Saturday, March 11, 2012: Taronga Zoo

We started the day as usual at Patisserie where our sweet Filipino waitress took good care of us again, Chatting with other customers and locals as they pass the sidewalk cafe always is interesting. Petting a dog or two is always a treat to us. Aussies also love their dogs!

Shanelle gave us a grand tour of the Northern Suburbs from Taronga Zoo and the villages nearby, and all the way up to plushy Palm Beach located on a Northern Peninsula. I am sure that Shanelle must have gotten tired of all my OHs and AHs when each spectacular view came around another corner. The area north of Sydney is full of lovely villages that tempt a person to stop and enjoy a moment at the local shops and cafes. The lovely restored Victorian storefronts are painted in such soft colors and given such tender loving care.

Our driving tour first took us along the coast from Dee Why to Manly. Manly was filled of families and young people enjoying the beach and the lovely village. We had lunch at the wharf at German Brew House that overlooked Manly Beach. All three of us enjoyed Fish and Chips which was quite tasty,

Onward Shanelle drove along the gorgeous coastline where I loved Balmoral village with the lovely layered hilltop with orange tiled roof topped homes that I had enjoyed the other day from the Manly Ferry. We stopped atop of North Head looking towards South Head towards the Sydney Harbour which was filled with more sailboats than one can imagine since it was a sparkling clear warm day. The waters between North and South Head is called Middle Harbour and this is where boats enter the Pacific Ocean from Sydney. I do not think you can find a prettier view of Middle Harbour.

The pretty well built homes with their orange tiled roofs look so neat. Many of the homes have neat walls around them with pretty landscaping and small lots. The homes look expensive but so inviting. The homes even got more upscale with bigger lots and square footage near the Taronga Zoo. The zoo entrance is beautiful with animals frescoes and reliefs that were colorful. The zoo is situated on the hills across from the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge that is full of lush trees and plant life. What a classic view of Sydney Harbour! My breath was taken away again, What a gorgeous place to have a zoo. The zoo was overprotective of the animals thus some the the interactions were disappointing since it costs normally $44 for an adult to visit the zoo. We did get a close-up encounter with drunk sleeping Koala Bear after some of my Southern sweet talking to the ticket taker who told us that all the tickets were sold out. She sneaked us in as the last people to have the encounter. A photographer took our photos and a zoologist told us about the Koala Bear. Yes, they are adorable but have really huge claws. I got to see a Tree Kangaroo as he climbed along a rope from tree to tree as well as some other kangaroos. One female had a rather mature Joey in her pouch. They also looked cute just laying there starring eye to eye with me. We saw nasty snakes and lots of large and small mammals that looked like rats. The giraffes were majestic as they made their large strides across their compound. The chimpanzees were numerous and active. Joe saw one got mad at another and it slammed the smaller one across a stainless steal door. We saw a fast swimming platypus that looked like a fish. Of course we saw some crocodiles. There are fresh and saltwater crocodiles in Australia and one must be very aware of the warnings for the saltwater ones. I promised Shanelle that I would pay attention.

After several hours of walking around the zoo, Shanelle suggested a drive up to Palm Beach which I had read about. It was prettier than I had read with the very tall steep hills, lots of trees, very expensive 10 million dollar homes or more. There is water on both sides of the peninsula with Broken Bay on one side and the Pacific on the other. It was low tide on the bay side but still lots of sailboats. I never seen a place with so many stunning views and beaches at North of Sydney. I was spellbound by so much beauty everywhere. Shanelle kept outdoing herself and was enjoying us enjoying her country. How could one not! Some of the places we saw were Avalon, Newport and a beautiful lake. We drove through Frenchs Forest, Belrosa, Mona Vale. I yelled (shamefully) to stop the car at Narraheen Beach when I saw about a hundred Sulfur Head White Cockatoos on the grass. A local man told me what they were called while I was taking photos as they squawked loudly and told me that I could get up close to them. What a special treat that was for me!

Shanelle dropped us off at Dee Why Beach that was filled with so many people. Lots of young people and families gather here. The sidewalk cafes were full of people enjoying dinner and wine. People and birds just chattering away. What a great expansive view we had of Dee Why Beach with its perfect surfing waves where people keep surfing until dark. We ate dinner at Stella Blue at Shanelle's recommendation which was a bit upscale but fairly price. The wine and Joe's pasta was the best. I can not tell you how much I love Dee Why Beach. It is a perfect place to visit on a weekend with its lovely beach and park above the beach where toddlers run after the seagulls and pigeons as their parents sat on blankets enjoying their time together. It is a place for young lovers and people like us who enjoy the ambiance of lovely Dee Why. God definitely directed us here by us hosting our Aussie friend, Dana, a few years ago. Here we were blessed with Joe's remission from Lymphoma and a Myelofibrosis break that we were able to visit not only Dee Why and other parts of Australia. We would have never known about the quaint lovely villages of North of Sydney without the wonderful hospitality of Shanelle. Thank you God for such gifts. Your grace is everywhere.

Good night or good morning mates!