Summer Zoo times!

I texted my friend Diane last week to see if she and Kai had time to catch up with us before the Christmas Break - I was thinking maybe dinner or a coffee. However, when she suggested the zoo as they had just obtained some Tasmania Devils and mentioned the fact she knew where we could get some 2 for 1 vouchers online, I was so keen.

Our little zoo is organised in regional areas - first we went to Asia to see the Sun Bears and Tigers.

We made it to the zoo in time to hear the tiger talk and see the zookeeper feed the tiger.

 The Sun Bears were just sleeping and hanging out.

I'm not really sure what this dragon is all about - maybe something Lord of the Rings/Hobbit related? Anyways he's pretty rad.

We went to the zoo hospital to watch a penguin have an x-ray - but it all ended up being a bit upsetting. Another exotic bird's heart had stopped and when we arrived the vets were trying to revive it. They tried to restart the poor wee birds heart for maybe 20 minutes but it wasn't meant to be and he died. It was all very sad, especially when all we turned up to see was the penguin x-ray! But that's how things go in the zoo I guess. We finally did get to see the penguin x-ray - he had hurt his leg and they were checking how it had healed. He was a feisty wee thing! We also saw these "preserved" animals at the hospital. Some people will find them super gross - but I thought they were pretty cool.

 After all the sad times at the zoo - it was time to check out the pygmy marmoset - tiny and adorable.

It was then time to check out some of the creepy, crawly things.....unfortunately it was hard to get any really good photos here. But they were huge stick insects, a lizard that looked like a snake and spiders the size of my hand.

We stopped off at Nepal to see the Red Panda's and also check out some of the Nepalese birds - there was one with pretty metallic feathers. Also don't you love the Nepal enclosure with all the rainbow flags!

Next stop Africa, the lions were asleep - but there were some wise words on the gate of their enclosure.

 There is this "African Village" display at the zoo which includes two very fat goats - here's one of them.

 My favourite - the meercats are also part of the Africa display - how cute are they?

 We also saw the giraffes and stopped by for the daily talk and got to feed them. They are so friendly!

We also saw the chimps - but they were mostly sleeping in the sun.

Also - because we live in Wellington, even our zoo has a fantastic view!

Soon it was time to visit our neighbours in the Australian area - after all, that's where the Tasmanian Devils are!

They had some pretty awesome prints in the entrance to the Australia area - including the Tasmanian Devils in space print. How did I NOT get a photo of that? Next time for sure!

So here's the star of the show - the Tasmania Devil! They have four of them at the school. The zookeeper told us they are most active at dawn and dusk and tend to sleep most of the day.

 Fans of Aussie soaps may be familiar with a few of the places on this street sign.

 This lizard dude was pretty happy to see us.

 Some washing out to dry at the "neighbours" exhibition.

 In the Australian section, some of the animals are wandering around free. I remember when I was young we went to Brisbane and visited a lot of animal parks and this was really common. At Wellington zoo you can hang out with the kangaroo, wallabies and emu!

On the way out of the zoo we met up with a zookeeper who was showing off an Australian blue tongue lizard. We were allowed to "pat" him - he wasn't as cold as expected.

We left the zoo via the gift shop (as you do) I really wanted a postcard of some of the cool prints they had in the Australian area. Sadly they didn't sell any - fortunately I DID get to try on a pair of Tasmanian Devil ears.

Well that was my most recent visit - as always the Wellington Zoo is awesome. I'm looking forward to my next visit early next year with the Wellington Sewing Bloggers Network.

Weekend Walking - Waikanae River

It's now summer and Rich is taking summer off study so its time to head out of the city and do some day trips.Our first day trip of this summer was last Sunday when we headed out to Waikanae - we decided to walk along the Waikanae River to Waikanae Beach and back (it ended up being a 12km walk altogether). 

We caught the bus from the city to Waikanae Villiage and had a quick look around and ate some pizza for lunch. I saw this in a shop window in Waikanae - I guess this isn't something you'd everywhere right?

We started our walk along the river - it was such a HOT day, so many people were in the river swimming.

It wasn't long before we came across our first bridge - I like pedestrian bridges when I'm out walking.

Then it was time for even more walking.....

We finally made it to a park where heaps of families were hanging out, having picnics and kids were playing in the playground and most importantly. There was an ice cream truck! So we had to have an ice cream!

After our treats, it was time for more walking and another bridge.

 Then before you knew it we arrived at Waikanae Beach! But we only stayed there for the few moments. We weren't planning on spending a day at the beach or anything. We just wanted to walk there for fun.

That hill you can see in the distance is Kapiti Island, its a nature reserve, I would love to visit someday soon.

Then it was time to head back to Waikanae Villiage and catch a train back to the city. We got a bit lost along the way and ended up in El Rancho - I think it was private property and we weren't meant to be there. Opps!

We saw this derelict gazebo along the track - it was quite beautiful.

I was also super excited when we came across a rabbit family - can you see them in the picture below.

Finally Rich took this photo of me on the walk - obviously I like to dress appropriately for a day of walking. 

I hope you're all having a lovely week - I'm counting down the days till Christmas break! Only four working days to go!!

Travel Memories Tuesday: The day I met Dumpling, Taipei, Taiwan

You may or may not know, rabbits are one of my favourite animals. One day when we finally give up apartment living I'm planning to buy some rabbits.

One weekend in Taipei we went to a festival with our friends Lisa and Aaris and one of the ladies their had her two bunnies. She let me hold one of them - his name was "Dumpling" and he was completely adorable!