Day 40: Tree Kangaroos — Matt Goes Exploring

Wow, forty days. That's a lot of days.

Today was my last day in Sydney, and unfortunately I woke up to rain. My plan for the day was to go to the Taronga Zoo, something I had missed out on yesterday. I couldn't leave Australia without seeing some Koalas and Kangaroos.

I did not let the rain stop me. I walked in the rain (with my rain jacket of course) past the opera house, over the harbor bridge, and through the Sydney suburbs (potentially my longest walk so far on this trip) to finally reach the zoo. All totaled up, it was probably about a two hour walk, if only it hadn't been in the rain.

When I reached the zoo I brought up my ticket (the one I had bought at a discount from my hostel) and they told me it was for a different zoo. I only had a few hours left of daylight, and the other zoo was back on the other side of the bridge, more than halfway back the distance I had already walked. So I buckled down and bought a full price ticket at the entrance, and finally got into the zoo.

Thankfully it was worth it. If you're ever in Sydney, definitely take a day to check out the Taronga Zoo. The first exhibit I saw was the Koalas. Two of them were fast asleep, but one of them was moving around. It actually had some agility to it, despite the stereotypical idea I have of koalas.

From there I found the reptile house. Right out front was the Komodo Dragon, the world's largest lizard. It didn't move much, but it was still pretty awesome. Inside the house were frogs, lizards, snakes, iguanas, and one particularly huge snake that would scare my mother half to death. So of course I took a few photos.

Next was the giraffes. They were very active and when I stepped up to the fence one of them actually walked towards me. The zoo had built the exhibit so that even with the giraffe's long neck it couldn't reach me.

Around the corner was the Chimpanzee exhibit. I learned from one of the zoo employees that they were trying to introduce three new chimpanzees into the group, which can take some getting used to for the others. This was proven by the loud commotion the apes were making. They were screaming, banging on glass and walls, running back and forth. It felt like Planet of the Apes was about to start.

All jokes aside, it honestly was a little unsettling hearing the chimpanzees screaming. It really is like one step away from hearing other humans in distress.

Next was something I once thought was one of the coolest animals in the world, but had completely forgotten about until today. Tree Kangaroos. It's just as awesome as it sounds.

There were also ground kangaroos though, and there was an awesome exhibit that let me walk though the enclosure. I got up close to a kangaroo (and kinda some emus, but they kept their distance). I wasn't brave enough to try petting the kangaroo or anything. I didn't want this story to end with me getting kicked by a kangaroo.

The zoo closed at 4:30pm, which is unfortunately early. But on the way out I visited a building that housed Australian nocturnal animals. This exhibit contained a lot of unique and interesting creatures, from bats to mice that hop like kangaroos. There were two different types of Quoll. If you know what that is without looking it up, I'll be impressed.

The zoo was an oasis between long at walks to and from the city. The rain even let up while I was at the zoo as if to make it better. Of course it picked up a lot on my way back, as if to signify that my trip to Australia was ending.

I'm ok with it though, because tomorrow I'll be in New Zealand. I just like saying it. New Zealand is the perfect way to end this trip because it's the country I'm most excited to visit. But I'll save that excitement for when I'm there. For now I have to get a good sleep for my morning flight.

As always, thanks for reading, and here's to tomorrow.