Brisbane Part 2: Australia Zoo

Merry Christmas Everyone! I can't believe that it's already here - I was completely focused on our visit to Australia, and it didn't occur to me until much later than I'd like to admit that the holidays were imminent. Anyway, I am three days into a little over two weeks off work, and J has most of that time off as well, and that is a lovely treat. We have a few little things planned, but nothing major, which is exactly what we need.

Back to our Australian adventures - we were lucky enough to be able to visit the Australia Zoo, which is dedicated to Steve Irwin (The Crocodile Hunter) and his family. J is a very big fan, having been inspired by his show and work with animals when he was a kid. So he was delighted to discover that it's not too far outside Brisbane, and we could head there while Doug, Amy, and Sorenne were busy. We were extremely lucky to go on an overcast and therefore cooler day. One of the days we were there was 37C (99F), and I don't think anyone would have enjoyed the zoo very much that day. But the day we went was the coolest of our whole trip, only about 29C (84F), so it was glorious. I think the animals appreciated it too, after such heat.

The first thing we saw were the wombats, which are so cute and cuddly-looking!

They reminded me of Kazul and Roxim, except a thousand times bigger, of course.

This is a Taipan snake, and while I think it's very cool looking, apparently they have nasty tempers, so you really shouldn't try to make friends. (My brother Abe would have me point out that this is a consistent theme in Australia.)

I love the colouring on this snake, called a Woma. Unfortunately, land clearing and burning of its habitat have devastated its population. The Australia Zoo is working to breed them and then release them into protected habitats asap, as the local wild population is close to zero.

 This is a blue iguana. While they are cool, I mostly took a picture of it because of the skeptical way it seems to be sizing us up. Also, there is a cute little turtle on the ground under it.

We never did figure out exactly what this bird was called, as it didn't seem to be in any of the pictures in the aviary. But it also gave us a very entertaining look, peering at us from the edge and not moving a muscle until we'd passed on.

This visit was J's first opportunity to meet kangaroos, and he immediately realized that they have a major shared interest, so he joined right in.

They were very good buds, even when awake.

Kangaroos have beautiful eyes, and these ones are so calm and chilled out. It's really lovely to be able to interact with them.

I like the little ones.

We also saw several koalas, relaxing in the trees. I got to hold one during my first visit to Australia about seven years ago, and I'm still fascinated by my discovery that they have three fingers and two thumbs on each hand/foot, for better grip strength. How cool is that?

Being Steve Irwin's passion, crocodiles are central to a lot of what goes on at Australia Zoo. While they are also fans of naps, like J and kangaroos, I'm not sure J has found the best way to bond with this one.

This is an Australian saltwater crocodile, and one of the most dinosaur-y ones we saw. I love the different coloured scales. Not all the Australian saltwater crocodiles we saw had that patterning, so there must be quite a bit of variation.

I know it's hard to see them, but these are Binturongs, a native Australian I'd never even heard of before. They are nocturnal and mostly eat fruit.

Here is a better picture, and when I was looking for a good one on the Internet, I also learned that these little guys smell like buttered popcorn! What?

This is a cassowary, and in case I'd ever wondered whether they were inspiringly/frighteningly prehistoric, this guy helped out by slowly looming his way out of the forest and then glaring up at us. Wow!

Now these Galapagos tortoises are pretty cool, and I have a special affinity for them, having first met them on the Galapagos Islands themselves. However, the star of this show was the little water dragon next to its front foot, who was valiantly trying to get the tortoise's attention (for what purpose I don't know) and kept darting in towards that front foot as the tortoise was walking. Then, when the tortoise stopped, it froze as well, staring up at it. We were immensely entertained. 

We found this sculpture of Steve Irwin and his family both beautiful and sad - what a tragedy that he died so young, but how amazing that his family (and many others) are continuing his work.

This is his daughter, Bindi, already a friend to all creatures at such a young age. What an amazing picture of a beautiful moment!

This is a Monitor lizard, and it looks very much like the enormous and very life-like lizard sculpture that lived in our house when I was growing up. I wonder what ever happened to her. Anyway, Monitor lizards are very cool - Australia has a long list of fascinating reptiles.

This is Fang 1, described on her sign as a gorgeous girl with Bette Davis eyes. I love that the zookeepers here love crocodiles as much as Steve Irwin did.

This is Fang 2, who is the mother of Australia Zoo's first ever baby alligators, and her boyfriend Barney, who is apparently very protective of her.

Before we left, we watched a show that was all about celebrating Australia's amazing native wildlife, and especially crocodiles. This was the highlight for me - showing how crocodiles can launch themselves out of the water to grab something hanging down over it. The demonstrations were also about how to be respectful of crocodiles while keeping yourself safe, and I don't think anyone who watched it will be dangling their legs down over the water any time soon.

There were a million more things to see at the zoo, but that's most of what we got to. It wassluch a lovely day, and we learned a lot.

Brisbane Part 1: Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens

Last week, J and I went to Brisbane, Australia to visit Sorenne, Amy, and Doug. It was amazing to spend time with them again, and I already want to hop on the first plane back, but we'll see when we can manage that. In the meantime, I took about a million pictures, of which you will be the lucky recipients.

