We decided to take our extra bags to the storage unit so that would be done as we only had two more days in Sydney before we headed out to see what we could see of Australia.  It was over a mile walk which isn’t bad unless you are pulling a full, large suitcase on hilly sidewalks through thick crowds.  But we made it and the gal at the unit gave us a deal on our two month’s storage costs so it was all good.

We decided to walk over to Circular Quay (the cruise port) and catch the ferry across the bay to North Sydney and visit Taranga Zoo.  We spent the entire afternoon at the zoo.            The beautiful and iconic Sydney Opera House.                                                    I think this is the fattest bird I have ever seen.  Komodo Dragon from Indonesia.  This one (above) is not real; it’s a sculpture.  This one (below) is alive and well. A female Nyala antelope from Africa. The males have longer hair and are greyish brown with less defined white stripes.

We spotted this baby elephant from the gondola on our way into the zoo and it was fun, later on our walk around to watch it investigate the water pond.It wasn’t sure about the water at first but once it discovered bubble blowing it had a great time.                                                           Golden Pheasant

                          Meerkats

                                               Snow Leopard                                         Tapir

A stop at the Jackson Sports Bar on George Street for some dinner and a rest for our feet gave us the energy to walk back to the hotel; with a brief internet cafe stop along the way.  The news on the TV was all about the earthquake that had struck at Lytlleton, New Zealand the day before.  There were 75 deaths, 300 missing and over $12 billion in damages.  Our ship had been docked right at the epicenter less than two weeks earlier.  By the time we got back to our hotel is was 8:30 and time for a reading break before bed.