Taronga Zoo

We took the Captain Cook Ferry across the Sydney Harbor to the Taronga Zoo which was about a 10 minute ride. Once there, we were given a map and off we went. Here are some of the exhibits  we saw before we were caught in a very strong summer thunderstorm which cut our trip short. 

The small penquins and the meerkats are the only two pictured that are native to Australia. Our timing was good in that we hit feeding time for the gorillas and chimpanzees. Their excitement was quite evident! The racing around to “find” the food the zookeepers had hidden was fun to experience. It was also interesting to watch a mama chimpanzee teach her baby how to climb a fence inside the enclosure. As they were finishing up their meal, a deluge struck. The chimpanzees were very clear that they did not appreciate getting wet. A chorus of complaints (screaming) was heard as we ran for cover under an awning used for food containers. The volunteer that was closing the lid stated, “the chimpanzees hate getting wet and cover their heads, just like you lot.” 🙂 We remained trapped there for about 15 minutes as a variety of other tourists ran for the same cover. In looking at the radar on our phones, it was evident that our trip to the zoo was going to be cut short. Joe and I waited until there was a small break in the thunderstorm to make our way back to the dock to catch a return ferry to the harbor. We were lucky enough to get a seat inside for the return trip and ran across the street to a pub and enjoyed a drink outside an overhang. We enjoyed watching other tourists navigate their way in and out of the harbor and train station dodging thunder showers that quickly soaked them through and through. 

We grabbed an early dinner and went to bed very early. We are both not quite accustomed to the change of time zone yet. I woke up at 3 am two nights in a row and was done sleeping. Fingers crossed that this will straighten itself out soon.