Sydney: Ferry to the Taronga Zoo

Day 2 in Sydney began at… 4:00 AM! That would be when APL woke up and announced that it was time for us to begin our day. Unfortunately, Mama and Papa had not fallen asleep in their strollers at 7:30 PM the prior evening.. so they were much less enthusiastic about getting up 2 hours before sunrise. But Mama and Papa are here to ensure that Boy Sees, and enjoys, World. So we accommodated.

APL got his “du lait chaud” and took his place at the table for his morning rituals. Once he was done with his du lait chaud, he grabbed his “vinoculars” and began his morning reconnaissance work.

He was so inspired by what he saw in Sydney, that he began modeling his own creation.

Meanwhile, Papa snapped some pics of the Park Hyatt and the stunning backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and The Rocks.

We had received a very nice note from the hotel staff (yes, the date was way off).

We walked over to the ferry and headed to the Taronga Zoo. APL was ecstatic to be taking a ferry to the zoo.

The fun had only just begun for APL. From the Taronga Zoo ferry terminal we took a gondola up the mountain. APL scoped out the zoo.

Upon arrival at the zoo, we headed directly to the koalas. I am not one to gush over animals but those koalas are insanely cute. And they sleep up in the trees!

The zoo was great.

We saw plenty of kangaroos… one of which visited us on the path. The rule in that area is that you can pet any animals that come onto the path.

APL was really into the zoo map.

Apparently the zookeepers in Sydney are very relaxed (we decided not to release all the animals).

APL running to the Tasmanian Devil exhibit:

The poor Tasmanian Devils are having a really terrible time with a form of cancer that is devastating the population. A zoo keeper told us that the Devils were hunted to near extinction. Conservation efforts eventually stopped the hunting, but the gene pool had been decimated. The result is that much of the population is vulnerable to this very contagious form of cancer; their immune systems do not fight it.

Check out APL and Mama at the zoo – with the seemingly-ubiquitous Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge behind them. Almost everywhere we went those icons remained the backdrop. Brilliant marketing, Sydney.

After touring the zoo for a few hours, APL desperately needed some wrestling.

He is like Cato in the Pink Panther movies; you never know when or where he will strike. Check out the similarity to this:

Post-wrestling hug (check out iconic image top left – I told you it was following us around).

Requisite pose at the zoo with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House in the background:

Following our wrestling, we headed to the owl show. APL is tentative as he approaches this mighty hunter:

It was a fun day at the Taronga Zoo. We headed back down to the ferry in the gondola.

After a full day at the zoo, it was a pleasure to return to the Park Hyatt. It's a wonderful place to stay for a first visit to Sydney. Centrally located. Beautiful room. Great service. And this:

Pic I took of the Opera House during our walk back from the ferry (what do you think, Tasha?):