Wild World ...

Gotten a little behind here as I've been hard at work these last few days. Yes, even though I am on vacation, I have client projects going on, which require me to spend 3 or 4 days each week actually working, plus I am also taking a class which I am attending via webcam -- which is pretty cool. Here I am in sunny, breezy Sydney sitting around in shorts and t-shirts while my classmates are huddled up around the candles, with scarves, hats and sweaters on braving the cold winds of Chicago.

Now lest you think I prefer the weather here -- make no mistake -- I like the cold. I've just been incredibly lucky since I've been here -- it's been somewhat cool and breezy during the days and even cooler and breezier at night. I have yet to experience the potentially scalding 100+ degree (F) summer day that can happen even in Sydney, and which surely happens inland.

Now in spite of the fact that I am working, I do manage to play a bit. Mostly on Sundays and Mondays -- because I am a day ahead. I get to play on Monday because all of you folks in the US are still having Sunday when I'm having Monday -- and I am also giving up part of my Saturday because it's still Friday in the States. So much for being in the future now!

Anyway, I did take some time this past weekend to trek into Sydney again -- this time I went back to Darling Harbour so that I could play at the recently opened Sydney Wildlife World http://www.sydneywildlifeworld.com.au/?sydney=/home?reload

Yes, I did take pictures and you'll see them in a moment ... patience friends. I have to tell you about getting to Wildlife World.

OK -- so how many of you have been to one of the Disney theme parks/resorts -- Disneyland, Disney World, Euro Disney, Disney Tokyo or Disney Hong Kong?

Great! OK -- so you know one of the ways that you can ride around these incredible places is on the monorail. Remember they also had one of these at the 1964-65 World's Fair in NYC, you know the one in held at Flushing Meadows, which is now the site of the US Tennis Association and each September hosts the US Open?

By the way you tennis buffs -- are you ready for the opening matches of the Australian Open, the first of the Big 4 Tennis Grand Slam? It starts in just 5 days. Details are at: http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/index.html.

Anyway, Sydney has it's own monorail that runs through the south end of the major tourism areas of downtown Sydney. It's pretty cool, if a bit pricey -- $4.50 AUD -- roughly $3.50 USD. I mean, I could have walked or taken a city bus for a lot less -- but when I got off at the Town Hall station -- yeah, I'm in the QVB again, and like a good tourist, I followed the signs to the monorail and then next thing you know, I'm in Disney heaven! Thanks, Walt!

So I rode the monorail -- it was crowded -- mostly tourists -- and HOT! Fortunately, I only had two stops to go and boom -- there I was on the Pyrmont Bridge overlooking Darling Harbour and Cockle Bay -- doesn't that name just tickle the cockles of your heart? And there, just a few feet below me lay the Sydney Aquarium and Sydney Wildlife World. Just think -- only a few moments away from ... the 10 deadliest insects, snakes and animals in the world -- oh yeah -- they had some friendlies, too.

Well, I'm definitely not in the same OZ that Dorothy was -- there were no lions and tigers and bears in this wild woods. Nope -- spiders, snakes and other creepy crawlies -- yes, and plenty of them --I skipped a lot of this part of the exhibit.

They fool you when you first come in -- the first exhibit is butterflies -- beautiful, gorgeous and plentiful -- every color you can think of and more -- my favorite was this bright cobalt blue one -- I tried to get a good picture of him but he wouldn't standstill. I had a serious conversation with him about posing -- but he was just too flighty for me. Nevertheless, he did land for a brief instant -- can you find him amidst the leaves?

After leaving the butterflies, I entered the kingdom of the creepy crawlies -- spiders, beetles and other assorted things that crawl. As I said, I skedaddled through here pretty quickly -- especially after I saw one spider with a small dog in its mouth. Well, not exactly a dog, but it was definitely bigger and furrier than the spider and the spider won. That does not bode well for small furry creatures.

Once out of the spiders and friends ... I entered the world of the reptiles. Of the 12 deadliest snakes in the world -- 10 of them are in Australia. Thank you very much. No one quite knows why the most deadliest of many species are here in Australia but when it comes to deadliest spiders and snakes and other assorted wild creatures that kill -- almost all are here in Australia.

Could it be that the separation of this island continent from the rest of the world made it especially vulnerable and so nature's creatures are ultra-protective of their habitat? They really can give this up, as the Australian government has taken over that role and is really doing a fine job of protecting them.

