April 13, 2005
Managed to sleep a bit later the next morning (until about 6.00), had breakfast at the hotel, and then out into the city. Our first real stop: The Australian Museum. Today, we timed our start so we arrived right when the museum was opening, and headed straight towards the dinosaur exhibit.
The dinosaur exhibit was nicely presented, but a bit light on actual dinosaurs. It was interesting to see some ancient marsupial fossils, though. Some of the highlights: Diprotodon opatum – a large herbivorous marsupial from the Pleistocene, 50,000 years ago, and Paracyclotosaurus Davidi – a Triassic amphibian found in Sydney (220 million years old).
When we were finished wandering around the museum, it was time for us to head for our next destination: the Chinese Garden of Friendship. We walked the few blocks down Liverpool to the gardens, which weren’t quite what I was expecting. I’d hoped for something a bit more natural (like the RBG), but instead found a small but very pretty series of gardens and Chinese pagodas and things. The highlight of that visit was having a chance to dress up in Imperial Chinese clothing and take a stroll through the gardens in style. New wildlife included Red-whiskered Bulbul and Murray Turtle – my first pleurodiran (side-necked) turtle!
Afterward the garden, we walked the short distance to Darling Harbour, where we had lunch and then decided to take a water taxi mini-harbor tour to – you guessed it – the Opera House. We saw Silver Gulls splashing about in a reflecting pool in the big promenade between the gardens and the harbor, and in the harbor itself we saw a family of Pacific Black Ducks x Mallard hybrids, and an honest-to-goodness jellyfish, just like in Finding Nemo – an Asian Moon Jelly – swimming near some Sea Mullet. An Australian Pied Cormorant was swimming in the harbor, and later came out of the water to sun itself on a landing platform.
It was great seeing the harbour by boat, including a great look at Darling Harbour from the water taxi.
Of course, Eclipse wanted to climb all the steps at the Opera House again. Silver Gull and Great Crested Tern flew past along the edge of the bay and I took this opportunity to release a couple of BookCrossing books at the Opera House, and then we headed back into the Botanic Gardens, walking all the way around the cove toward Mrs. Macquarie’s Chair. This is the spot where the wife of one of Sydney’s governors used to stop on her morning walks. Easy to see why she would walk here – the view of the harbor is gorgeous. The weather had turned really beautiful, as well: sunny, and the water and sky were blue. Lovely. I heard on the bus tour (or somewhere, anyway) that when a woman sits in the seat, she’s supposed to make a wish. So, I did.
We took our time walking back through the gardens, stopping to watch birds and bats. Saw lots more Sulfur-crested Cockatoos, and also managed to get some good photos of the gorgeous Rainbow Lorikeets and Grey-Headed Flying Foxes.
It was starting to get dark by the time we left the park, and we walked a bit through the Domain, ending up in Wolloomooloo. After much begging by Eclipse, we decided that we’d have dinner at Hard Rock Cafe again (what the heck, it was close to the hotel, and we knew how to get there). After dinner, I went back to Kinko’s for a quick check of e-mail, and then back to the room and to bed. I was feeling sad about leaving Sydney – I’d really enjoyed the city, and would have loved to spend more time and see more of it. But we were off the next day on new adventures. 😀
Species List
Chinese Garden of Friendship: Little Black Cormorant (Phalacrocorax sulcirostris), Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), Murray Turtle (Emydura macquarii macquarii), Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis), House Sparrow (Passer domesticus domesticus), Australian Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii), Red-whiskered Bulbul (Pycnonotus jocosus), Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa superciliosa), Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca molucca), Rock Dove (Columba livia domestica), ornamental Camellia (Camellia sp.)
Darling Harbour: Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae novaehollandiae), Pacific Black Duck x Mallard (Anas superciliosa x platyrhynchos), Asian Moon Jelly (Aurelia coerulea), Sea Mullet (Mugil cephalus), Australian Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius hypoleucos), Little Pied Cormorant (Microcarbo melanoleucos melanoleucos)
Royal Botanical Garden: Welcome Swallow (Hirundo neoxena neoxena), Southeastern Black-backed Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen tibicen), Rainbow Lorikeet (Trichoglossus moluccanus moluccanus), Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina), Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca cyanoleuca), Australian Pied Cormorant (Phalacrocorax varius hypoleucos), Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii cristatus), Silver Gull (Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae novaehollandiae), Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala melanocephala), Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita galerita), Maned Duck (Chenonetta jubata), Grey-headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus), Buff-banded Rail (Gallirallus philippensis mellori), Pacific Black Duck (Anas superciliosa superciliosa), Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa tenebrosa), Yellow Trumpet Flower (Tecoma stans), Piccabeen Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana), ornamental Fool Proof Plant (Billbergia pyramidalis)
Let me know what you think!