And Finally Sydney

The last stop for the boat was Sydney. The captain had said we were going to be close to the famous opera house, and sure enough ...

After getting off of the boat, we took a ferry to Taronga Zoo where we saw ...

The little one's name is Miracle as vets and keepers declared the baby had died in the womb. Officials said they now believe the calf was in a coma throughout the labor. The five females and one male (now two) are originally from Thailand where one of the females was rescued from being used on the streets.

We also saw lions, tigers and bears ....

"What did you say, Sheep? Bryce wanted the sheep in the pen to talk again, but the animal would not baa again.

Maybe they were too busy eating?I guess the goats wanted to be in sun, so they climbed on the roof.

We arrived at lunch time so many of the animals were having a bite.

No Australian zoo would be complete without kolas, and kangaroos.

An old lighthouse in Sydney Harbor on the way back from the zoo.

City skyline

Any guesses as what this is?

We walked over to Darling Harbor, as the hotel had said there was a huge playground and even a small water park. When we got there is was a playground, however, it was under renovation until 2011. Since we were there, we found other things to do. There was a McDonald's playground we took Bryce to. There was also some stepping stone on the water.

A Chinese temple. The lion below had a ball in his mouth. It is supposed to be good luck if you can remove the ball. Bryce gave it his all.

A carousel

A wildlife center (Bryce was happy to see the Kangaroo on the outside).

There was the Darling Harbor
extravaganza circus. There were several displays of acrobatics.

Including a pirate show, which Bryce loved.

We also went to Hyde Park.

We happened to be there on Easter and sure enough the Mommy and Daddy were woken up in the middle of night to sounds. Both swear they saw a bunny hopping away. When Bryce got up the next day he went on a hunt and found a "basket" and chocolates. Also in the bag were some yummy snacks, dinosaur finger crayons, and a kangaroo shirt.

Then we went to the Botanical Gardens.

These stones were part of an art exhibit.

Christchurch

Also on the South Island of New Zealand is Christchurch. We met a tour bus off the boat and headed for a grand tour of the city. These lava rock formations were on the beach, many people repel from this rock or go inside at low tide.


Next we took a gondola ride to the top of a mountain lookout. The views were breathtaking.

We also went punting on the Avon River that flows through the heart of Christchurch.

There was a big MG car car show and I think Ramiro wanted Bryce to be a bit more excited about the cars but, Bryce does not have a baby yet so he did not look at the cars too much.

OK- let me explain the last comment... Yesterday Bryce says, "Mommy when I get older and have a baby, can I drive that car?" As he points to a poster of a rust orange Toyota. Slightly dumbfounded I replied "Yes, but in 30 years from now I am sure there will be a better car." Ramiro on the other hand, now that he has a baby, wants the MG.

When Bryce saw the skeleton he called it "Kevin", from the movie "Up".It is actually, a Mao skeleton, which is an extinct native New Zealand bird. This bird was like an Emu or Ostrich but could typically become 10-12 feet tall!

The old trolley cars are renovated and operational and offer a great hop-on, hop-off service. We traveled the heart of the city, while enjoying a old fashioned trolley car.

Botanical Gardens

Bryce crunching through the fall leaves.

We think he enjoyed it!