Melbourne Zoo

This morning we boarded a tram to the Melbourne Zoo. We were there just on opening and had the place to ourselves for a little while at least.

We went into the platypus house early while it was still light in the enclosure. We were very lucky to see one of these unique monotremes so active in well let conditions. It was busy chasing around the couple of yabbies that had survived from yesterday and searching for other tasty treats.

The industrious coatis are always entertaining. The troupe in Melbourne have quite big living area with lots to keep them interested.

This is Mischka the snow leopard. The keepers coaxed her out of her den to do some training. Snow leopards are captivating creatures and to see Mischka interacting with the keepers was quite special.

Harry's favourite was the tiger. She put on a show for us casually swimming the length of her lake. What a show off! Who said the big cats are lazy lay abouts? (Me probably).

We also saw....

 Mountain Gorillas,

Sea lions,

Butterflies,

Red pandas, and many more.
One of the big surprises of the day was the Zoo bakery. As it turns out, there is a proper bakery in the middle of the zoo where they make their baked goods from scratch. So you can get fresh rolls, pastries, sausage rolls & pies. I was very impressed with the pie I had for lunch and it was a huge leap from the expected disappointment of most food outlets in zoos & similar public places.

Before we left the zoo, we went back to see Mischka doing what cats do best....

Lazing around.

This afternoon we went to the tram museum just outside the inner city. Not surprisingly, it was all about trams, from the very old to the relatively new. Harry, in particular, had a great time.

 

 Another box ticked and another day done.

Docklands

This afternoon we explored Docklands which is a short tram ride from our apartment.

We started at The District precinct where we found a place to have some really nice fish (King George whiting) & chips in the shadow of the Melbourne Star (below).

We continued to explore Docklands following the waterfront where there are water craft of varying sizes and uses.

Some very large and very expensive super yachts were there for the Australian Tennis open.

The Steve Irwin is an ex-navy ship used by Sea Shepard to disrupt the Japanese whaling fleets. It is now retired.

Most of the smaller boats were still pretty impressive for the most part. By late afternoon, Harry was exhausted so we caught a tram back to Collins st. where Harry could chill out watching trams while we organized dinner. Once Harry was asleep in bed I returned to Docklands with my camera.

As always, the soft light at the end of the day changes the character of the environment.

As the sunset transitioned into night, the surroundings changed again with the lights dominating the lense.

The Melbourne Star came to live with an ever changing, spinning light show.

Sea life Aquarium

After a bit of sleep-in this morning, Harry & his bears were on the lookout for trams again.

To fill in time before the Sea Life Aquarium opened we took some time to explore the other side of the Yarra River. We started with a short walk around the King's Domain gardens.

The Boathouse next to the Domain was busy with rowers going about their morning training.

South Bank is a bustling restaurant and shopping district during the evenings but during the early part of the day there is next to nobody around.

We were some the first visitors for the day to the Sea Life Aquarium so we had some time to see the exhibits before the crowds invaded.

There were small tanks with small sharks & rays.

Small tanks with small colourful fish.

Spiky Lion fish.

Very Large fish in very large tanks....

Full of big sharks,

schools of big fast fish,

and rays,

Sawfish,

and guitarfish.

There was also a small tank with a camouflaged wobbygong.

There were other animals including a crocodile (a real one & the fiberglass one in the photo above), frogs, jellyfish, and, in a separate area, a specialized type of bird that swims.

The Gentoo Penguins from Antarctica are pretty busy normally but once the keepers came to feed them they went crazy in the pool.

The Larger King Penguins are a lot more relaxed. It was great to see them up close so we could get a feel for their large size & individual personalities.