As mentioned, we had tried to go to see the Dugongs on the 2nd of Jan but the queue was ridiculous so we decided to get up early one morning (well relatively early given it was the holidays) and head to the aquarium for when it opened.

It was definitely worth it as the Dugongs were fabulous, if slightly odd looking - apparently their closest relative is the elephant and they are what ancient mariners thought were mermaids - those ancient mariners had some serious beer goggles.



As ever, we spent a good amount of time at the our two favourite exhibitions - the giant fish tank at the end and the sharks.

During the holidays (to distract ourselves from the need to pack) we decided to take a road trip to Dubbo in the middle of NSW to see the Western Plains Zoo. It was also a good test for our journey to Melbourne as it takes about six hours so all our entertainment and distraction skills would be tested.

We managed to get a campsite booked (it is the school summer holidays here) and even had an ensuite - no middle of the night dashes to the amenities block.


Unfortunately, we managed to time our trip with a little heat wave - it was 40 degrees for both the days we were there.

As Western Plains is an open range zoo, on the first day we hired bikes (we had brought the kids' bikes) and enjoyed the view as we cycled round - as we were away from the coast, there was no humidity so when we got up some speed we were able to cool down. Adam and Emily did really well considering the track was about 6kms - Adam probably did twice that as he kept going on ahead and then coming back.



Although the zoo is "open range", it doesn't actually mean you can walk among the animals but they have a brilliant moat/fence/different levels system that means it feels like the animals could just walk past you at anytime.



As it was a little bit hot we left about 2 as we were slowly dying - luckily the car didn't get too hot as we spectacularly left one of the car windows open!!

Thankfully the campsite had a pool so we cooled down and the kids (and Colin) has fun on the jumping pillow

On the second day  we took the car with the all important air con (mercury hit 47 at one point) - as the zoo is a one-way loop we ended up going around about six times as inevitably we would be at one side and realise there was a talk at the other side!

At the end of the day, as we were saying goodbye to the meerkats, one of the keepers told us they were planning on feeding the tiger with his one carcass ('roo) of the week, so we did one more loop and watched a very happy tiger.



The trip back to Sydney was surprisingly pain free - have to admit we have bought A&E little DVD players so apart from when the battery started to die, we were able to keep them quiet for a good few hours

We decided to go to the zoo again as we still have our free passes and also we had a hankering for pancakes. There is a great pancake house at the center of the zoo. We saw the usual Lions, Tigers and Bears. The lions were getting fed when we were there and it was amasing.. they were prowling right beside the glass. You don't realise quite how big they are until they are right up beside you.

The one thing we saw was the red pandas. Normally they are very shy and  hiding in the trees. But today they were getting fed and were out and about. They are incredibly cute and just look like a cuddly toy.

It just shows how spoilt we are as I dont really have much to say about it.

We went to the zoo again yesterday, but almost did not make it. We headed up there about 11am and got there to find that there was a queue of several hundred people with the same idea queuing to get in. The car park was also full and every side street was jammed packed with cars. We toured all the neighbourhood looking for a space but to no avail. We had decided that we would head to Balmoral beach in Mosman instead just as a family in front of us stopped beside their car and started to leave.

We unpacked the car, loaded the kids onto their buggies and headed to the entrance. The number of visitors had multiplied since we last past the entrance, but fortunately we noticed a prepaid entrance with no queue, so we walked straight in.

We had made a picnic and so looked around for a nice shaded spot to sit and eat. We found a quiet spot beside the giraffes and zebras. Very civilised, sitting eating our lunch with a knife and fork. The weather was heating up, but still pleasant when in the shade. It had been 24 degrees at 8am when I got up!

We wandered around and saw the usual, lions, tigers and elephants. The great thing about having the "zoo friend" pass is that because you havent paid to get in you dont feel the need to speed round the whole place making sure you see absolutely everything.

We saw one of the bush talks all about the creatures you find in and around Sydney. We saw a Funnel Web spider, (the most venemous spider in the world), the Sydney Red Back, (likes to find home in toilet seats), and the Bird Eating Spider which can grow to about the size of your hand. For all of you afraid of spiders, did you know that every spider is venemous, even the Daddy Long-legs is! Fortunately, no-one has died of a spider bite in the last 20 years in Australia. We also saw a two headed lizard and a python. Adam was very brave and touched both! Leigh on the other hand was about 4 or 5 rows back keeping a safe distance with Emily. I found the whole thing very interesting and am now keeping a lookout in the back garden for some deadly creatures. Photos may follow!

As you can tell, I have worked out how to use YouTube. Here is a video from the 14th October when we visited Taronga Zoo.