Where the Wombats Are

After our mid-day traipse through the bucolity of Sydney Harbor we hopped a bus to the Aquarium in Darling Harbor for some Jacques Cousteau action (“Here we have our friend zee Grouper…”). As we stepped off the bus the harbor, it seemed, turned upside down and emptied it’s contents upon our heads. Rain, and lots of it. I thought to myself “Wtf?! Isn’t this supposed to be a desert country?” I also thought it was somewhat fitting as we were going to view the underwater beasties.

Like most aquariums this one is populated mainly with the usual suspects. Although there were a number of displays that were distinctly Australian. For one, the Platypus. I’ve never seen one in the flesh, or fur, as it were. Quite an odd little fellow. Smaller than I thought it’d be. 15 inches long maybe? Very industrious too as he(?) was chasing the Prawns all over and digging up the sandy bottom with his duck bill. Platypus(ses?) really do look as if they were assembled out of leftover animal parts. A duckbill, webbed feet with claws, fur, lays eggs. Hell, that don’t make no sense! Here’s a question: What’s the plural of Platypus? Platypusses? Platypi? Platypo? You tell me. Personally, I like Platypo. A Platoon of Platypo. Anyway…

The coral reef exhibit was great. the amount, diversity and colors of the fish population is extreme. You wouldn’t think that so many neon colors could occur naturally. It looks as if a spraypaint factory exploded all over them. There is also an exhibit featuring all the fish from “Finding Nemo”. Amazing colors on them too. Especially the Clown fish, ie: Nemo.

Crocodiles figure heavily in the Australian wild, be they salt or freshwater. (Crocodile Dundee anyone?) This exhibit is quite large and in addition to the ground level view there is also a balcony going over top complete with a sign stating “If The Fall Does Not Kill You, The Crocodile Will”. The graphic on the sign is pretty hilarious. I’m still not sure of the difference between a croc and a gator. Something to do with the snout, but all I see is gullet and teeth and that’s enough for me.

The coup de grace has to be the shark tank. Similar in size to the one at the NE Aquarium, but with one distinct feature: two plexiglass walkway tubes running through the middle. Awesome! You’re only inches away from the various sharks, rays and turtles. the really cool thing is that they all seem to be very interested in their visitors as they stick close to the tubes. It’s amazing to see these creatures so close up and take in all the little details you’d never see otherwise. I liked the Giant Stingrays the best. With a 6 foot “wing” span gracefully propelling them along, it’s like watching an eagle fly in slow motion. Stunning really. The sharks were also quite interesting. No Great Whites of course, but the Nurse Sharks are about 6-7 feet long and quite toothy. They all look like they’re in need of some serious orthodonture with their teeth sticking out in all directions.
All in all we spent about 2 hours in the Aquarium only to find the downpour continuing unabated outside. So, we bought ourselves two light blue trash bags that said “Sydney Aquarium” on the back(and screamed “yes, I’m a tourist”) and shambled off in search of food and libations.

I’d read somewhere that, for a fee, you can climb up to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge for an unequaled view of the city. So, we decided that we’d do just that the next morning. Well, guess what was going on when we awoke the next morning? Rain! Again. I was begining to feel like I’d made a wrong turn and had ended up in Seattle. Not to be disuaded, we headed out for coffee and soon the skies cleared and the sun came out. Thankfully. We got up to the ticket desk at the bridge and found out the price for a climb was $190 per person. Zoinks! I wanted to ask whether the Moet and the Chateau Briand was to be served before or after the climb. Well, that effectively ended our stay in Sydney. We decided to go visit the kitties in Eastern Creek and then head back to Canberra.

Bert and Trixie were housed together and seemed excited to see us. All hello meows and rubbing up against us. Ernie, on the other hand, was not happy at all. He seemd quite nervous and distracted. He didn’t acknowledge us at all. trying mainly to get out of his pen and run away. We brought him into the pen with Bert & Trixie thinking he might calm down, but that just made things worse. He began growling and hissing at them and us. He even swatted Caryn right across the nose leaving a bloody inch long scratch. We stayed with them for about 2 hours and then visiting hours were over and we had to go. Bert & Trixie clearly didn’t want us to go as they had their little faces pressed right up against the window and were meowing away as if to say “Don’t leave us!”. We put Ernie back in his pen and he immediately hid away in his little bed cubicle. I felt terrible doing this to him, but this was how it had to be. Hopefully he’d come around. It had been less than a week they’d all been there so, he didn’t have much time to adjust. Kelly, their caretaker, said Ernie’s behavior wasn’t unusual and that he would most likely be better given more time. So, into the car and off into the great nothingness between Sydney and Canberra.

here’s the link to my various pics of sydney.

