Wandering Around Sydney

(steve)

We spent the weekend wandering around Syndey some more. Two of the best stops were the Sydney Aquarium and Hyde Park. At the Aquarium we got a chance to see one of the creatures we couldn't find in Tasmania, the wily platypus.



We both think that the platypus is about the cutest animal ever. Only about 12 inches long, they were great to watch swimming around the logs, stopping for a scratch every chance they got. They blow bubbles for fun too. Luckily, we'll get the chance to look for them again later in a National Park by Brisbane.



There were plenty of other interesting animals including the Saltwater crocs (Salties) and Leafy Sea Dragons (only found in Oz and New Zealand). There was also an introduction to the Great Barrier Reef with a huge tank of assorted colorful fish and corals. Looking at the display made me pretty excited to strap on the tanks and go for a swim.



After the Aquarium, we took a walk through Hyde Park. Hyde Park is the oldest municipal park in Sydney located just adjacent to the Botanical Gardens. The park is home to a really nice fountain and the ANZAC memorial. Inside the park, there was an exhibition of photos from the Sydney Herald highlighting significant events of the past 175 years of publication. There were some amazing photos, including some world famous pics, like the Munich Olympics hostage crisis.



During our visit, there happened to be a flock of lorikeets (zoom the photo, they're difficult to photo since they're small and don't sit still long) buzzing around the trees. They are beautifully colored birds that look like small parrots and are just as loud. They fly around the city all day, although most of the time you can hear them but not see them. Also in the park that day was an example of an Australian White Ibis. These water birds are very common in the parks, where they beg for food next to pigeons and gulls (curiously spending very little time in the water). The other noticable birds around town are the sulpur-crested cockatoos. We watched a flock of them tear apart a tree to eat the berries. It's much easier to tear off the entire limb than individual berries after all. They are pretty to look at, but boy are they obnoxious to listen to. They seem to fly around in the late afternoon (sometimes in flocks of 20-30). Sydney's bird life (and bats!) is pretty different than the standard bluejay, robin, sparrow assortment found in most US cities.

For the boys out there: I have to say that I have been decidedly disappointed by Aussie beer. So far I've tasted a lot of Budwieser-esqe grog (Boags, Cascade, Toohey's New, VB, etc.) that I'm not going to routinely pay $6/pint for. Not much in the way of micro-brew here either. I did find a Belgian bar serving nice imported beer, but $9/pint is also unacceptable. Luckily, we have a local bar (the world famous Glasgow Arms) that provides $2.5 pints for residents of our building, so I'm not completely on the wagon. I might just have to drink wine for the rest of the trip. New Zealand is winning this competition hands down.