding of summer. Everyone here is running around in long shorts, but its a little chilly for me.
Two experiences to share. The girls tried out one of those bungee trampolines and really enjoyed it. And while David and Veronica went to the science museum, Mackenzie and I tried the Lindt Cafe. You know Lindt, the Belgian chocolate people who make those wonderful little chocolate truffles that you get at Borders. Frankly it was a disappointment - the same chocolate you can get anywhere and the ice cream was good, not great, and very small portions. There goes the chocolate fantasy.
One of the interesting things about Sydney is the number of backpackers and backpacking stores around. There are many hostels for cheap lodgings, but then there are these backpacking stores with $200 shorts and equally expensive shirts, shoes, walking sticks and top of the line equipment. Curious.
I still can't get used to the British/French/Australian/Chinese system of drinking. I was prepared for no ice in the drinks, but not for $3 cokes at every restaurant with no refills. It is generally the same price to get a beer as a soda. Meals are expensive here, not as bad as London, but definitely higher than home.
We've found the Aussies to be very friendly and outgoing, also a little louder than the other countries we've been to, but in a good way. It is vacation time here, and there are lots of kids and families around.
We wish we had more time in Australia to explore the outback and other non-urban areas, but at the same time we are all a little anxious to be settled. We haven't spent more than 4 nights in any city since we started, out suitcases are full and we are nearly out of clean clothes. We are also tired of eating out at restaurants and ready to eat more vegetables and fewer french fries and pasta.
We still have lots more exploring to do when we get to New Zealand, but at least there we will have a home base. I'll close out our Australian chapter soon then start our new blog as we become temporary migrants to New Zealand.
And if anybody knows the story on Australian toliets let me know. The girls weren't very thrilled with the Chinese ones, and I am not a big fan myself, truth be told, but I haven't figured out why each toilet in AU has two flushing options. I guess one of life's mysteries, since I haven't cared enough to google it.