On our first day there, while Sorenne, Amy and Doug were busy and J was resting, I had a delightful time wandering around Mount Coot-that Botanic Gardens. I have delightful tidbits of information (mostly from the helpful information plaques) on some of my many pictures, and others are just for your viewing pleasure.

Sorenne, Amy and I saw this amazing kind of spiky tree last time I was there, and wondered what it was. The Mount Coot-tha information plaques obliged:

"Why so spiky? You and the other monkeys won't want to climb me because I'm just too spiky. My spikes protect me from animals that might want to eat my bark, leaves and flowers. But I'm also a big softy of the jungle called the Floss-silk tree! I produce beautiful flowers and pods full of soft, silky fibre...mmmmmmmmmm."

(Note to Sorenne and Amy: I managed to forget to tell you about this discovery for the entire duration of my visit. Sorry about that.)

As you can see, these gardens have beautiful and engaging things for children, something I love, of course.

"Can you see the Sugarbag bees? These tiny, stingless bees are native to Australia. They are important pollinators of Australian flowers allowing seeds to form so new plants can grow. Sugarbag bees creates hives in hollow logs and branches. Can you see the pollen on their back legs as they come and go from their hive?"

This amazing creation is very mobile, and you can place the legs in various positions by unhooking the bottoms and moving them at the joints.

This is a statue of a water dragon...

... and this is the real thing. They were chilling out all over the gardens, and they're so cool!

 

I was delighted to see a little duck sleeping on this crocodile statue's head.

"Take a ride. Hold on tight! We are the Giant Aussie bush cockroach and the Rhino beetle. We have hard exoskeletons which protect us when we fight for a meal or a mate. We chew through the leaf litter and clean up the forest floor."

This is a Weeping Fig, and it was amazing. It also has a challenge on the plaque underneath, challenging you to find a wide variety of different animals (some of which are in the above pictures).

"Fishbone fern. Even this local native can behave like a week! Although native to south-east Queensland (and found worldwide), it's fast growth and ability to dominate areas can cause this plant to inhibit native species. However, this Fishbone fern is currently fulfilling a useful function in holding banks together and as living mulch - the aim is to eventually replace it. Suitable replacements: Rough maidenhair fern, Birds nest fern, Prickly rasp fern, Gristle fern."

"Japanese Garden

This garden, originally a feature of World Expo 88, was created here as a generous and lasting gift from the Government of Japan. The Japanese feel the ideal garden should represent nature. Only by the gardener's skillful ability to observe nature is he able to arrange his materials, stone, trees, and water to create a garden that soothes and refreshes the human spirit. Take time to sit quietly and notice the textures, tones and sounds of this garden. Please stay on pathways, off the lawns, and help preserve the qualities that make it a special place."

"Epiphytic ferns such as Staghorns (left in this picture) perch on other plants, high in the forest canopy, to benefit from better sunlight than is found on the forest floor. They are not apasitic upon their host plant, being litter feeders with their leaves arranged to collect debris and water. Other ferns (like the one on the right, I think) have a creeping and branching rhizome or stem and start life on the forest floor but grow as climbers or lianas."

Tropical Dome

"Our ark is the air, water, land and all the species of plants and animals, including ourselves are the crew. How can we be so blind as to continue our acts of sabotage." ~ Gerald Durrell

"You are standing inside another ark, a geodesic dome that encloses and protects the rare, fragile and exotic plants growing here. The dome is make of tinted acrylic bubble panels in an aluminium frame - a miniature spaceship Earth. Wet tropical plants need a humid, warm and stable environment to flourish. Climatic conditions and nutrient levels within the dome are monitored and corrected as needs arise. The dome is designed so that temperature ranges between 24-28C, humidity variation is around 2 percent. Even the soil is special, a sterile mix of sand, peat moss and soil."

These are the amazing Elephant Ear leaves I love so much. I take a picture of them every time I see them, but I never manage to capture their enormity.

Bird of paradise flowers are among my favourite in the world.

The gardens included an amazing bonsai house. I was tempted to take a picture of every single tree, but managed to restrain myself. But I do think that they are incredible.

Willow Leaf Fig, Informal Upright, Established 1960

Moreton Bay Fig, Root Over Rock, Established 1958

Flaky Juniper, Informal Upright, Established 1992

Swamp Cypress, Formal Upright, Established 1976

Sadly, I do not rememeber the name of this lovely bird, but I did enjoy watching it (and many other birds) wander around the gardens.

These plant are enormous, and remind me of how huge Harakeke (flax) plants get in NZ.

This is an Agave plant. It looks like a much smaller version of the gigantic ones in the last picture, except it has these amazing wavy leaves that I love!

Amy told me the name of this bird, and I immediately proceeded to forget it. She also told me it is a pest, which is a pity, because it was fun to watch as it hopped around.

Thus concludes my tour of Mount Coot-tha Botanic Gardens. I could have wandered endlessly (and taken an even more obscene number of pictures) but my knee does not allow such things, so I headed back.