Sydney Holiday 2012: Tuesday 9th October 2012

It was an absolutely beautiful sunny day and Taronga Zoo was on the plans for the day. Unfortunately, bro had hit rock bottom with his chest cold and was in no shape to be going out, let alone walking around all day. We had already paid for our admission and it was suppose to be rather misreable, weather wise, the rest of the week.
I was determined to enjoy my zoo day and took the plunge to go alone. Even though Sydney had me up early each morning, I've never been a morning person, so it tends to take me awhile to get ready and going. For some reason, being on holidays had me taking longer than normal.

By 11:10am I was on the ferry heading for Circular Quay, where I took the Taronga Zoo ferry over to Mosman. I chose to travel up the hill to the zoo via the bus rather than the gondolas. Those things give me the hebby gebbies and I'm not a fan of heights.

Even with a map, I found it confusing at first as to what path to do and if I had done each one or not. I didn't want to miss a thing! It was unfortunate that I missed out on any of the shows. I would have loved to attend the penguin one.
The poor camera was working overtime until it came time to sit down to a lunch of zero coke, chips and a chicken/salad wrap. There really wasn't a whole range of meal choices (in my opinion) at the main dining spot.

The main path around the zoo features large green spots so you know where you are according to the map. I found I doubled back on a number of the paths so I could see everything possible. It's a lot of walking, but when you're admiring amazing animals and camera happy, you really don't notice the distance.

The main entrance (unless you take the gondola) is at the top of a hill and you work your way down to the wharf. Before you enter the actual zoo, there is a large gift shop that I cruised through, thinking I would come back that way when existing. Half way through your zoo journey is another smaller gift shop. I decided to buy mum an elephant mug for a souvenir and a white stuffed bear for myself. I actually intended it to be for my pup, but it wouldn't take him long to distroy it for a price of $20. Also, the toy sort of looks like him when he was only 9 weeks old.
I also found a zoo badge for my hat.

For whatever reason (I no longer required the entrance gift shop), once I got near the bottom of the zoo, I decided to take the track back up to the top instead of exiting down at the wharf. Mind you, all the walking was doing me good!
I did start to regret the decision when the bus was over 10 minutes late from what the timetable stated. Although I wasn't the only one who was confused. In the end it worked out quite well as I got chatting to a nice Pommy guy who was also touring Sydney. Perhaps the trick is to hit on the tourists down there - you might have more luck than with the locals...lol.
The bus finally turns up and because it was late, we had a 25 minute wait for the next ferry back to Circular Quay. The wharf was quite full by the time the ferry was due and it was a mad scramble as everyone gets in each other's space while the crowd boards.
By this stage, I had learnt to just go for it instead of standing patiently for a chance. That chance will never come until everyone else is already on the ferry!
In the city, it's everyone for themselves and the sooner you learn it, the better off you''ll be....lol.
I found it hard being pushy and feeling selfish at first, but seriously, no one else gives it a second thought.

The ferry trip from Circular Quay to the apartment was a rather pleasant one (more than usual), as most of the passengers were guys in business suits....hehe. One of my top favourite sights is a guy in a suit - add a delicious cologne and I'm a gonna!

Instead of getting off at my usual Olympic Park stop, I had to pick up a forgotten key ingredient for dinner that night from IGA at Meadowbank. Loaded with more than just a few items, I only just made it back to the wharf in time for the ferrry pulling up. Miss one and you have an hour wait for the next one. Only 3 minutes on the ferry and I was at my home stop where the 1.7km walk began while carrying shopping, as well as my purchases from the zoo.

Once back at the apartment, I loaded my photos onto the laptop to check how well they turned out before having my shower and setting the lamb Curry Royale on to cook.

Another well accomplished day that left me feeling confident and proud of my efforts. It may not be a cheap zoo to visit, but it's certainly well worth going at least once if you're ever in Sydney!