Next time: Bright Lights, (not so) Big City, “You paid how much for that?!” & “Where is everyone?”

Got in last night at about 5pm. the 10 hour flight from Hawaii was actually comfy as I had two seats all to myself. I rented a hand held dvd player, again, for the flight. definitely the way to go. I can’t seem to sleep or read anything more substantial than MAD Magazine while flying, so movies are an excellent way to pass the time. All said and done the movie selection on these flights leaves much to be desired. Although as bad as some of them are, they’re better than counting rivets in the plane’s wing. How ‘bout a few reviews, eh?

Let’s see, first I saw “Be Kind, Rewind” with Jack Black and Mos Def. They’re video store guys who accidentally erase all the videos and decide to re-film them all in their own excruciatingly DIY style much to the delight of their patrons. Seemed like a funny premise, but it turns out this movie is the celluloid equivalent of a bad hangnail: annoying and painful, but you keep picking at it anyway.

Next up was “10,000 BC”. An action/adventure/love story flick set back in the time when women were cave women, men were filthy and, if you weren’t careful, a Woolly Mammoth would step on your head and squish it.
Our hero, let’s call him Timmy, must travel far and wide to rescue his tribe and his main squeeze who’ve been kidnapped by some rather unruly looking blokes from “way over there somewhere”. Lots of running and battling with other tribes, giant man eating ostriches and one sabre tooth tiger who turns out to be rather helpful once he’s been rescued from drowning. I did mention this is an “adventure” didn’t I?

Well, after many trials and travails Timmy, with the help of his new friends, the Ungooloomooloo Tribe, rescues his own tribe, sets free all the slaves and Woolly Mammoths, destroys the leader of the evil oppressors, and brings his main squeeze back from the dead. Timmy’s quite a fella ain’t he? His little chicky seems to think so too. All’s well that ends well.

I probably would’ve enjoyed this movie more if I’d turned off the sound as the dialogue was uber cringeworthy. Although, I did get to see a stampede of Woollys stomp all over the bad guys and, hey, that’s something right? Rampaging mammoths aside, I still have to give this flick two thumbs down for the poor acting, lame-o script and the high degree of goofiness. Plus, I’m pretty sure Woollys never lived in the desert. so there.

Next was the semi-drama/slice of life movie entitled “Married Life”. Starring Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper & Patricia Clarkson. Set in 1949, Harry and Pat have a decent, if dispassionate, marriage. Harry is cheating on Pat with Kaye, a younger beauty, and decides the only way out of his marriage without humiliating his wife is, of course, to kill her. Harry let’s his best buddy, Richard, in on his plans to leave Pat, but not the method. Well, let’s say that things get a bit topsy-turvy with a cross current of affairs bubbling to the surface and allegiances flip-flopping all over the screen like the Flying Tumbaleenies. I don’t want to give the rest away as this is a movie I’d actually recommend. Suffice to say it’s well acted and performed and I’ve seen it twice now, so that says something. anyhow, enough of the boob tube.

I got off the plane in Sydney at about 5pm and was greeted with a balmy 12 degrees. That’s mid 50’s for the Farenheitically inclined. (I really need to brush up on my metric conversion skills. oh wait, I don’t have any). Standard fare for the winter in Sydney. It was, however, a bit disconcerting after having just come from the tropical latitudes and attitudes. We hopped in the car and stowed our gear at Eva’s, a little backpackers hideaway close to downtown. Then out to find some grub & suds.

Much to my dismay most restaurants, cafes and whatever are open to the outdoors regardless of the weather. Now, after having been here for a week, it seems that Australians have no idea how to deal with cold weather and, yes, it does get cold here. No insulation in the houses, spaces around door and window frames that are big enough to stick a phone book through and many places(Eva’s!) that simply do not have heat at all. Yes, I grew up in New England and this shouldn’t be an issue, but in NE when it gets cold you close the door and turn on the heat. Duh! Summer will be here soon enough and then you can listen to me complain about that as well. Hey what do you want from me? I’m a true New Englander, the weather is always “too” something, right?

The next day we took the ferry out across Sydney harbor to an area called Manly right near the mouth of the harbor. We spent about 3 1/2 hours doing the “Manly Walk” which Caryn has recounted for y’all a few months ago. It was great! Beautiful sunny day, low 50’s, perfect for an afternoon hike. The trail winds along some of the various bays and inlets that comprise Sydney Harbor. VERY picturesque. check out some pics. more to come later. Next episode: “Deep Sea Beasts” ,”Where Are My Galoshes?” & “The Mad Cats of Eastern Creek”