Sydney Harbor & Taronga Zoo!

Avid Reader, I saw it! I caught my first glimpse of the world famous Sydney Opera House this morning. And it was all that it was cracked up to be! Stunning! And interestingly, it, too, was created in 1973! I love that!

I got up early and walked around Cockle Bay Wharf to check out the sights and sounds of Darling Harbor. I then enjoyed the Matilda Explorer -- one of the many harbor water taxis of sorts -- as part of the Zoo Pass to get me to Taronga Zoo. It was quite a site to round Miller Point, zoom under the Harbor Bridge and get my first sneak peak of that which is obstensibly Sydney!

The more I'm here, the more I'm falling in love with this place. Best, it's 100% pedestrian and tourist friendly and the weather -- remember July is the coldest month of the year here -- is stunning! I could definitely live here.

So, I enjoyed a Sydney Harbor tour on the Matilda and ended up at the similarly world famous Taronga Zoo. It was quite the setting! Taronga sits on a hill for the most part and most every vantage within the zoo overlooks Sydney Harbor and downtown. Upon leaving the ferry, I boarded a sky shuttle (read: cable car) and headed to the park's top entrance. From there, one makes their way down and around and catches this amazing place. Lions, tigers and bears were there, of course, but it was crazy to see some of the wacky animals both in *and* out of the cages (the birds here are nutso!).

Favorites, of course, were walking amidst kangaroos and wallabys in the Wild Australia 'walk-about'. I also captured the crazy looking platypus and enjoyed close-up encounters with giraffes and chimps. Best, Avid Reader, I accomplished exactly what I set out to: get my photo with a koala!

Since it was a bit of a slow morning and I was one of the first there, I got to spend about 20 mins chatting with the two zoo workers who were manning the Koala Encounter area. This one was Archie. Granted, he slept the entire time, but it was a hoot altogether. More, one of the zoo employees had a baby roo in her shirt! Turns out, it's mum was hit & killed by a car earlier that morning, so she was called to pick up the baby and bring it to the zoo. Turns out, it was a boy and they don't need any more male kangaroos, so it was being sent to a rehab facility to try to nurture to release back into the wild. But quite a story and I got to see a seriously baby joey!

I also enjoyed the elephants, parciularly when they started playing. Later, I found out that they weren't playing at all. Turns out the young bull was frisky. Avid Reader, I warn you know... don't click here if you don't want to know what I'm talking about. The meerkats were a hoot -- and all of the kiddos calling them "Timone" from 'The Lion King'. They spent their time trying to soak up as much sun as possible; though my favorite was the sloucher in the corner... not willing to stand, but still wanting the full sun effect.

I caught the boat again at the end of my Zoo adventure and cruised a bit more around the amazing harbor. The homes on the water were incredible; I'd do anything to be a rightful owner. Our friendly tour guides also pointed out a former Nicole Kidman residence... an apartment she sold a few years ago for $4M. I spent time in Ciruclar Quay enjoying the sites, a walk around the Opera House and more photos, of course!

All in all, an outstanding Sydney Saturday and I'm excited to see more of the sights tomorrow and into next week!