Nevertheless, I did see the two most deadly snakes in the world -- the Inland Taipan and the Eastern Brown -- there you have it -- #1 and #2 in the world. Step right up!

I also saw lots of other reptiles including some giant lizards and a little thing called a Thorny Devil, who really wanted to ham it up for the camera.

Lots of skinks -- I tired hard to get the blue-tongued skink to stick its tongue out for me and pose but I never could catch it out.

Never did see the Frilled Neck Lizard -- guess he was on vacation -- but here's a stately guy who took my breath away! Hey big boy -- what are you doing tonight?

From the reptiles -- I headed into the world of flight! Now let me tell you -- Australia has some of the most colorful birds -- also a lot with big mouths -- they wake me up every morning around 5:30 -- but most of the birds that were here were really adorable rainbow lorikeets and king parrots.

They are a pretty noisy lot but they are so beautiful to watch and really cute particularly when they gather round their feeding dish grabbing a snack between shifts. Take a look. David and I are going down the coast next week and there's a place where the lorikeets actually just come up and land on you if you stand still -- I can't wait! Wish my brother James were here -- these are just the kind of birds he likes!

After the birds -- it was time for a little snooze -- so I headed off to the nocturnal animals. The Bandicoots were asleep, the Sugar Glider was gliding too fast for me to see and the Greater Bilby had ears so big that it almost falls over when it walks cause it's so top-heavy! This was a tough place to take photos and I made a galant effort but I'll spare you the result.

Onto the animals of the Rainforest -- the most notable of which is the Cassowary -- a huge bird that looks a bit like an emu -- but is very colorful. This bird has a huge horn on the top of its head, which it uses to cut through the undergrowth as it hunts for food. It is also considered one of the most dangerous birds in the world because of its huge, raptor-like feet with razor-sharp claws. Although the one I saw was just hanging out -- after taking a close look at both the horn and the feet -- it's not something I want to meet in a dark alley anywhere. Check it out.

Finally, after all the spiders, snakes, lizards, night crawlers/fliers, I had finally reached the cute furry things -- wallabies and koalas. Are they as cute in real life as they are on film? Yes, they are -- even cuter.

I went in the late afternoon so the wallabies were pretty lazy and they actually like watching us -- I think they think we are their TV -- 'cause they all sit around staring out watching the picture change with each new crowd of spectators.

It was feeding time in Wallaby World and so they were also busy munching on their carrots and broccoli and other assorted veggies -- bet they get enough fiber everyday. I had one guy who was a real ham and kept posing for the camera.

Last but not least, the koalas are truly as adorable a creature as you'll ever want to see. The entire gang here was asleep in the gum trees -- eucalyptus to the rest of the world-- yes there are over 700 varieties -- almost all of them native to Australia and found only here. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about gums ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucalyptus. In spite of the fact that every one was taking a snooze, I did manage to catch one guy just waking up and he was nice enough to pose for the girl with the camera for a few shots. Thank you very much!

As you can see in the top picture -- they use at least one of their long clawed feet to hold onto the trunk of the gum tree while they sleep and they curl their cute little face into their chest. They have incredible balance and they are all perfectly still when they sleep -- no bed hogs here!

It was truly a sight to see all these little guys just hanging out in the trees sleeping -- they had about a dozen or so of them here. I felt really fortunate that one of them woke up -- seemed like it was especially for me -- since he didn't wake up when any of the other spectators were around. OK -- so let me have my fantasy!

After hanging with the koalas for a bit, I moved on to the end of the exhibit, which is actually the top of the building and it overlooks the butterfly sanctuary -- so you get to see all these colorful beauties from a completely different perspective -- top down! What an incredible sight!

I didn't get to see the echidna or wombat -- but I've yet to go to the Sydney Aquarium or any of the many zoos that are in this area of the country -- we're going to Canberra this weekend and I understand that their zoo has several species no one else has -- so no telling what wonders await me there!

While Sydney Wildlife World was not as grand as it is advertised -- I did get my first look at some of the amazing and unusual creatures that inhabit this island continent. The place is filled with the wonders of the universe -- many of them on four legs or more (some less) -- and almost all of them to be found nowhere else in the world. What a privelege to be able to move among them, if only for a short time. Oh, and I 'm glad you're venturing with me. Stay tuned!