Adelaide Zoo
Last Tuesday we drove to Adelaide for the day. In the morning we took our daughter Rose to to the Adelaide Airport. She flew to Sydney for a conference and to stay with her brother and sister-in-law. After attending to some business and having lunch we went to the Adelaide Zoo.
Many Changes
We had heard that there had been some recent changes at the Adelaide Zoo with the opening of some new exhibits. After we had been there for only a short time we realised that there had been many changes since our last visit several years ago. The new exhibits, although not all yet complete, are great. They enable excellent views of the animals and they continue the trend away from wires and bars to glass viewing areas and overhead walkways. This also makes photography much easier and I was able to get some great shots.
Lions
The lion display is now great. One is able to get within about 2 metres of the lions. I was able to get several close up shots of the male lion looking very regal indeed. It was quite disconcerting to be stared down by a lion at a distance of less than two metres. He was probably trying to assess whether I’d be worth the effort to catch and eat. After all, I’ve recently lost about 11 kilograms in weight. Mmmm. On the down side these photos had to be taken through the usual wire netting. Still – the wire does give one a feeling of safety being so close to such an awesome creature.
Birds
We spent quite a long time in the rainforest aviary. I again managed to get some really fantastic shots of birds close up. It was rather overcast (it had rained heavily as we entered the zoo) so the flash came into its own.
All in all – it was a very pleasant and relaxing three hours wandering through about half of our favourite zoo.
All Creatures Great and Small
No Comments »15th April, 2006; Category: Animals, Birds, General, Murray River, Photos, South Australia, Zoos
When we go to visit friends or family in other parts of the state or interstate we have sometimes asked the question, “What’s interesting to see around here?” Most people haven’t a clue about their own town and district. They don’t think like a tourist in their own place on Earth.
I’m fairly familiar with my own district but it came as a delight to read about it in today’s paper. There was an excellent travel article about the district where I live in today’s Adelaide “The Advertiser” newspaper.
Many of the features mentioned in the article are within a few minutes drive from my home in Murray Bridge South Australia.
To read the full article “All Creatures Great and Small” click here.
It sounded so interesting I must get out and revisit some of these places.
Taronga Zoological Park, Sydney
Sunday 26th February
Today we drove to the Taronga Zoological Park. We spent nearly three hours visiting the various exhibits. It was obvious that much had been done to improve the animal displays since our last visit nearly six years ago. Although the enclosures generally are not very big, they seem quite adequate and good attempts have been made to allow good views of the animals. Unfortunately my favourite animals, the Red Pandas, were not to been seen; they must have been asleep out of view.
There have also been many improvements as far as human facilities are concerned. Extensive new restaurants, new toilets and a chair lift are all good additions. Several sets of escalators help greatly with the slope of the zoo grounds, especially when one has parked at the top and have to walk uphill all the way back to the car.
During our visit I took many good photographs of the animals. We were just in time to see the Bird Show and I managed a seat right near the front. I took a number of excellent shots of the White-Bellied Sea-Eagle and the Wedge-Tailed Eagle as well as the Powerful Owl. The show was as entertaining as usual. I also zoomed in on the head of a giraffe – and not a head and shoulders shot as that would not be close up! I also managed some excellent shots of the city skyline, the bridge and the harbour.
I didn’t concentrate on looking for native birds flying free but still recorded a short list. We were pleased to have a cool breeze blowing as it was quite warm. Out of the breeze it was hot. We are having trouble adapting to the high humidity here in Sydney. At 30 degrees it feels much warmer than the same temperature at Murray Bridge because of the humidity.
Central Zoo Kathmandu
Thursday 19th January 2006.
 This morning I woke with a headache, the first for the whole trip. After taking a paracetamol and having a good breakfast I was fine. I then had a rumbly tummy for a while but by 10am I was feeling a lot better. I have been surprised that I haven’t had any other headaches along the way and my stomach upsets have been quite mild. With all the different foods I have eaten, some of it very spicy, I though that I may have had more problems.
 Central Zoo, Kathmandu , Nepal
I tried to access my email but all internet access was unavailable. Mid morning I used one of the hotel drivers to take me to Central Zoo. The entry fee was Rs100 (A$2) plus Rs10 for my camera. The zoo in Kathmandu is a sad, run-down affair. It looks tired and few changes seem to have occurred since it was built in the Nineteenth Century. In fact, many of the cages are 19th Century in style with no attempts apparent to bring the exhibits up to modern standards. Despite these criticisms I spent two very pleasant hours wandering around the enclosures. The bars and wire fences made photography a challenge but I managed to get some very good shots.
The main purpose of visiting the zoo was to view the many animals and birds of Nepal I missed seeing in the wild. I was disappointed that they didn’t have any Red Pandas in their collection. This is one of my favourite animals and Nepal is a stronghold of this wonderful animal.
 Patan
After leaving the zoo I walked down the hill from there for about a half hour. This gave me another area of the city to explore as I went along. Being the only foreigner in that part of Patan I was the centre of attention. Many people at the zoo had also stared at me as well as my expensive looking camera. One man even spoke to me in good English and made his son shake my hand and practice speaking English to me. He was delighted to find out that I was an Australian. At least there is one country where Australians are looked up to and respected. As I walked along the street I was acutely aware of the stench of sewage. Sure enough, looking down some broken parts of the path revealed the source of the smell.